The Community Effect

 When I decided with my husband to become backyard chicken raisers, it was a decision that we mostly made for our own personal benefits and for the distant benefit of metaphorically liberating from bondage all those factory chickens that were providing us with eggs.  I did't think my decision to raise chicken would have an effect on my immediate community, at best, I was hoping not to be a nuisance.  So far we haven't gotten any eggs, our chickens are still purely in the realm of pets, not yet supplying us with nutrition, so I'm still waiting for that benefit in my life.  Instead it is the effect the chickens have on the community that has been the most profound experience so far.  We don't have a backyard, instead we have a nice garden in front of our house on a fairly busy intersection across the street from a high school.  The chickens have their protective ranging area right along the fence, and people walking by have a close up encounter with the chickens if they choose.  All day long I witness people stopping to interact with the chickens.  If they see me in the garden they'll let me know "I love your chickens."  People tell me about how there dogs are connecting with the chickens, that they refuse to walk past on the other side of the street, they want to visit the chickens!  Many young families walk past me house, strollers and toddlers and elementary school kids whose loving parents walk or ride on bikes past my house to and from school.  The kids get really excited, they love to see the chickens.  It's exciting to connect people, especially children, to this beautiful animal.  Many of us utilize chickens for our sustenance without considering the chicken as a living creature with a dharma and a personality, I know I have.  Every day my chickens bring me more joy and I am grateful for this unexpected effect they are having on my neighborhood....now if they would just start laying me some eggs!