The Real Housewives of Orange County (North Carolina)

I am very blessed to have a dear group of four friends with whom I meet a couple of times a month in order to encourage and pray for one another.  At our last get together, however, there was more clucking than praying going on, literally.  Upon arrival at my friend's home, we heard what can best be described as loud, agonizing chicken squawks, at which point I hurried to the window to peer into their backyard coop to see what  all the ruckus was about.  Her son was sent outside to check on the chickens, at which point she began to tell us of the previous day's events.

Weeks earlier, her entrepreneurial and hardworking 14-year old son had embarked on a money-making mission, involving building his own chicken coop in the garage of their home in order that he might purchase his own chickens and eventually sell his own eggs.  Diesel, the pit bull in the neighboring backyard had killed one of his first chickens, requiring that he re-think the size of his initial coop. He and his father and younger brother decided to build a second, larger coop that would allow the chickens more room to roam about without fearing the aforementioned pit bull predator.  Well, during construction of the second coop,  a second chicken went missing, but the mystery didn't take long to solve.  A good friend of the family and owner of Diesel, 12-year old Blake, stated somewhat excitedly as all the boys sat poolside," You ought to see the big black bird my dog killed yesterday," to which my friend's son replied, "That big black bird was my new chicken."  As we discussed the ins and outs of maintaining friendly relations with neighbors we love amidst the challenges that free-ranging chickens and dogs on large plots of land in the country create, the discussion took a slight turn.

Hibbard's Hen House  (for building plans contact Brian Hibbard)

Just a few months prior, another friend in the group, who is a city-girl transplant to the neighboring metropolis of Cedar Grove, had experienced her own chicken dilemma.  She and her husband had purchased what they thought were 26 hens from a new acquaintance who happened to be Hispanic. ( I share his ethnicity because those 26 hens turned out to be 25 roosters and one hen, and my friends are hoping that this dire misunderstanding was due to a language barrier and nothing else.)  Well, if you know anything about raising chickens, you know that you can't have 25 roosters in one chicken yard....in fact, I'm told that just one is ideal.  This overabundance of testosterone  resulted in gang wars scarier than anything LA has ever seen - the Southside Gang stayed near the pond, the East and Westside gangs near the garden and goat pen, and the tougher Northside Gang claimed the area near the coop.  The yard was becoming a warzone , and my Cedar Grove friends deemed action, as unappealing as it would be, was absolutely necessary.





Cody "the Godfather" Rooster

 I called this particular friend on a particular day this summer and asked her 3rd grade son Liam if I could speak with her.  When he shared that she wasn't at home, I asked if his dad Brian was too busy to speak with me briefly.  Liam immediately said, "No he's not real busy.  He's just in the backyard killing our 25 roosters, but he's got some help." (I wonder what busy looks like to Liam.)

 When I inquired about who might be helping with such a desirable task, he responded that 60-year old Miss Elaine from their church was there as the chicken- killing expert.  She had skillfully shown Brian a few various and asundry ways to do the deed, and following her demonstration, Brian chose the method that involved wielding an ax, only to regrettably learn that his ax needed sharpening.  As my friend Kayli thanked Elaine for her help and apologized for the despicableness of the task, Elaine wiped her dirty hands on her overalls as she stated, "Oh don't apologize.  I just love killing me some chickens.  Reminds me of special times with my sister, because that was a job we always did together as girls." (Don't make girls as tough as they used to, apparently. My own daughter thinks the dirty dishes in the sink are gross.)  Thankfully, Kayli has a huge, and now full, freezer - just hope she doesn't invite us over for chicken and dumplins anytime soon.

Liam's hen, Ruby



A former member of our prayer group, whose daughter, upon the occassion of her 16th birthday had wanted her own chickens, worked with her husband to build the necessary coop to accomodate this birthday wish.  Unfortunately, what had started out as an act of motherly love on a beautiful afternoon resulted in an unexpected visit to the emergency room when her husband shot a nail through his wife's hand with a nail gun....ouch!


The only poultry we've ever had on our property was a rooster, the end result of a second-grade incubation science project at my daughter's school,  the first year we moved in our home.  That rooster met an unfortunate end one day when we were away from home and my brother's dog, who lived next door , did what dogs naturally do.  I've often pondered building our own coop and purchasing some new fine-feathered friends; however, after this particular time of "prayer" at my good friend's home, I'm re-thinking that venture.

 Most recently, my neighbor across the street apologized for the pre-dawn

crowing of her new rooster .  I let her know that I had been sleeping with the windows open just so I could better hear the beautiful sound.  She immediately said I was the best neighbor in the world for not complaining, but I told her that I was being purely selfish.  The fact that the rooster lives at her house allows me to enjoy the blessing of his early morning wake-up calls without dealing with the inevitable when it comes to raising chickens - carcasses, axes, emergency room visits, and turf wars, both with roosters and dog-loving neighbors .

With four children at home, free fresh eggs would be wonderful, but not truly "free".....



As we left our fellowship time, we all laughed as we pondered the fact that we had been talking chickens for almost an hour.  Don't think they'll be producing a reality television show about us any time soon, but I don't care.  The Real Housewives of  Cable TV can have their botox treatments, divorce lawyers, and tarot card readers.....but the real housewives of Orange County will keep our good friends in the country, both feathered and not!