At the beginning of this year, we decided to get some hens so that we could enjoy fresh eggs on a daily basis. I contacted a friend of ours about their modern coop. This coop was too cool to pass up. The coop is from the UK and travels to the US via ship, then Greyhound bus to your local station. The coop arrived April 6th and our 4 hens were expected to arrive the last week of April, ~ the 29th or 30th. This is good because we need to assemble the coop.

So, on April 11th, we open the 5 large boxes and begin to haul all the parts outside to assemble the coop together as a family. We soon discovered most of the hardware, or as Clare, the lovely English woman calls them - the bits and bots, had not arrived with the coop. It was Sunday, there was nothing we could do and unfortunately the parts were coop specific and they were coming from England. Monday morning first thing, we called and e-mailed, e-mailed and called.........In another part of the world, a volcano had erupted in Iceland on . The eruption created, among many other things, an ash cloud over the UK and much of Western Europe grounding planes for a week or more. No bits and bots and then.......

We received the call that the hens were at the post office - it is April 22nd!!!

So, what are we to do with 4 hungry, thirsty and travel weary hens?

First, we tried to take them over to our friends coop, but their two more mature hens showed them who was boss. It's aptly called a pecking order. After almost losing one in their next door neighbors bushes, we got all 4, transferred them back home and put them in our large dog crate.*

The hens were sure to think they had landed in hen purgatory, but 4 long days later, the bits and bots arrived and we assembled the coop.





*Said dog crate is not being utilized by said large dog because he breaks out of it, even reinforced.