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My Peeps
by Barbara Mencer
It's good to know what you're doing when you launch into something. You'll generally get better results.
But here's the dilemma. You can only be really knowledgeable in a certain number of areas, and perfect knowledge is unobtainable. You could screw things up. So what do you do?
Do you only take on projects in life where you already know what you're doing?
BOR-ING!
Or do you relax, trust that things'll work out somehow, and just take the leap?
I get that your answer may be different at different times and there may be certain areas where you feel safer and some where you feel more vulnerable, but, on balance, what's your inclination?
In my case, I really like to know what I'm doing, and it isn't easy for me to take that leap. I hate the thought of looking/being incompetent and doing a bad job at anything.
So, if I don't want to miss out on new things, I have a choice. I can go crazy trying to learn everything I can about the new subject or I can go against my natural grain and move forward without knowing what I'm doing, no matter how uncomfortable that makes me.
Am I the only one out there facing this dilemma? Hardly, but I'm probably the only one who's just taken on the responsibility for six little lives.
Yup, we recently became parents to 6 baby chicks.
Do I know how to care for or raise chicks, you might ask? Nope. I'm a city girl, through and through. Yet, the idea of spending quality family time building a chicken coop, raising chickens, and eating their delicious eggs was appealing.
Enter the dilemma.
Must know what I'm doing. Must research. But what's this? There are as many opinions, tips, and guides as there are people owning chickens. How can I do it "right" if there isn't one definitive "Idiot's Guide" to raising chickens?
How will I know how many square feet per chicken we need in the coop ... how much ventilation is enough ... when are the chicks are old enough to leave the brooder and go into the coop ... if the food and water should go in the coop or in the run or both ... if they need their greens cut up or can they handle a huge kale leaf? And on and on and on.
At first, I fretted about every little thing. But then, I relaxed.
We're just doing it and learning as we go ... that we need to bury chicken wire 12 inches into the ground to make sure predators can't get to the coop ... that the chicks like to be held and carried but mostly in the early morning and evening ... that they absolutely love strawberries and yogurt ... and apples ... but they won't pick through the skin to eat them.
Every weekend the family comes together to build the coop and enclosed run. Should be done this weekend. It's not perfect, but it'll do.
And here's the key point: The chickens will be fine.
They're chickens. They knew a thing or two about surviving and thriving as a species before I ever came along.
Pardon the pun, but it's getting through my head that it's okay to wing it sometimes ... to make it up as you go ... to cross bridges when you come to them ... to do your best and then let go, trusting that things'll work out. It's okay to relax and enjoy the adventure.
It's been a learning experience, and I've learned more about myself and stepping into the unknown than I have about how to care for chickens ... and I've learned A LOT about chickens.
Just know, if you hear me talking about "my peeps," "my chicks," or "my girls," that's not some city slicker slang, that's just how a country girl talks about her brood.
Warmest Regards,
Barbara
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