Bird Blessings

Jimmy Two Shoes

"Jimmy is hen-pecked!"  our hostess told us, pointing to a big, healthy looking rooster in a small pen separated from the other chickens.  "See his feet?  That's where the girls have been pecking at him."  Indeed, a closer look revealed his bloody, mangled feet as he scratched at the dirt.  I've heard the expression "hen-pecked"  all my life, but had never related it to an actual habit of chickens.  Hmmm.... I could sense the Holy Spirit speaking as I considered those chickens.

An impromptu visit to a local farm for free-range eggs led to an unexpected lesson today.  Jem and I were invited to go out back for a lesson in raising chickens.  Our host and hostess graciously showed us around their large chicken coop and shared a wealth of information.

Nora and her husband have only been raising chickens for three years, and have learned many things through trial and error.  For instance, some breeds are friendlier than others.  The Polish variety, of which they had several, love to be held and petted, but their eggs are quite small. The big Rhode Island Red hens lay large eggs, but are not friendly at all.

I found it fascinating to learn a hen lays more eggs in the summer than winter, and this is related to the more direct sunlight.  Most of the hens lay one egg every 24 hours or so.  Oh, and if you're not a farm girl like me, you may not know that the hens don't need a rooster to lay eggs.  They do, of course, need him if we want to have baby chicks!  Don't laugh!  Growing up in the city, there was a time I didn't realize this. 

It was Jimmy Two Shoes, the big rooster that taught me the unexpected lesson about being hen-pecked.  Our hosts explained that the rooster had to be separated from the "girls" because if left to their instincts, they would peck that poor rooster to death.

You know, I think that can happen with wives, too. Over my years of studying the Scriptures, I've learned how important it is to allow my husband to be the "man" and allow him to lead.  Also, we wives have a tendency to bring up certain issues again, and again, and again.  Hence, the hen-pecking attribute.  If  we wives persist in these behaviors, our husbands will just naturally separate themselves,  if not physically, then most certainly emotionally.

Yeshua said, "consider the birds..."  Once again, by doing just that today, I received another "bird blessing":  a lesson on living from my feathered friends.

The girls & Nora

Farm-fresh organic eggs

I'm linking up with Spiritual Sundays this week.