A Whole Friday Mooo-d

You are worthy of love exactly as you are. — Sweet Benni, who loves all of y’all.

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Here’s What’s Happening At Good Spirits Farm

Yesterday, I walked out to the chicken house and noticed one of the young roosters harassing a hen. I shooed him away and made a mental note to deal with an abundance of roosters from this fall’s batch of chicks. (I now have four, and they’ll soon begin fighting each other and beating up on the hens.) Then I went about the work of refilling feeders and collecting eggs. When I looked up, though, the same little brown hen was being attacked again. This time, it was my other hens leading the charge. I ran over and scooped her up, chasing off the mean girls.

I’m not sure why this little gal was being picked on. She’s not bloody — chickens are attracted to red and will peck at each other if there’s an open cut. She does seem a little weak and like she is maybe going through her molt. For now, she’s isolated in a dog crate with food and water spiked with vitamins. I’ll probably bring her some scrambled eggs in a bit—a favorite, protein-packed treat.

When you see your hens ganging up on the weakest member of the flock, it’s so tempting to say “look at those heartless little dinosaurs!” But really, the situation reminded me more of how humans often dogpile on each other. I flashed back to the horrors of middle school and watching (and regrettably, not butting in) the merciless bullying of the unpopular kids. “The world is cruel enough; you don’t have to add to it,” I told the instigators after the little brown hen was safely locked away. Here’s hoping she makes a full recovery and the rest of the flock accepts her back into their midst.

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Here’s What I Loved This Week

Two things. First: This flag from The Bitter Southerner, which I can’t wait to fly at the farm. (After some security cameras go up. This is rural Tennessee, after all.)

This piece about a fat-shaming girlfriend, which has made me think deeply about how we should love each other and how we all deserve to be loved.