Chickens as Teachers

I do not imagine most folks would consider a chicken to be a spirit animal. I know they are not in my medicine card deck. They are certainly not fierce and powerful, like the wolf, bear, or lion, fun loving like the otter, or swift like the deer. We honor the stealth of the fox, the mystery of the owl, the work ethic of the beaver. Much has been written about our connection to other mammalian domesticated animals. Riders experience the freedom given by the beautiful horse. There is the fine example of loyalty, so true of the dog, the independence of the cat. But what about chickens? People that keep them adore them. Having done so myself for the last ten years, I feel I have lived with them enough to see their unique qualities, from which humans can learn. Native Americans observed the animals with whom they came in contact, and revered them as teachers. In an older blog piece I wrote about wild birds and my observation, love, and admiration for the winged ones. But my hens and roosters, though feathered, have a different energy altogether.

In our language chickens are much maligned birds. It is an insult to be called “chicken”, after all, or to have “chicken legs”. Yet, I wish I had the natural abilities of my flock. Their sensory awareness puts ours to shame. They are a prey animal, so they are tuned to shifts in any sounds, sights, or movement. The rooster alerts the hens, if a shadow passes overhead and all head for the bush. They watch out for one another, and form bonded relationships within the flock. There are extroverted hens and introverted ones, social gals and outliers, but they all find their way back into the henhouse to roost together at chicken dark. They like to go on small group adventures and have their special hangouts, sometimes to soak up the sun with their solar panel wings, and sometimes to stay out of the weather or heat. The other day I saw little Delores jump on the BIG teenage rooster, George, when he waylaid her best friend (my other older hen), and chased him off. I had NEVER seen a hen teach a roo such a lesson. It felt like she was saying “Respect your elders, surprise attack breeding doesn’t fly here.”

Arrival of new pullets at the chicken house

Chickens are easy, require little space or work to thrive, especially if they can free range and forage. Yet they give a gift, regularly…the perfect protein of an egg. And a farm egg, well, there is nothing like it in any store. They eat garden pests and appreciate kitchen scraps. They spread the manure in your pasture fields, naturally. I find their feather patterns beautiful, and just enjoy watching them move around the farm throughout the day. Perhaps because I invest time developing a relationship with them, they often follow me around. Gardening might give them rewards of a grub or worm, but many mornings, they just come sit with me and preen while I have my porch swing coffee, or evenings, my back deck beer or glass of wine. They will lay quietly at my feet, or perch on the back of a bench. The current tame Orpington rooster, Buddy Roe, might even come sit in my lap, looking for a treat. My small egg business is called “Peace Love Chickens”, and I have the same primitive sign I painted over the hen house door years ago. It may not be very original, but says in a few words all that I feel about being a chicken keeper.

Over the years I have had several favorites in the flock. Adelaide was one such bird. She taught me about love and trust. A special needs pullet, having come to me missing a few toes and sadly, a malformed beak, so it was hard for her to eat. We trimmed it regularly, and gave her special attention. As she grew up, she found ways to compensate for her physical challenges. Very comfortable with the family pets, Adelaide could be found hanging out somewhere with the dogs or cats, but always ran to us when we came around the corner. I remember being amazed and surprised by her first egg, a beautiful olive green. She was my first ever green egg layer. Adelaide liked water, and sometimes stepped into the puppy pool to cool off, and was such a sweet kind spirit wherever she went. Now there is Spot, one of the four Buckeye hens, always underfoot, and very talkative. The breed is so smart, and brave, yes brave, and will take on a wood rat or a snake, and devour it. They are omnivores, after all and you can see the reptile in them, from their scaly legs to their “giving nothing away” eye. If chickens were five feet tall, they would be high up on the predator list.

But I digress. My enthusiasm for chickens in general, and my affection for those that have been here on Red Horse Flats over the last decade is not the real purpose of this writing. I am not a chicken whisperer. I am a chicken observer, and witness to their “ways”. Remember all those graphics on tee shirts, cards, and totes, with “Advice from…” just about everything . I loved them. Someone understood, what a butterfly, a river, a tree, an eagle can teach us. Maybe there is one for chicken folks, too, though I have not seen it. So I am here to share in a few words what might be of universal value from my own noticings. So here goes:

What Chickens Teach Us

Start the day early, no matter the weather.

Come together with your flock/family every evening, regardless of what may have happened during the day.

Be in tune with all your senses.

Pay attention to the small things all around you, as there are treasures to be found, sometimes in unlikely places.

Take care of the young. A loving Mother sustains the world.

Beauty comes in all colors, sizes, and types. At the end of the day we are all the same.

We all have a gift to offer that comes from us, and is unique to us.

Let others know when you have created something special.

Inform those around you where the good stuff can be found.

Notice changes around and adapt as needed.

There is a time for confrontation, and making noise, and there is a time to be quiet and still.

Maybe chickens are not everyone’s cup of tea. A floggy rooster IS problematic. But my Queendom is all that more peaceable because of the feathered friends with whom I share it. There is great reciprocity with farm animals, no more so than with chickens. I take care of them, and they feed me. Providing me laughter and meaningful interspecies interaction with their funny individual personalities is just one more thing to appreciate. My belief is chickens are teachers, no less than any other animal. They are due respect and kindness. I would proudly wear a tee shirt that says “Chickens Are My Spirit Animal.”