An Unusual Invitation at Church

Many members of my church congregation know I keep a few chickens, although it's not something I spend much time talking about. I didn't realize how far that news has spread until yesterday. We have had a number of new families move into the neighborhood, and with the nature of my church assignments I don't have much time for visiting with people in between meetings, so keeping chickens isn't something I have discussed with any of the newest members of our congregation -- I haven't really made it past the friendly general greetings as I hurry to teach my youth Sunday School class or on to play the piano for Relief Society (the adult women's meeting).

 But yesterday my reputation preceded me, then turned around and said, "BOO!" As I plopped my bags down by a chair on my way to the piano bench, a newer member of my ward stopped me to say that her daughter had a question for me. As I turned to her recently-married daughter, the younger woman asked me if I would like to have four chicks for free. Oh! It seems she and her husband bought them about three or so weeks ago up in Idaho and had decided they were getting to be too much to manage with college and work. I inquired about their breed (Australorps) and explained that I would do a little research at home to decide if I wanted them and then call them later. 

The crazy thing is that I had pretty much decided to retire my current flock of four Rhode Island Reds. They aren't laying any more, although we occasionally get one egg (if I can get to it before they eat it), and I am not interested in paying money for expensive feed to get a couple of eggs a week. They should have resumed their laying by now if they were really going to start producing well for the year. Justin thinks I should just get rid of them on KSL Classifieds. I had been thinking about finding someone who could butcher them for me so I could bottle them -- the chapter on butchering chickens in my chicken book just, well, BLECH. I don't have the stomach for ending a creature's life, even though I have no problem eating meat. 

So I called the couple offering the chickens, hoping I had caught them before they returned to Idaho, to say I would be happy to take the chicks. The kids are thrilled of course. Ginger, my cat, is not. She's been acting peeved ever since they came home. I don't think she likes feeling "replaced," even if she really hasn't been. Now I just have to do something about my Rhodies.