Animal Writings

I gazed at some chickens today. A flock of about 15. I could see they were a bit wary of me, so I kept a respectful distance, about 20 feet. They were a rainbow of colors. White, cream, golden, auburn, jet black. Gorgeous and stately.

The chickens live at a nearby garden nursery. These are truly free-range chickens. The nursery doesn't raise them for food or for eggs. They keep them for company. The chickens wander about the nursery and roost in the trees.

The owners of the nursery have a couple of German Shepherds (rescues), who get along fine with the chickens, and keep predators at bay during the day. One time someone dropped off three homeless kittens at the nursery. The nursery saw that the kittens went to good homes. The German shephards guarded the kittens in their makeshift quarters in the meantime, and touched noses with the kittens. These dogs are gems.

At night, the nursery staff puts the chickens who cannot fly to high tree branches safely into their small barn. They let them out first thing in the morning.

After a while, the chickens had a hankering to see what was on the other side of the bushes. So off they went, a couple of stragglers bringing up the rear. It was warm and sunny. They were enjoying the day, hanging out with their friends. Isn't that what it's about?