God and Chickens...

I know, I know.  It has been nearly a year since I have blogged.  I'm sorry.  I am going to start up again and hopefully slowly catch everyone up.  But for now, I just wondered something and I'll share with you my results!

Are you aware of how many times chickens are referenced in the Bible?   I was wondering this, so I did a little study yesterday.  Not that God doesn't love all of His creation, but He certainly gives our feathered critters a lot of attention/reference in The Scriptures!

Here are all of the references to "Rooster" in the bible:

• Proverbs 30:31 the strutting rooster, the he-goat, and a king whose army is with him.

• Matthew 26:34  Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”

• Matthew 26:74  Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed.

• Matthew 26:75And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

• Mark 13:35  Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—

• Mark 14:30  And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.”

• Mark 14:68  But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed.

• Mark 14:72  And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.

• Luke 22:34  Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”

• Luke 22:60  But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.

• Luke 22:61  And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.”

• John 13:38  Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.

• John 18:27  Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed.

Here are all the references to "Hen" In the bible:

• Matthew 23:37  [ Lament over Jerusalem ] “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

• Luke 13:34  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

And finally, here are all the references of "Fowl" in the bible:

• Leviticus 7:26  Moreover, you shall eat no blood whatever, whether of fowl or of animal, in any of your dwelling places.

• 1 Kings 4:23  ten fat oxen, and twenty pasture-fed cattle, a hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl.

That equates to 17 references in 7 books of the bible.

Now doesn't that just make you smile?  

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Kelly

A Little Bit Of Chicken School

Why We Chose Buff Orpingtons. . . .Now the type of chicken we chose was not a fluke.  My friend Brian, who is a chicken expert, having been in the chicken raising hobby/business for many years recommended the breed to us because they are so friendly, do well in winter, and are a "Heritage Breed".  I honestly believe that anything hybridized has been compromised.  Heritage breeds are more hearty than production or hybrid breeds.  They display more traditional chicken behaviors, like foraging for food, being good setters (going broody easily), and roosting.  Heritage breeds lay eggs for more years than the poor hybridized production birds, but at a slower rate.  Buff Orpingtons are a heavy breed which means they get large.  They also become heavily feathered so they do very well in winter, and living up in Michigan, that is a very important trait.  They tolerate confinement well which is also good for winter since they will most likely want to spend a great deal of time "cooped up" in the coop while winter passes.  They are considered a dual purpose bird (good for both eggs and meat).  Our girls of course are for eggs.  I just couldn't ever imagine them on our dinner plates!  We love them so. . . . .

Now those are all very important factors that I considered while researching the breed, but what really put me over the top (not that I ever questioned Brian's advice), was their personality.  They are said to be docile, friendly, and social birds.  They like to be held, petted, and will follow their owners around the yard.  They are great with children and very social.  I mean really!  With a spec sheet like that, why look anywhere else!!  Suffice to say, we ❤LOVE❤ our precious Buff Orpingtons.  When we decided that we were going to take a stab at the world of chicken raising, I had imagined that I wanted a really colorful egg basket.  I thought I'd like some pretty blue eggs, mixed with some dark brown eggs and light brown eggs.  I'd get a variety of birds so as to have a variety of egg colors.  Well, I can tell you from the heart that I don't care what color my eggs are, as long as they all come from Buff Orpingtons, because they are the only breed I ever want to own.  Just in case you were wondering, they lay a large pinkish brown egg.

But they still had a lot of growing to do. . . .

And on a side note, will all of you peasants please bow before Princess Madeline and Queen Tara of The Enchanted Wood?

While I was working on this post, they came out into the family room walking in a very "regal" way, and speaking in very high bred royal tongues.  So I took them outside for a fitting Royal Portrait.

Our chicken adventure....

. . . .began on April 6, 2011. We ordered 4 Buff Orpington hens from a local feed store and they had arrived! Tara and Madeline had that week off of school, so on that Wednesday morning when we got the call that the chickens had arrived, we immediately set off to pick up our new, fragile, special babies.

Meet our day old babies. . . .

Have you ever seen such cuteness in your entire life? We hadn't either. On that very first day, Tara and Madeline held, kissed, snuggled and completely adored their new little brood. All the while, we kept placing them in their brooder under the heat lamp to keep them warm (95 degrees to be exact). But when they weren't in the brooder, they were with the girls.

Tara picked these precious babies out of a batch of 150 Buff Orpington chicks.

She named them Dixie and Lily.

Madeline picked out these precious girls....

...and named them Jasmine and Daisy.

Tara and Madeline were in chickie heaven, as was I!....

Our day old baby chicks were just so adorable! They were fuzzy, soft, warm and soooooo sweet!

At 2 days old, we realized that these hen's were quite photogenic!

Within their first week in our home in the country, the girls had many memorable moments with their chickie babies. Here, they set up a tea party for Daisy:

Tara made a castle for them, and while she was having a sleepover at her friends house, Madeline had the chicks all to herself...

 Such precious and sweet baby Buff Orpingtons!  We love the sound of their "Peep, peep, peep!

I have a lot to catch up with about our chicken adventure.  We got the chickens because we wanted a sustainable food source where our chickens are able to live as chickens are intended.  Grazing on our wonderful green grass, the variety of vegetation on our property, and eating lots of bugs!  It's a wonderful experience for children to learn where food comes from, and to offer a humane life to an animal that will feed us breakfast one day!

This is the beginning of a very special adventure.