Chook adventures

| December 11, 2015

Working hard will help achieve your goals, but isn’t life also about the journey, not just the achievement? Mary Morgan says it’s time to go and watch the chooks.

As I look around and take note, I see many people who are in a hurry with their concentration on their electronic gadgets. I also see many people who want satisfaction and they want it quick smart. It seems that long gone are the days when the journey to a goal was an integral part of gaining what the person was aiming for. I often wonder, is instant gratification really the way to go or do we need to get back to the simpler things in life to truly appreciate what we have and what we work hard for?

I am as guilty as everyone else in this regard and have realised that I have lost my way in this world. I believe that for me, it is truly time to get back to the simple life. My change in attitude has been forced upon me as I am out of work due to illness. I am not entitled to Centrelink as my husband still works and so as you can imagine, with the bills still rolling in, money is very tight. Due to these circumstances, I realise that I must take stock and rebuild from the ground up. There is no instant gratification anymore so I will just have to put my nose to the grindstone and bum up so to speak and begin a journey that will hopefully bring a little perspective back into my life.

This brings me to my lovely little chickens. To help save on a little money, we recently acquired three laying chickens and they have already proven what a delight that they can be. They all have very distinct personalities, Queenie being the bossy boots, Red the curious chicken and Fatso being the one who is just laid back happy to cruise along with life. I always thought that chickens were just silly creatures that had no real personality but these three ladies have proven me quite wrong in the most pleasant way possible. They have very quickly picked up on the happenings in the household and they have certainly made their presence felt. Even my husband who is a big brute of a man has fallen in love with them and takes pleasure in watching them. He was very excited when one lay her first egg and it was good to see the pleasure in his face.

There are those who will argue that they are dirty creatures that do nothing more than destroy your back garden; and yes, they do scratch up the yard. They eat the pests in the dirt, provide fertiliser, aerate the soil and deliver eggs for the household. Take care of them properly and there will be minimal problems with parasites or diseases. On top of that, they are fascinating to watch and their distinct personalities mean that they are quite entertaining. The best part is, they do not need electricity to run so are still entertaining throughout a blackout. To top it off, with many concerns about battery hens that are squashed into small cages, having a couple of chooks with the freedom to roam the backyard will not only provide good quality eggs and fertiliser but will allow your chooks to behave like chooks.

In this day and age where everyone is overworked and constantly looking for that instant gratification you may need to ask yourself, is the stress really worth it? Yes, I believe that working hard will help achieve your goals but life is about the journey not just the achievement. If you are destroying yourself in the process of achieving more money for material goods, you have to ask yourself, is it a price worth paying? Time to go and watch the chooks.

SHARE WITH: