Okay, first for the chickens. They stayed in their coop until 4:30 yesterday afternoon, when George went in and got Lily to come out of it and into the run to eat. The others stayed far enough inside to be unreachable, but I suggested we just leave them be and see what happens. Sure enough, seconds later the other three came out and started eating with gusto.
Moral of the story? Chickens really are the dumb animals they're said to be. As one commenter said on yesterday's post, they will do harm to themselves if we don't take good care of them.
Our new neighbors are moving in, right next door to the side of the house that the chickens are on. The house has been a student rental for three years but now the landlord and his fiancee are fixing the place (back) up and moving in for a couple of years to save money and have more time to work on his other student rental properties in St. Cloud. Yay! We are delighted with that, but I was quite worried about their reaction to the chickens. Well, right away the fiancee got really excited about them and put my fears to rest. I told her we'd bribe her with eggs! She's looking forward to seeing if homegrown eggs really do taste better than grocery store ones. So am I--fully knowing they will since we've been buying them from others for years.
Okay, so you ask, what is this about being pro-life, Lisa? I thought you were a liberal! Well, I'm going to keep my opinions on THE pro-life/pro-choice issue to myself, but I want to make a statement about why I'm a treehugger, why it's the top issue I'll be voting on, and why I think it's the most pro-life position of all.
Plain and simple, if we don't have an earth that's habitable, we don't have LIFE at all.
Unlike some people, I don't think it's God's plan to let us destroy the earth and bring about some kind of "Rapture" for the Christians. I also don't think our resources are unlimited because God will keep making more for us. I've read the bible a lot (even in its original languages, Hebrew and Greek), and what I get from those Christian Scriptures is that God gave us the responsibility to take care of God's Creation. Surely every species that goes extinct brings another tear from the Creator, just as when a sparrow falls. Every poison we put into our lands and our bodies and the bodies of the animals is an assault against the way God intended, or so I think.
How can a person be "pro-life" and consider that their main issue to vote on, and not care about the earth which must sustain all life?
The Democrats are certainly not our best hope for the earth, but in American politics they seem to be our only hope. McCain/Palin will be another four years of environmental disaster and embarrassment around the world. I'll be voting for Obama/Biden in part because at least I have some hope that they will reverse the policies of the Bush years and lead us in doing our part for the environment.
Moral of the story? Chickens really are the dumb animals they're said to be. As one commenter said on yesterday's post, they will do harm to themselves if we don't take good care of them.
Our new neighbors are moving in, right next door to the side of the house that the chickens are on. The house has been a student rental for three years but now the landlord and his fiancee are fixing the place (back) up and moving in for a couple of years to save money and have more time to work on his other student rental properties in St. Cloud. Yay! We are delighted with that, but I was quite worried about their reaction to the chickens. Well, right away the fiancee got really excited about them and put my fears to rest. I told her we'd bribe her with eggs! She's looking forward to seeing if homegrown eggs really do taste better than grocery store ones. So am I--fully knowing they will since we've been buying them from others for years.
Okay, so you ask, what is this about being pro-life, Lisa? I thought you were a liberal! Well, I'm going to keep my opinions on THE pro-life/pro-choice issue to myself, but I want to make a statement about why I'm a treehugger, why it's the top issue I'll be voting on, and why I think it's the most pro-life position of all.
Plain and simple, if we don't have an earth that's habitable, we don't have LIFE at all.
Unlike some people, I don't think it's God's plan to let us destroy the earth and bring about some kind of "Rapture" for the Christians. I also don't think our resources are unlimited because God will keep making more for us. I've read the bible a lot (even in its original languages, Hebrew and Greek), and what I get from those Christian Scriptures is that God gave us the responsibility to take care of God's Creation. Surely every species that goes extinct brings another tear from the Creator, just as when a sparrow falls. Every poison we put into our lands and our bodies and the bodies of the animals is an assault against the way God intended, or so I think.
How can a person be "pro-life" and consider that their main issue to vote on, and not care about the earth which must sustain all life?
The Democrats are certainly not our best hope for the earth, but in American politics they seem to be our only hope. McCain/Palin will be another four years of environmental disaster and embarrassment around the world. I'll be voting for Obama/Biden in part because at least I have some hope that they will reverse the policies of the Bush years and lead us in doing our part for the environment.
Comments
Hear, hear!
Namaste,
Devin
Also, regarding your fear of handling chickens...they're really not scary at all. They generally don't want to be picked up, but once you do, they tend to become quite calm. Approach them slowly, from behind, if at all possible. You may have to grab quickly, though, if they see you coming. Place a hand on either side of the chicken's back, so that you are in effect holding the wings flat against the body. Pick her up and tuck her under your arm, like a grandma carrying a purse. ;-) She'll just hang out quietly there until you put her down. No worries. I suggest practicing this at night, just after they've gone to bed, or when they're in a nest box. In either case, they'll put up almost no resistance.