Birds of a Feather

Over the weekend, Jerill and I completed the build of our chicken habitat. I had purchased a coop from the Snoqualmie Feed store last month and have been working in between dry-spells getting everything set up for seven chickens. I've been wanting chickens for about year now, and I finally got them for my birthday which happened May 31.

Here is the build...

Jerill did most of the work. He is a molecular biologist but I think he may have been a great structural engineer too!

This is inside the habitat, where the ramp goes up into the coop/nesting box

The nesting boxes inside the coop

I brought home four adult hens first, from Diane's farm. Diane is growing her flock with other varieties of fowl and she was ready to part with four of her lovely ladies. The other three hens came from my neighbor's house. He had gotten three chicks for free at the Issaquah Grange and didn't real need more chickens, so he was willing to part with them.

As we finalized the habitat, Diane's four girls waited patiently in their carrier.

Lucky has assumed the role of livestock guardian dog

And, they're in!

I intend to provide the hens with different fruits, veggies and berries. Here, they're feating on blueberries and lettuce!

I have named all four hens already. The four older ladies have old-lady type names, while the young things from next door have names taken from the TV show The Girls Next Door.

Myrtle - she is a Russian Orloff

Mergatroid - she is also a Russian Orloff

Fannie - she is a Sicilian Buttercup

Flo - she is also a Sicilian Buttercup

Holly - I'm not sure what breed she is, but likely is a Plymouth Rock

Here are Kendra and Bridgit - they are Rhode Island Reds

Flo and Myrtle are definitely the head chickens of the flock. Flo has put the three Girls Next Door in their places already, demonstrating what "pecking order" really means. The three young hens will probably start laying eggs in about a month - they're still pretty young. From the four older ladies, in 24 hours, they've given me 2 eggs already!

During the day, we intend to let the hens free-range in our 3000 square foot fenced-in garden. They should find plenty of bugs and slugs to feast on (I hope!). I'll use Scott at night, if needed, to wrangle them up and put them away.

Keep Right

I do a lot of commuting in my Honda Civic Hybrid - at least 300 miles a week. Most of those miles are during Seattle rush-hour traffic too. I mix my commute up a bit, just to keep it interesting, taking I-5, I-405, I-90, Hwy 202, Hwy 203, sometimes even putting a little Hwy 99 action in there. However, the case is the same on all roads I drive, especially during the morning commute - people are idiots when it comes to the concept of "keep right."

I'm not an agressive driver, but I like to drive assertively and I like to at least go the speed limit. Even when I had my 2004 red WRX (210hp, turbo), I was a safe, competent, and "efficient" commuter. The Hybrid, bless its little heart of 110hp, is a fuel efficient yet relatively nippy little ride as well.

My greatest gripe about commuting is people who drive in the left lane (the "fast" lane if you will) and do not get out of the way of drivers approaching behind them.

On Interstate 90, there are numerous signs from milepost 13 to my exit, milepost 34, that state the following message...

I feel these messages are pretty concise, readable, easy-to-understand. I am not sure why my fellow commuters have such a problem with these signs though.

Why do left-lane offenders believe these STATE LAWS do not apply to them?

Oh wait! I'm talking about the drivers who insist on driving 64mph in the 70mph zone because it's raining, and those who slow down in the left lane to 55mph in the 70 zone because, heaven forbid, we are going up a 3% incline?

I have to admit, drivers who insist on not keeping right except to pass have one redeeming quality; I am able to work on my descriptive language skills. I have come up with a variety of expletives that any sailor or trucker would be proud of.

At the end of they day, the keep-right violators end up forcing commuters like myself to find alternate routes to pass. Thus, all apologies for those in the middle lane or "slow lane" whom we "cut off" - we are only trying to get on our merry way and follow the law.

Extinct Dog Breed - the Techichi

Modern Chihauhua - some believe the Tachichi is in the modern Chi's ancestry

This month I want to feature the Techichi - an ancestor to the Chihauhua of today. I've found in my research that Mexican breeds have a very long, very rich, and sometimes very disturbing history. The Techichi does not disappoint!

My excerpt from Morris' book "Dogs: the Ultimate History of 1000+ Breeds" describes the Techichi as...

Also known as the Small Indian Dog, this breed was primarily used as a source of food by Indian tribes in the Pre-Columbian Americas. Its Indian name is somteimtes given as Techichi. It has also been called the Carrier Dog, although acting as a beast of burden does not appear to have been one of its regular duties.

Okay - they were eating these little guys? That's a tad bit disturbing. Turns out, many other breeds were also lunch for some civilizations across the globe though. In my Morris book, there is a whole chapter for "edible dogs." Moving on...

A slender, small-headed, sharp-nosed, fox-like little dog, the Techichi extended its range into both North and South America, although Mexico seems to have been its stronghold. It was common among the native tribes of the east coast of North America, right across the southernmost parts, down into Central America and even into north-western South America.

The first European to encounter the Techichi was the Spanish explorer Francisco Hernandez, who reported its existence in 1578. He commented that the native Americans ate them as commonly as his own people ate rabbits. In other words, they were not specially reserved for sacrificial ritual or celebratory feasting, but were everyday-food items.

Sort of like a box of cereal for us today I guess?

It has been estimated that at least 100,000 Techichis must have been consumed by visiting Spaniards exploring the New World during expeditions. Not suprisingly, later travellers found few of these dogs, and by the 19th century they appear to have vanished altogether.

The rest of the story for the Techichi is sad actually. Apparently bred for only two reasons: for food and the puppies served as entertainment for children, the breed has gone extinct.

Artistic renderings of the Tachichi dogs of Mexico