My New Hobby: Chicken Farming

It's late, I'm desperately behind in my work, I'm tired, stressed, and at serious risk of being grumpy tomorrow...BUT - it's the first of September, and in honour of a long-standing tradition, I am determined to make a small effort to give a mini update on one small piece of my life. Since I can't tackle it all just now, I'm going to stick with a few pictures, and an update on a new hobby I've recently taken up. Yes: chicken farming.

A few months ago one of our staff gave me a rooster as a gift (flown in from one of our field locations in a box). I decided I'd rather like to keep him instead of eating him, and that I should really get a hen. One week later, a family currently living in Kenya, with plans of coming to work in Juba, asked if they could send ahead their last remaining hen as they packed up their home (the others were all eaten by a black mamba - she was the lone survivor). And thus...I embarked on an exciting new adventure in rearing livestock.

Romeo: my first rooster.

Lady Loki: my first hen.

Initial accommodation arrangements were rather unsatisfactory.

I constructed this myself. It was the best dog-proof
structure/obstacle I could create in a hurry.

Introducing the chickens to their new home.

Realizing my inadequate skills in construction, I recruited the assistance of one of our logisticians, who happens to be an architect by training. Soon he was making sketches & out with a hammer. I helped pound nails under his careful tutelage. A vast improvement. Thanks CL - I still owe you some eggs! Notice Rocky (the dog) and his keen interest in the whole event. Luckily, the new structure is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also impenetrable.

Making sure the chickens are comfortable.
Encouraging Lady Loki to start laying eggs.

Romeo: a portrait of a handsome rooster.


Lady Loki: what lovely whiskers & chin flaps you have.

The happy couple in their new home.
(Actually, I sensed there was some tension and inter-cultural
strain in the relationship. Lady Loki is about twice Romeo's size,
and he's Sudanese while she's Kenyan. They seem to have
worked out all the kinks in the relationship now.)

The happy chicken farmer.
Very very proud and pleased with the first egg.
I promptly showed it off to all the neighbours. (It took Lady
Loki 2 + months to "settle in" and start laying eggs. She was
growing dangerously near to the point of meeting a soup pot.)

There were 11 happy days of collecting eggs each day (just as gratifying as an Easter egg hunt - every day!) And then there were omelettes, scrambled, crepes... Mmmm...

But tragically, Lady Loki has since stopped laying eggs again. Despite some serious chicken psychoanalysis, I've yet to get to the root of the problem. I believe it's based in suppressed memories of when all her co-hens were massacred by a black mamba followed by the trauma of flying from Kenya to Sudan. We're trying to work through it.

Now it is really and truly time for bed, but if I decide to rebel against the madness & steal some time to write in the next few weeks, you can look forward to the following updates: Adventures in Ethiopia & Tanzania, More Juba Fun, and What will Kendrah do next in Life.