CHICKEN TRACKS; Barnyard Chickens

Okay.  My English Prof said “Write an article about something you Love to do.”   

I said ‘No, not ready.’   
He said “It’s easy, give it a try.”   
I said ‘Don’t think so.’   
He said “You have to.”   
I said ‘Not really, it’s only the first week of class.’   
He said “Write it now.”   
I said ‘No.’ 
He said “Would you like your F now, or later?”   
I thought about that for awhile.  They should fire this guy; he’s obviously unreasonable and has an overgrown, false sense of authority!  But, I am above all – reasonable; just ask my sainted husband.  So, to bring everlasting peace and tranquility to the entire Universe, 
I said:

Have you ever looked into the eyes of a chicken?  I mean up close? There’s history there.  Think about it. Their distant, DISTANT cousins are dinosaurs, folks!  Remember…those overly tall spooky giants who rattled the mountains when they walked (who knows what moved when they ran?!).  

 https://www.quantamagazine.org/20150602-dinosaurs-to-birds/

They ate things.  Lots of things.  We too, might have been on their menu, had we been there.  Anyway, chickens remain.  Here.  Now.  And they are awesome.  And thank the powers that be, we are not on their menu.  Sometimes…they are on ours, but for sure – not my pet lovelies!.

My barnyard flock includes A Golden Laced Wyandotte, Blue Andalusians, Leghorns, Easter Eggers, a Black Sex-link, a gorgeous, huge, did I mention superb-looking…Blue Cochin? And several other mixes totaling 20 birds at present.

My goal?  To let this flock naturally reproduce themselves into lots and lots of beautifully colored chicken lovelies.  I’ve carefully chosen the traits (and colors) I want in these future birds; heavy egg-layers, larger stock for meat birds, colored eggs, flashy feather-patterns/colors and of course - brooders, for natural hatching, a trait that seems to be disappearing from modern hatchery stock.

 http://www.backyardchickens.com/products/andalusian

I will change out each of the several different roosters for each batch of lovelies to add in the different characteristics. Results will be interesting, and I hope to gather feedback from my barnyard-chicken-buying customers to educate myself with the ongoing results. 

I do Love my lovelies; each and every one of them have their own unique character and personality.  I can stand by the fence, head in hand - by the hour, watching my flock.  They are smart, instinctive and rarely sit still. Neatniks by nature they constantly preen their feathers, and will drink more clean water than dirty.

http://www.mypetchicken.com/

Think about bringing some chickens into your life.  A large amount of cities are changing their codes to allow ‘city chickens’; that usually means a few hens and no roosters. Several large websites have intelligent, informative forums to help you out with everything from making your own chicken feed to learning how a chicken lays an egg.

And that overly authoritative, pushy Prof of mine is correct about one thing; it is easy to write about what you Love to do.

Next post on City Chickens.

Chickens rule!       

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