every day is a good day
Chickens are born show-offs. And they have a lot to show. The colors and patterns they wear are often more intricate and elaborate than anything the haute couture houses of Paris, Adeline André, Chanel, Givency, or Versace ever imagine. The chickens know this and strut their beauty at every chance.
The news is full of articles about raising the minimum wage. There’s no question that workers need a reasonable minimum wage in order to buy the things they need to live. Animals are no different. Now chickens have no use for money. They are not going to take a bill full of dollars and walk to the store to purchase things. However, they still deserve something of value in exchange for the eggs they provide. And what is amazing, is that the more you pay them in the way of space, pasture, and brush, the more they reward you with higher quality eggs.
The next time you purchase eggs or chicken meat, ask your grocer what sort of wages the chickens which laid those eggs receive? How much space does each hen have? How many acres of grassland do they have? Do they have roosters they can flirt with?
In the pictures below, I’ve listed a number of things I consider should be part of any chicken’s compensation package.
It’s easy to tell chickens apart when they are as different as Ina and Maple. But how does one tell chickens apart when they look very similar?
Chickens of the same breed have slight variations in their color, shape, size, and personality. One thing that is unique to each chicken is the size and shape of their comb. When you look directly at their face, which is how chickens recognize each other, each chicken looks very different. There are flat combs, straight combs, wavy combs, spiky combs, wide combs, narrow combs, and on and on.
The relationships mother hens have with their chicks can be rich. Watch hens interact with their chicks, and it’s clear that chicks need their mothers.
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Yuki-hime 雪姫 has taken to the new nests we built in the woodshed.
The chickens make good use of the paths we cleared in the snow. The snow stopped last night. This afternoon it is raining, and the forecast is for much warmer weather tomorrow. In a few days the chickens will have their grass and pasture back.
The chickens don’t care if the power is on or not. But we do. After 11 hours with no power and running off our generator, the power is back on.