One of our chickens went downhill fast over the weekend and died Sunday morning. As is our practice, we took her out to the big oak tree in our pasture under which Freckles the horse was the first to be buried - and now rests alongside several other animals. Farming teaches so much about life and death, and I have noticed the kids do not react to it the way I always assumed kids do. My friends often ask, “How did the kids handle it?” And the answer is, “Fine, honestly.”
With this chicken, we had prayed for her Saturday night and asked God for His will to be done, petitioning that she either be healed or taken swiftly so she would not suffer. And when she died in Lily’s arms the next morning, Lily said, “well, God answered our prayers.”
Someone told me once that there are two kinds of animals on a farm, living ones and dead ones. There is no escaping the reality of death on a farm and while I spent much of my early life completely petrified of sickness and death, both TV reporting and now farming continue to remind me of Jesus’ teaching: “Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Hei Hei the rooster tries to flex his dominance on me so I needed some new moves. I consulted with my kids’ gym coach and tried out what I learned. I think it worked?!
As a 44-yr old mom of little kids and rooster wrangler, I never miss a day of taking the fermented cod liver/butter oil from Green Pasture which keeps my bones and teeth strong thanks to vitamins A, D & K as well as omega 3s! Not all fish oil is created equal and this stuff helped me end my longtime battle with chronic cavities 15 years ago. Use “ALISON” as your promo code at check out for 10% off. https://greenpasture.org/
UPDATE: I was wrong about this! Apparently the white stuff is chalaza which is a protein that holds the yolk in the center of the egg. I will have to tell my neighbor.
ORIGINAL POST: I am sure most of you already knew this, but I was truly shocked to learn that it is very common to eat rooster sperm. Yes, many eggs are fertilized and the way you can tell is by looking next to the yolk. Do you see a white substance that looks almost like a little tail? That is rooster sperm. Extra protein!
I keep my egg-eating chompers healthy by stocking up on the fermented cod liver/concentrated butter oil from Green Pasture. I used to get chronic cavities and this stuff turned all my dental visits to “cavity free” even before I changed my diet to fresh eggs from my own farm. Use promo code “ALISON” at check out for 10% off. https://greenpasture.org/
It’s more like Carla walks us, but she is getting the hang of it! It’s great to live in a neighborhood where you can walk your chicken down the road on a leash and no one says a thing.
Training a chicken to walk on leash requires patience and energy, which comes from solid nutrition and a regular practice of stillness. I have been taking the fermented cod liver/concentrated butter oil from Green Pasture for 15 years. It’s packed with anti-inflammatory brain-fueling omega 3s as well as vitamins A, D & K. Ditch the cheap fish oil and try it out. If you use promo code “ALISON” at check out, you get 10% off. https://greenpasture.org/