Undeniably, chickens — say birds — are fondly creatures. I have made earlier posts about how they can create such beautiful bonds with their keepers. You could argue it is the feeding that gets them closer. Or that it is just in their nature to like people. But something happens around their hatching time that makes them all fiesty. Even the kindest of them all seems to get this deadly wave against everything that ventures into their space, even their kinds. As seen, pets also have this kind of demeanor at birthing; dogs, rabbits, cats, name it. Where their normal habits change. And you could turn out to be a big threat. For the birds, this is mostly evident during feeding — they would want all food to themselves (and the chicks) — and prefer a deadly kind of privacy. Isn’t this a route defense taken too far?
And so, have you ever faced such a mother hen? In an attempt to take chicks from her? Or simply when returning one of them that had strayed away? Over here is a poem about an interaction with these fierce definitions of ‘motherhood’. All I wish is that she would understand that I mean no harm.
Anything that snatches the chicks
Or even attempts to get unwelcomely close
Takes bits of life from her:
Like denying her air to breathe –
All she sees are serious threats.
She blows dust, and pecks, and scratches,
Even at a poor me — her devoted keeper.
As I know, my tutelage is a kind refuge:
Parrying the jackals and hawks.
Any of the things that drain our toils,
Making efforts slip right under our noses.
So I cage and shield, like all I know how.
But she fires up her fiercest fury,
Over and over this endless chicken wars
Against men chasing hawks and jackals.
We are fighting around common enemies
But none of us is wiser, to tell us apart.
All the same, cheers to everyone defending their own.
The featured image is ‘Gettin’ Chased by a Chicken’ artwork by Rob Apelian on RedBubble
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