by Connor Laughland

Created on: February 25, 2009

When most hear the word chickens they imagine KFC or the great taste of putting that savory piece into your mouth, but rarely do they think of it as a hobby and a relationship between animal and human. Personally whenever I tell my friends that I raise chickens they give me funny looks and start laughing. For one thing, raising poultry is like any other entertaining activity. It comes as naturally to us as swimming comes to someone who enjoys it like Michael Phelps. All chicken lovers are the Michael Phelps of their craft if they put their heart and soul into it. Secondly, all who entertain in the craft feel a deep connection with each other. The other day I was checking my Facebook group that I started for poultry lovers and I started up a lovely conversation with a women from New Jersey, and even a teenager from Africa. There are no limits to the knowledge that we can share with one another.

My story of venturing into the endeavor of chickens was all the doing of my dogs thirst for animal blood. As morbid as it sounds I wouldn't be here in this stage of chickenry if it weren't for the ten chickens that she killed and dragged back to our front stoop. After I had to go over to our neighbors house and plead the forgiveness of my dog, I offered to pay for the nest season of chickens. After I did that I helped look after them a couple times and was stuck.

Being a teenager and raising chickens is not the normal thing you expect to hear. But I'm a well balanced student. I earn straight A's, run track, and take part in the musical. But no matter how much I cram my hectic life with, the brood I come home to always give me a nice blast of what our ancestors felt when all they had was their agriculture. The pure pleasure of reaching into the hen box and feeling the soft, warm egg that you helped create by nurturing them can't replace any other feeling.

Now recently I am incubating to hopefully receive some free chickies and a coop will soon set in my side yard. All that I want to do is stuff it full of as many chickens as possible and be a father. It sounds corny but having the parental role in a chicken household is great because they won't talk back. If I went without them i don't know what I'd do. Raising poultry is a way of life which you grow into but it's harder to pull yourself out. For the most part they are quiet and Saturday mornings wouldn't be the same without the sunny side up egg.

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