They sort of let them wander all over the neighborhood, but they come back at night for food. They give them corn kernels which we spent an afternoon literally knocking off of corn cobs with a heavy wooden stick. They pile the cobs up in a corner of the yard and then whack them over and over again, sweeping up the loose kernels that they knocked off as they go. It was exhausting. I kept thinking that there had to be a better way to do it but I really think that there wasn't... they pretty much have it down to a science.
Some of the neighborhood kids hanging out
My family also recently purchased 50 day-old chicks. When I came home from school that first day and looked in the chicken coop, I just about died of happiness. Just imagine that many tiny fluffy yellow chickies running around. I took lots of pictures and stood watching them for a ridiculously long time. It is pretty impressive to see the heating system they have (pictured below). Basically they take a metal pail and put hot coals in it, and then they elevate it a couple of inches off the ground by hanging it from the ceiling of the coop to create the equivalent of a heat lamp for them. Every night they fill it with hot coals before bed and the chicks huddle under and around the suspended bucket. Interestingly, learning these types of heating and incubation techniques is built into their junior secondary school curriculum (the equivalent of middle school in the States).
The next morning after we got the chicks, my family informed me that I was going to cry in 6 weeks when they are going to slaughter all of them and sell the meat for profit. Such is Africa...
babies sleeping
I have tons more chicken stories, but seeing as how I am probably the most obsessed with chickens out of anyone reading this blog, I'll save them for another time ;)
