Life has taken a complete 180 degree turn from where this
Clucker Mother last left off. The last time you heard from me, I was still in
the city, still fighting for the rights of Urban Chicken farmers in our town
and enjoying making the most use out of a 40’ x 150’ piece of property that I
lovingly referred to as my “postage stamp.” I was used to the sounds of sirens
at all hours, people talking next door and needing to fight for that ever
elusive parking place located on the street directly in front of my house. Lawn
care took 30 minutes to mow, 20 minutes to trim (if I was particularly picky
that day) and my feathered ladies had full run of a fenced in backyard that was
gently shaded by a giant maple tree in the backyard. Wow, have things changed!
On July 16th of this year, with the Chicken
Debate still happening in the town I called home, I made a bid on a 5 acre
piece of property in the town where I grew up. I never expected to have the
winning bid and when the auctioneer shouted “SOLD!” I almost fell to my knees! I
had told people my retirement plans were to eventually move to the
country—looking towards the hills of the town where I grew up. Bam! On August 5th,
which was the day I closed, here I was—smack in the middle of what my dream
was. Incredible help from friends helped me uproot myself from the urban life
that I had known and move to a completely different change of scenery. One
where, when I looked out my kitchen window, I saw only bean field, trees, and a
wonderful pond that belongs to the neighbor I share a property line with – several
hundred feet from my house. I now had outbuildings; a very large pole barn with
three bays and a smaller, although wonderfully old, barn that once housed pigs
from the previous owners. The house was not what I would have originally picked
for myself, a three bedroom ranch-style home, but perfectly sized for one
person and her crew of critters. 
Moving the Cluckers proved to be an interesting challenge
and I’m sure not one that either of us want to have to do again for a very,
very, long time. I still don’t have any idea how in the world the friends that
I had help move the coop did it, but somehow the coop made it from my city home
to the country virtually unscathed and intact. I’m guessing my home-built coop
had to have weighed in at around 300 pounds. Knowing only enough to be dangerous
about having poultry in the country, I kept the birds cooped up for the next
two weeks—terrified that they would fall victim to a fox that had been sighted
in the area and had already feasted on other neighbor’s birds. Finally, with
both myself and the ladies getting increasingly frustrated, I created a
make-shift pen for them so that they could at least get out and enjoy the grass
that they had loved so much at the city home while I was outside with them. I
knew that I would need to fashion a new chicken run for the girls, but for the
moment—this would do just fine.
Fast forward to 8 weeks later and I’m still not unpacked,
the chicken run still isn’t finished (although it’s at least been started), I
don’t have all of the trash out of the barns yet and the feathered ladies have
decided that as long as they’re being kept in a small area—they’re going to go
on an egg laying strike. I’ve gained another kitten which brings my total
animals to 10 now with one more barn kitty coming at the end of the month (welcome
Sassy kitty!), but I wouldn’t change any of it. The peace that I feel when I
drive up to the house is incredible each day and I can’t wait to get changed
into grungy clothes and get to work doing chores. This City Clucker Mother has
now become the Country Clucker Mother and these blogs will shift to lessons
learned and found as I make the complete transformation from someone who was
used to having everything within a couple miles distance to what is now
referred to as the exciting “trip to town.”
