Notes from Chicken-ville

We lost 3 Chickens this week. That means we now have 35 Chickens (1 Rooster, 34 Hennies). And that number is soon to change.

We lost Luna, the Barred Rock. She was 2 years old and a beautiful Hennie. We have no idea what took her. I guess it was just her time to go.

As a Family, we made the decision for the Rooster from Lacey's 2009 clutch to go into the Freezer. He was very aggressive around the Hennies. He did not display the usual behaviors: feeding Hennies, courting. He also was a little short on protection, which is a critical Rooster behavior. It seems that preferences for breeding have created Roosters which tend toward over-aggressiveness. That is not balance in our World, nor is it the kind of Farm that we seek.

And this morning, we lost Tawney. She had a "sour crop". Melanie had read as much as she could regarding treatment. But the treatment led to her death. Or rather, perhaps it was just her time to go too.

At the other end of the Life Cycle, the 50 White Rock Chicks should arrive either Sunday or Monday morning. That's tomorrow or the day after. Melanie and Richard have been working on their Digs.

Plus, we heard from the Farmer in the Mexico (Missouri) area who is the source of the 24 Chicks we have ordered. Those Chicks will be "straight run" which means they will not be separated into males and females. Those 24 will be evenly divided between Delawares and Barred Rocks. A Barred Rock was the 1st to hatch today. We will pick them up either Monday or Tuesday.

Life on the Farm seems very close to the Life Cycle. Birth, Growing, Death are ever present. I can understand why some Folks would choose not to bear witness to such things. Yet, that is Life. And Life is indeed Beautiful in all of its forms.