Readers of my blog and newsletter know I have a side-gig in about a dozen hens. I love them and I love the fresh eggs they give me (speaking of love, Happy Valentine’s Day!). That’s me with one of the girls. I’ve written about my flock before. Notice the nifty Faucher Family Farms shirt Karen got me for Christmas. Thoughtful.
No Winter Egg Production
But my girls have disappointed me. I haven’t gotten a single egg in over a month. They’re almost as worthless as my Feline Intern, Tuna (Sebastian my Feline Paralegal often complains about her on his Instagram account. Pretty to look at but not pulling their weight or earning their keep. Thing is, egg output always slows down in the winter months – hens need sunlight and warmth to achieve peak egg output. And there’s not much of either in January and early February, not even in Southern California. However, in past winters, egg output hasn’t stopped entirely, the way it has this year. I’ve spoken with other gentleman farmer buddies, and they’re having the same trouble this year but no one knows why. So, I thought I’d put out a question to the brother and sisterhood of backyard chicken farmers: anyone else know what’s going on this winter with egg production?
Other People’s Chicken Problems
Since misery loves company, I offer some other guy’s chicken problem. It seems the mayor of Fitzgerald, GA (about 150 miles south of Atlanta) just lost his bid for reelection in the 9,000 person town because he spent $300,000 on the frame for a 65-foot topiary of a chicken. Unfortunately, it wasn’t completed. No, I’m not making this up – c’mon! I found the article in the Wall Street Journal. The town has a “chicken past” and the mayor was hoping the enormous topiary would stimulate tourism. Seems the electorate thought that was a dumb use of their taxes. I dunno why, but you can read about it here.
What Do Chickens Have to Do with Tax & Bankruptcy Law?
As far as I know, absolutely nothing, unless you’re a chicken farmer with poor business skills and need to declare bankruptcy. If so, please call me. I haven’t had a chicken farmer for a client yet, and I’d relish the opportunity to sit down with Jim Purdue (Frank Purdue’s son and business heir), if for no other reason than to discuss the business of chickens. Anyway, back to the topic at hand: why on earth am I blogging about hens? Because a lot of us are bored of the pandemic, sick of winter, and looking for something relatively cheerful to think about. So I hope you’ve enjoyed some reflections on hens that have absolutely nothing to do with the law. And a good photo of me. And one of my girls.
February 14, 2022 (Happy Valetine’s Day!)