Henlo, Friends! It’s been a while. I’ve been in Canada for several weeks, saying goodbye to my dear mother-in-law. You may have seen my video about it on YouTube:
Needless to say, it’s been a rough few weeks for The Chickenlandia Family. But made it through and we continue to move forward while dealing with the huge loss. One comfort in all of this is that my mother-in-law suffered with illness for a long time, so when the time came, she was ready and left on her terms. This was how she would have wanted it.
Ardith Trapman, 1938 – 2019
Last night, we arrived back in Chickenlandia. How wonderful it’s been to be among my flock again! In this reunion, I’m reminded of how fortunate I am in life, and how no matter what the loss, there will always be new beginnings all around me.
In Chickenlandia, there have always been chickens of many different varieties. I’ve had floofy ones, smooth ones, big ones, tiny ones, frizzled ones, silkie ones, fancy ones, scruffy ones, and everything in-between. I like to think of Chickenlandia as a reflection of what I someday hope the world can be, a place where everyone exists together in one big happy flock.
My flock enjoying each other’s company.
Alas, the world isn’t always what we want it to be. It seems now more than ever, conflict is at an all time high. Some of us seem to revel in the antagonism of our species, others fight against it, some totally ignore it, and some hide away. As I watch the behavior of my flock, I can’t help but see a bit of a reflection there. Especially when I’m integrating new chickens, like my three recent rescues, Double Chicken, Kiki, and Beast.
My three rescue seramas from the Whatcom Humane Society.
It took longer than I expected to integrate these three. Two of them are on the young side, and they are all smaller than my previously smallest chicken, Little Stinker. I honestly didn’t realize how small they were until I observed them next to my other bantams. And of course, they are REALLY small compared to my standard hens.
Big and Little!
Their integration was slow and required a lot of patience, but it wasn’t impossible. For about two weeks, they were able to see the flock and the flock was able to see them, but they could not get to each other. This prevented the most difficult of chicken nature from happening, which would include them hurting each other. After I put them all together, I still had to keep a very close eye on how they were doing as to prevent tragedy. Slowly but surely, my hard work paid off!
So, what did I learn about humanity from integrating chickens? I learned that if I want the world to get along, I have to do my part to encourage love. I learned that even though something might be part of our nature, we can still work to improve it. And I learned that as a human, it’s my job to look after the smallest and most vulnerable among us. I hope I continue to realize all the amazing things this flock has to show me. And I hope you do, too!
Have you always wanted to learn how to integrate bantams into a mixed flock? Maybe you’ve been afraid that they would get hurt but want to try? Every flock is different, but in my new YouTube video I explain how I make it possible for my flock to live together in peace and harmony. It goes right along with the spirit of Christmas, doesn’t it? Just click the play button below and enjoy. <3
What does your flock look like? Do you have different sized chickens living together? Let me know in the comments!
