CHICKEN NEWS #4

It was January 15th when the first duck egg appeared. Lying on the fresh alfalfa in the Duck House early that morning it seemed almost magical. . . What has happened,

I thought, reaching down for the still warm egg.

Did one of the chickens get into the duck house and lay an egg there by mistake?

The next morning there were two eggs in the Duck House, and I realized this was no ordinary chicken egg! For one thing it didn’t fit into the egg carton like the chicken eggs, and for another, it was a different color than I had ever found in the Chicken Houses.

Now I hesitate to reveal what became of those two magical eggs (lest I make the vegetarians ill) but later, when my good friend, the maintenance man, stopped by to chop us some kindling and build me a fire, I basted those two duck eggs and we ate them for dinner with fried potatoes.

In the morning the ducks seemed quite proud for having contributed to life at the Butterfly Tree, squawking loudly as I brought them their organic pellets and vegetable leftovers from the kitchen. Their names are Thelma, (Louise having been killed by one of the 11 racoons I transported to the National Park Lands after catching them one by one in a cage baited with dog food), who is a great white Peking duck, and Angelique and Bon Appetite, both French Roen ducks, (mostly brown with a bright blue bordering of feathers on their wings).

As there are no male ducks in the yard, the eggs are not fertilized, but the ducks seem loud and happy as they argue and strut around. No one bothers them except Magic the Second, the bantam rooster, who crows loudly before scrambling out of the small Chicken House every morning, and running wildly about the entire chicken yard leaping over and upon, everything with wings. The hens ignore him, the ducks squawk him out of the way, and the wrens and crows fly away when he begins his morning ritual. It’s his way of letting himself be known, since he’s the most recent addition to the community.

I’m not sure where this long tale is going, but I think it has something to do with appreciation for ducks and chickens.

After all, they eat our garbage, leave fertilizer for the garden, and give us eggs for the cost of alfalfa and organic pellets. A fair exchange to say the least! Perhaps a model of economy of operation which could be adapted by our corporations, civil service beaurocrats, political leaders, and various sorts of religious “saviours”.

I shall close with a chicken joke sent by Sharon Savage, which she calls the very best chicken joke ever!

>A Chicken and an egg are lying in bed. The chicken is

>> > leaning against the headboard smoking a cigarette,

>> > with a satisfied smile on its face.

>> >

>> > The egg, looking a bit pissed off, grabs the sheet,

>> > rolls over, and says, "Well, I guess we finally

>> > answered THAT question."

>> >

>> >