Chickens

[Jenise]

Yesterday while searching for something else on Facebook, I stumbled over a group called Whatcom Chicken Wonks. Whatcom is the name of the county I live in so I clicked on it to find that it was a gathering place for local chicken owners.

The most recent post: "Hello. ____ breed of chicken for sale. 1 year old. She lays. $20. Why are you getting rid of her you ask? Because she's a BITCH."

First response: "Crock pot!"

Second response: "Good thing they don't want to put all bitches in crock pots! [Breathes sigh of relief.]"

Guess the hen was in a fowl mood!

Fun (sort of) fact: We've tested a number of eggs from backyard chicken flocks and that found many of them contain pretty high levels of lead. We're not sure why this is, but it's possible that they have access to paint on their coops or on other buildings that they peck at.

When you say high, Mike, are you talking about a total dose that would be equivalent to a glass of water fresh out of lead-solder pipes? Or just relative to other eggs?

It wouldn't surprise me given that lead paint is friable and the dust would settle in the soil. The very topmost soil is probably fine but chickens dig and eat the stuff somewhat deeper down. Still amazing that lead paint was only banned in 1978.