I wanted fresh eggs every morning. Obviously, the only way to have this is to have a chicken. But where to get a chicken?
One of my favorite clients knew where to get chickens. He hatched eggs and seemed to know everything you could imagine about chickens, ducks, geese, and many other birds. I shared my problem with him and, since he was going to an auction where chickens were sold, he offered to buy a chicken for me.
When he brought me my chicken, he brought what he called 6 chickens and one rooster. He said a rooster among the chickens helps the egg laying process. What did I know? As an unexpected surprise, he thought I would like a little Bantam hen and rooster. They were tiny and cute. I took them and instantly fell in love. I named her Henny Penny after children’s stories I read, and him Cock A Doodle-for obvious reasons.
Having cats that were bigger than the Bantams presented a problem. The cats treated the Bantams like toys. When attacked by the cats, they ran and flew to me. Sometimes they flew on the backs of the horses. Surprisingly, the horses did not mind them on their backs. I scooped them up and held them safely from the cats. It was obvious these two little ones were someone’s pets and hand raised.
One day we could not find Cock A Doodle. We thought the worst happened. I left for work sad to say good – bye to him. Later that evening, my friend called to tell me he was working in the vegetable garden and suddenly he heard a cock a doodle doo and turned to see that little rooster strutting his way. He was fine and had been hiding from the cats.
There’s amazing math involved in chicken procreation. These two little birds had many little Henny’s and little Doodle’s. Eventually I had 30 chickens and roosters.
Also, the six chickens and one rooster I was supposed to have received turned out to be six roosters and one chicken. She did lay wonderful and delicious eggs, but the boys did not stay, they fight. So much for someone knowing the difference between chickens and roosters at that young age. It can be challenging.
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