Chickens are like people or the other way around?

Chickens, you know, the feathered egg laying wonders of the world are very interesting. Most people think chickens are so far below humans on the intelligence scale that there could not be any comparison. Consider for a minute the prospect that people are more like chickens than we think we are.

People, evolved beings from humble beginnings. We work hard, we play hard, we meet many types of people from varied backgrounds. Despite our ability to communicate both with oral and written language, we have failed to develop in a crucial area. If you have an established group of people and you add a new person a very interesting situation arises. Let us consider the workplace. A new employee is hired to fill a position that has come vacant. The existing group of employees generally will introduce themselves and then begin the summing up process. There is generally one employee who will begin to talk among the group, pointing out the differences in the new employee. Soon the pointing and picking becomes a habit and the new addition suffers the harassment of the group. Generally, there is not anyone who will take a stand against this treatment of the new addition so before long the new addition learns how to blend in, be quiet or separate themselves from the group for survival.

So, what does this have to do with chickens?

The farmer knows that when you add a new chicken to the flock there are bound to be issues. There is a pecking order in the flock and once it has been disturbed the new chicken is at risk of injury or even death. This new chicken could be indistinguishable to the human eye, big white chicken added to 10 other big white chickens, what is the issue? Somehow the flock knows. They will seek out the new member, chase, beat them with their wings, and sometimes even pick them to death. The one peck leads to another and then a speck of blood on the feather and then it becomes a group assault. Many perfectly healthy chickens have been killed by the existing flock members when an attempt has been made to incorporate them.

Farmers who are experienced in the ways of the chicken have found a solution to the flock melt down when a new member is added. This smart farmer waits until all the chickens have went to roost for the night and then adds the new chicken. As the flock comfortably snoozes on their perches or in their nest box, the farmer carefully places the new chicken on the roosts right next to the other chickens. As the sun comes up and the chickens all wake up together the new chicken is not noticed. They all woke up together so all must be well in the hen house.

So why the comparison, chicken to people or people to chicken? We all are guilty of looking at new people with a slanted view. They were not here yesterday so it is up to us to point out their differences, to make them conform or fit our view of how they should be. The interesting thing about this scenario is that we have a choice. We, as people, can chose to be open to new people or be like a chicken whose natural instinct pushes them to destroy others.

There is also an additional note to be made. When a farmer finds that there is a chicken that continues to pick at the new member of the flock, he solves the problem by having chicken pot pie for dinner that night.

Something for all of us to consider.