Winning the Lottery

We got a new flock of chickens today. They’re pullets and will eventually grow to be laying hens.

We got them at Rural King in Fort Wayne. Rural King had a wide selection of breeds to choose pullets from: Buff Orpingtons, Australorps, Jersey Giants, Light Brahmas, Auracaunas, Lace Wyandottes, Rhode Island Reds, and Barred Rocks. By the time we picked them out I was totally confused as to which ones we ended up with. I can say with confidence that we have 15 new pullets of some but not all of the breeds listed above.

At Rural King they have the chickens in oblong watering troughs. That is an eminently practical thing to hold baby chickens, because if there are corners the chickens will pile up in them. We pointed out to the helper at Rural King what kind of chickens we wanted and she would scoop them out the trough and put them in a box for us. The little chickens dashed everywhere in the trough, trying to avoid being caught.

I thought, “Don’t try to get away, little chickens. You don’t know it, but if you’re caught, you’ve won the lottery.”

They’ll get a full life here, good feed, clean water, fresh air, room to run, dirt to peck.

Kind of like being born in America to parents who love you. You’ve won the lottery by no action of your own, just by the hand that scooped you up and dropped you into this spot.