Watching Chickens

Since I'm new to this whole chicken ownership thing.... I've found myself going out to the chicken house and just watching them. My original intent of getting the chickens was eggs. Free, organic, yellow yoke eggs. An added bonus that I had not originally anticipated, was the odd delight and sense of peace in just observing them and seeing nature just...be....nature. The way it was designed to be.

So here are my odd thoughts on how chicken nature has similarities to human nature:

1. Chickens like to be pretty. Especially the one male I watched. They preen themselves over and over. They are trying to stay clean. They aren't going on any dates or have to primp up before their spouse comes home. They just know instinctively that their outer shell needs to be kept up. Isn't it in us too? Why do we look in the mirror all the time? Making sure there's no food stuck in our teeth or that our hair hasn't windblown into an up do. Kept up, but not vain is the chicken way and should be ours too.

2. Chickens follow a leader. We have a few sticks in the coop for them to fly up to and sit on. As soon as one gracefully (ha ha on that one) flies up to the branches, the others start to follow. Regardless, if I have just thrown food in for them and they begin to eat, as soon as one goes they all stop what they are doing and follow along suit. Do I at times follow someone else's lead? Do I want to be part of a particular group and am willing to make sacrifices or even bad choices to be part of the "in" crowd? No one wants to be left behind..... Do I have the courage to be the lone one on any given issue, or do I give up thinking for myself and follow the leader?3. Huddling for warmth.... It's been 40-50 degrees here at night. We do have a light for the chickens to keep them from freezing (aren't we so kind). They know that physically apart they would be chicken Popsicles. Staying close to each other in trying circumstances gives us support. Do I turn to loved ones when I get dealt a hard blow, for a shoulder to lean on? Am I a friend that others can turn to, to keep their insides warm when the going gets tough? Isolated and alone we are vulnerable and cold. Together we are a support system that keeps us insulated from the at times hard world.

4. And lastly the indisputable, no way to deny it, final proof.... aren't we instinctively a little too good at the chicken dance for it not to be a coincidence?