Looking ahead to the new year;
chicken project adventures

By Bebe and Sissy Fenstermaker

Happy New Year. May this be a productive and peaceful year for every one of us. Drawing near the close of the old year brought thoughts of bygone years. I guess we all assess where we are a bit, egged on by cooler weather, gray days of "moisture," and the end of the calendar year. We got some things finished that were put off for far too long. One of them was some cedar trellis promised a year ago to a gardener in West Texas. Two seven by two-foot trellises took all day to make. First we had to find just the right cedar posts, get them to a not-so-boggy site to cut and trim them to length, haul the parts to be assembled up to the house, and argue over the design. That took until lunch, then we went back to work. Wiring and holding everything together continued as the sun got lower and lower in the west. Our cousin, Kelly, had kindly stayed an extra day in order to take the trellises out and as evening fell we worked to tie them onto her SUV. An unpleasant accident left Kelly with a gash on the shin. She was banished to the house with her leg propped on a pillow and a homeopathic remedy to stop bleeding. Sissy and I finally crammed the things inside the vehicle, making some room for all Kelly’s groceries and presents. Back in the house, the shin assessment grew grimmer and after supper, my sisters drove her to the doc-in-the-box. They returned with nine stitches! The next morning I hoped she would not try driving home but she was determined. We loaded her to the hilt, she got off, and late that evening I called see how she had fared. She was just finishing supper of turkey stew and swiss chard; I heard the spoon hit the bottom of the bowl. She was tired and going right to bed. I hope her shin will be in the air for a few days but there are no guarantees she’ll do it.
In a gardening way, I intend to make this a plant propagation year. There will be some structural additions to the yard, too. At last, the panels of wrought iron from the old Maverick Hotel are going to appear in interesting places. Holes have to be dug, panels have to be attached to posts, and everything has to be braced. Each weighs tons. They are beautiful, however, and will give elegance to the native plant (and roses) yard.
Also on tap in 2003 is a move to the future for the Ranch. We await our Yates Longhorn bull calf in order to sup up the herd’s genetics. Meanwhile we await an interesting AI calf crop. We will also fix some worrisome issues with a very nice plan to enrich our wildlife habitat. We will be making these very permanent changes and will write about them as they are accomplished. Hard work is ahead and I’m ready. The assemblage of a long-delayed family recipe book is going forth and there will be drawings to make. That Civil War memoir is waiting to be edited, too. There is always cedar to cut in any lull.
I want to recommend David McCullough’s book John Adams. A Pulitzer Prize-winning book about one of the finest presidents ever, it’s in paperback now. President Adams is proof a human being can use his head, stick to his guns and heart, endure abuse, and shine through the ages. I wish there were more like him today.
Bebe Fenstermaker

I was only a fascinated bystander in what became an extended chicken operation. The high school daughter (Allison) of good neighbors took on a class project to measure whether artificial light would increase egg production in chickens. Her father (Randy) enthusiastically entered into the spirit of the project, putting his carpentry skills to good use building a coop and pen. Her mother (Rebecca) warily assisted Allison in locating someone who would sell her four bantam hens. Several calls were made to Bebe inquiring on various chicken specifics; what kind of wire to use to secure the coop and pen against chicken-marauding varmints, what to feed, nest boxes, as well as chicken behavior in general. This back and forth parterre went on for several weeks when finally the day arrived to take possession of the hens.
The trip to Bandera turned out to be fruitless, as the chicken raiser never showed. A disappointed family returned home. Rebecca called Bebe, who commiserated and offered four of her fighting hens (oh God!). The fighting hen offer was put on a back burner and another attempt was made to acquire the bantams. It also proved fruitless.
I must pause here to interject that throughout all the attempts to pick up the bantams, Randy happily continued working on the coop. Rebecca kept commenting about it to Bebe, who reported it sounded like a fortress.
Time was running short for Allison’s project so . . . fighting chickens it was. The day chosen for delivery just happened to be one when all birds were turned out for the day. Allison and her parents came over to the Ranch anyway, as Rebecca was more interested in gathering chicken and cow manure for her compost pile. We all hung over the garden gate watching the chickens pecking and scratching in the dirt. It was determined that Bebe would grab four hens off the roost that evening and drive them down to the gate, where she would turn them over to Allison.
After that transaction, I waited for the next episode. It came in the form of a distressed phone call the next morning from Allison. It seems there had been a real bloodletting during the night with the hens pecking each other. Probably having a light on all that first night in new surroundings didn’t help! Allison reported her mother was "freaking out." Bebe reassured her that she had just experienced typical chicken behavior and not to worry. She also advised her to caution Rebecca to calm down. Allison promptly turned to her mother and said, "Mother, she says to calm down!" Bebe was sure Rebecca would do a slow burn.
A couple of days later Bebe called to pass along more "chicken information." Natalie, the oldest daughter, was the recipient of the information since Allison was practicing her saxophone and Rebecca was "at the library checking out every book they had on chickens."
I have since visited the site of carnage and seen the "fortress coop." All four hens looked as beady-eyed and content as ever. According to Rebecca, as soon as Allison gets home from school, she attends to those girls, letting them out into the garden while she cleans the coop and pen. They get fresh table greens as well as any greenery Rebecca plucks from her flowerbeds. Never have such thankless birds been so cared for. And I have decided who I will ask for ideas on coop designs.

Sissy Fenstermaker