I have a guilty pleasure. It's like a soap opera. I
call it "The Chicken Yard". After letting the chickens out of their
roost and into the sunlight in the morning I can't tear myself away to finish
the other chores. I just have to watch the daily dramas unfold. There is always
something going on, never a dull
moment. Just take one look at either of our two flocks and you’ll see bosom
buddies, fights, sexual liaisons, outcasts, beauty, fear, bravery, and
contentedness. The roosters' antics are some of the easiest to capture on film.
The chickens here are important for more reasons
than pure entertainment. The farmers here have chosen to raise “Heritage”
breeds of hens. Heritage breeds, as their name suggests, have a historic
significance because they have been used since the days when small family
farms were the norm and every household raised a few pigs, or chickens, or a
cow. These breeds are very hardy, and they usually feed on pasture alone, or
other natural resources like acorns, roots, bugs and berries. And this actually makes them tastier for us! Heritage breeds
are able to express their natural animal instincts by foraging on feed they
find for themselves, rather than being fed corn, by having space to roam, and
by living in animal communities that mimic those in the wild. Basically, they
have the ability to live out a more natural existence, which we think makes
them happier.
Happier than who, you ask? Happier than mainstream
agriculture’s hybrid farm animals. Hybrids have genetic traits selected
specifically for large growth. Their natural instincts have been bred out of
them and they typically live in factory like settings where they are confined
in small spaces and fed a diet consisting only of corn. Unfortunately, the
existence of these breeds puts the Heritage breeds in danger of being lost. So
farmers like us need to preserve Heritage breeds in order to preserve the small
farming way of life.
So, after that
big rant…take a look at some of the beautiful chickens we get to raise around here:
We call the above chicken Napoleon. She's not much of a dictator, but she does love to pose! See the resemblance?
I love
her fuzzy feet!
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