Decision-making flew the coop a long time ago

<p>I’ve been thinking about getting chickens — for the past five years.</p><p>While the hubby is a snap decision-maker, I tend to take the opposite strategy — mull . . . ponder some more… ultimately practice extreme-contemplation. Some psychologists call intentional people like me an “assessment-focused maximizer.”</p><p>“Maximizer:” that is somebody who researches and considers every possible option before making a decision. The general mindset of this type of person is something like, ‘I don’t want to do anything until I’ve figured out the right thing to do.’</p><p>My tedious, informed decision-making drives my husband crazy, but I personally believe it’s my super power.</p><p>It’s not like I haven’t made any chicken-owner decisions — my research for docile and good-egg layers pointed me to Barred Plymouth Rock and Rhode Island Reds. Although on second thought, I do think Golden Campines are quite striking birds with solid gold plumage on their head, white ears and barred plumage on their body, with an upright tail. They are said to date back to the time of Julius Caesar. But I digress.</p><p>My niece, Raegan, started raising chickens last year. Her pets, all Barred Plymouth Rock and Rhode Island Reds, are now gifting her with 10 fresh eggs a day. She started out with six baby chicks, but after one adventurous juvenile hen stuck his head out of the chicken fence run to forage a lone piece of corn, a hawk flew down and took off its head. Another juvenile was kidnapped by a hawk when Raegan was innocently letting the chickens free range. Devastated by the loss, Raegan has six more chicks to replace the two, which now equal 10.</p><p>In case you were wondering, Raegan’s brood is Dixie, Daphne, Penny, Becca, Lucy, Dollie Jr., Rhonda, Betsy, Rosy and Daisy. It has been rumored that Becca was named after a television bachelorette because “as a young chick little Becca always liked to look in the mirror.”</p><p>Lately I’ve been checking out various chicken coop designs. Of course, after that decision, I need to find the perfect spot in the yard. And of course, I hadn’t even thought about what I’d name my brood. I’m nearly positive I’ll have chickens by 2025.</p>