I am doing that Happy Dance - the Snoopy kind - this morning all my hens laid an egg!
Some might not think that a great task but my two old white hens who have not laid an egg since last year have each gifted me with a precious egg. It all started on July 2nd when I went into the coop as I do every morning and to my surprise one of the white hens had been sitting in a nesting box. She had stopped doing that when she stopped laying. She proudly hopped out of the nest to show me that there was a perfect white egg - still warm. She walked around with such pride I could not help but praise her all day long. I even gave her a handful of blueberries as a reward.
Many folks have given their opinion to me that I should put my two hens in a stew pot if they are not laying... I kept thinking how horrible! In the twenty years that I have kept chickens I have never ate a single one. Just because they can not lay an egg does not mean they don't have value. To me, just their cheerful presence more then pays for the little food they eat. I understand that other's do eat their none producing hens and if that is their farm plan then that is none of my concern. We all do things differently.
But, here is my thinking - what if we decided to lop of the heads of those humans who can no longer work - no longer produce the way they once did - I mean they are just taking up space, eating our food and having to be cared for...
I am not saying that we are chickens but how do we value living things? Do we value a living thing just for what they can give us or should we start using the label "Human Doing" instead of "Human Being"? I understand this might be a bit of a stretch for some but have you ever been at a party and the first question you are asked is "What do you do for a living"? Is that not basically say - "What is your Worth or Value to Society"?
So back to my sweet white hens. Today I think the other white hen decided to get a handfull of blueberries too.. She worked so hard at it - almost made me sad to hear her struggle to lay that sweet perfect egg. I am over the moon that my two sweet old hens have gifted me such a prize. I love them no matter what - I thank them so much for sharing their talent with me again...
What is your Value???
4 comments:
What a wonderful post!!! I feel the same way. My father raised beef cows and I got so attached as a kid. Then - well you know what happens. I never ate meat again. I often wonder how people raise, name, care for, learn the personalities of the animals, and then eat them. It is nice to see someone else wouldn't eat their chickens. Give them some blueberries for me.
Grace, I love your post! People and animals have great value even if they can't work anymore! We as a society seem to get stuck in a mindset of "What can you do for me?" and we seem to value people based on that and it's very shallow and sad! Some of the most wonderful times I have had with Gary have been when he was hurt and I had to completely take care of him !
I have to say that when we get chickens, I don't care if they ever lay an egg, I am not going to throw them in the pot! If that is the answer with chickens that don't lay then what is the point of having a dog or cat? What do they do? It's not like we need the stick to be fetched!
I never thought I could love a chicken until I raised some. I totally understand your point of view. I loved my rooster and the girls. They are such sweet animals.
I think you are right, chickens can be such a metaphor for many aspects of our society that people just don't value. Most people get so wrapped up in money and the cheap junk they can buy at WalMart, for example, with that money they loose sight of what's really important.
I am so glad to hear that I am not alone. I think sometimes that living here in the quite of my Funny Farm I might be losing touch with society but then I think - most of that society I do not wish to be in touch with....
Thank you so much for sharing - thank you for being a part of society that I love being in touch with. My little hens also thank you for finding a value in their sweet lives.
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