Lessons from Nature: Singing After Tragedy 🎶
@Kim Brough this is the chicken story I told you about—it reminds me of you (and so many others on here) and how y’all keep doing the next healthy thing in the face of difficulty 😊👇 I had a lot to learn as a first time chicken mama. We built our chicks a spacious coop, thinking that would help keep them safe from predators (we now free range). And we enjoyed watching them transform from little fuzzy babies into beautiful, mature chickens—each with their own unique personalities and plumage. We could just hold out our arms and they would fly up on us. They were like new little friends. We loved those chickens. Then one day, I was teaching my son taekwondo to help him keep up with his class. It was time for the bo staff, so we stepped outside. When we did, we discovered some dogs had dug inside the coop and were attacking our chickens! I have a fear of dogs, especially multiple, large dogs that I do not know. But I ran over to that coop and hopped in, bo staff in hand. I didn’t hit them, because they were just being dogs. But I did scream. A lot. And as I put myself between the dogs and my chickens, I briefly surveyed the damage. I saw feathers everywhere. Two chickens laying lifeless on the ground (I later learned some chickens faint). And others were clearly hurt (I also learned chickens can live through most anything). So there I was, stuck in the coop, with stray dogs—armed with my son’s bo staff, of all things—fending them off. And the worst part was the dogs couldn’t find their way back out. Getting the dogs out the door wasn’t an option, because we built it as a half door, where you step over it to enter. And they couldn’t find the hole they dug. My boys, who were not able to comprehend what was happening, wanted to join me in the funny dance amongst the feathers, dogs, and chickens. Thankfully, I was able to get my oldest to go get my phone. I called a neighbor for help and he came and lifted the dogs out of the coop, as he had no success getting them back through the hole they dug. I found all my chickens. Checked them over. They were injured, but alive. Every single one of them.