Who Needs a Cat?

This is the conclusion I have come to. Cats were my favorite animal. We had a "terror cat" named Gizmo when we were first at Fort Meade back in 2001. To put it mildly, he wasn't a "people person". When Matthew was born and Gizmo scratched Matthew's eye right by the tear duct, we started thinking about seeing if he'd want to go live somewhere else. We gave him to my father in law and his family, and they were going to take him all the way to Alaska when they moved. Needless to say, they also decided he wasn't that friendly and he ended up being a freebie in their house sale down in VA. :(

When we moved here to the country, I mourned the fact that Dave didn't want a cat in the house. I knew cats also live out of doors, but I grew up with one in the house and felt that since we didn't have a proper place for the cat to hide from inclement weather that it wasn't a good idea...

Enter our interest in chickens. These animals are some of the funniest creatures God has made! They are a riot and a half, and keep the boys occupied for hours. They have a "herd instinct" or whatever you want to call it, and they like to move around in a group. When we go out to feed them, I clink the feed containers together and they come running, chirping and peeping all the way. You also can't beat the fact that, unlike dogs or cats, they also give you a tangible return on your investment (eggs and/or meat)!

The boys will spend their time outside playing with the chickens. Of course, to mama, it looks a lot like terrorizing them, but Matthew swears that the chickens like to take rides in 5-gallon buckets. They LOVE to stay inside his makeshift houses. :)

So, this is my endorsement for chickens. If you have the room for a couple, go ahead and try it. They are really no more bother to take care of than a cat or dog, they are usually quite friendly, and they give you treasures to put on your table. How fun is that?