Brown Egg Blue Egg
A Day in the Life
Mo read the news today oh birds!
By Linda First
November 2006
Meet Day
More Mo
I happened upon four darling little cockerels in a feed store and brought them home. We named the four Eenie, Meanie, Miney, and Mo.

... continued ...
Lesson 1

As a little girl I fell in love with my grandparents lovely flock of white Leghorns for eggs and meat. I am now 58 but it was just a mere two years ago I finally got my own chickens - four named Eenie, Meanie, Miney, and Mo. Three of those first four little roosters lost their lives as I learned some very difficult lessons.

Lesson number one: good fences make good neighbors and safe chickens.
We now have quite a nice little coop and outside fenced and covered little yard. The 8 x 10 coop is made of solid cedar inside and outside, fully insulated, with full-spectrum lighting, a ventilator fan for summer, and a heater for winter! Mo hangs out there every day until we get home from work.

Mo When a Baby

Eenie, Meanie, Miney, and Mo in the Palace
A Clean Palace Is a Happy Palace

Mo decided by himself not to poop inside his beautiful clean new coop. He rushes out his little side door to go potty and keeps his Bermuda hay clean as a whistle. The only time he poops inside his coop is during the night while he sleeps on a nice clean fluffy towel; he knows we will change every day. He decided this behavior all by himself and we LOVE it!
Triumphant Morning March

Every morning our day begins with Larry going out to get Mo from the coop. Mo has been excitedly crowing since 3:30 a.m. in anticipation of a brand new day. Larry and Mo walk together down the driveway where Mo drops his first big poop of the day. Mo feels quite important as he leads his Daddy Larry up the steps and inside.

Time for breakfast!

Straight to the kitchen area he comes expecting his breakfast as soon as it can be prepared, and warm, too, thank you very much! I must toast him a whole wheat toast with a little melted butter on it and serve it to him warm. Mo heartily eats the whole thing in seconds!

Mo on Dwaddy's Leg

Mo In His Recliner
Feast for a King

After breakfast, Larry and I fill a bowl with grapes and whole wheat bread broken into pieces. This is Mo's food until we return from work. We add vitamins to this mix along with a little whole buttermilk every day -- this is his favorite daytime food... along with whole-kernel corn and whole sunflower seeds in the cold months. Mo quit eating his commercial chicken feed a long time ago and I take full blame for it for having spoiled him so. I've tried to make him eat it again but he'll have nothing to do with it. So we just do our best with what he loves and he seems quite healthy.

And This One's Just Right!
Get Ready

Mo waits (rather impatiently) for us to finish washing breakfast dishes so he can take us to the next step in the day - get ready for work! Sometimes, Mo literally stomps his big feet at the door to the bathroom. He has to remind us the clock is ticking, we must hurry, we'll be late to work!

He MUST help us get ready for work every day, he jumps up on the bathroom counter, he helps me with brushing my teeth, and he helps Larry with brushing his teeth and shaving.

Larry gets most of Mo's attention in the bedroom because Mo has a fetish about Larry's big size 13 shoes. Mo would rather stand on a pair of Larry's shoes than do just about anything else. (He started this as a tiny chick, standing on his "daddy's" shoes looking up at him admiringly). When it is time for Larry to put on his shoes, Larry must coax Mo off the shoes!

Once we are ready for work, we carry Mo and his food out to his little coop, tell him goodbye for the day, and he watches us longingly all our way down the driveway.

Moe On Shoes
Home Again

Every night when we arrive home, Mo eagerly rushes out of his little coop to greet us and impatiently paces at the gate until we rush to let him out. Gate open means rush to the house and wait to be let inside. If I linger outside watering plants or cleaning up Mo's yard, Mo stomps back to stay with me and picks at grass or bugs. Mo scoots into the house soon as the door starts to open.

Quack! - Hush ~ I'm a Decoy

Mo at the Sink
Dinner Ceremony

He MUST jump up on the bathroom counter to get a "social" drink with us. I cup hands to catch a bowl of fresh flowing water for him., Mo then scoots to the kitchen to stand under foot waiting for dinner. Dinner is a little more simple than his breakfast. He LOVES fresh shelled peanuts from the health foods store, unsalted, of course.

After dinner, Mo always wants a handful of Ol' Roy soft dog food pieces, each bite taken from my hand individually! He might come back several times in the evening before bedtime for a few more pieces.
Sundown Wind Down

Moe Sitting on Larry's Ankle Yep He's a Big Boy
At sundown, Mo jumps up in Larry's lap and settles down to roost for (what he wishes) the night. He lays in Larry's lap until it is time to be out to his coop. Larry spends a minute with Mo in the coop until out beloved pet falls asleep. You bet. We wouldn't have it any other way.

Put Me to Bed Dwaddy
Brown Egg Blue Egg