It was recently that my neighbor Cornelius contacted me to take care of his backyard flock of laying hens. Him and his family were going to be vacationing in the Dominican Republic, a perfect get away from the frozen north that is Long Island, NY in the winter. I gladly agreed to his query, beginning an experience that had more to it than I originally thought.

It wasn’t the first time I was working with chickens. In fact, I have been working with them for several years now on the organic farm I work on during my summers home from school. They’re fantastic creatures, curious birds that scour the earth in flocks, searching for their meals. For 5 days I kept the same routine with Cornelius’s  hens.

In the morning I would release them from their enclosure into the freedom that the backyard promised. Their scaly talons gently sunk into the sandy loam beneath them and they would peck the ground in search of the grain and meal worms that I fed them. There is something ancient about chickens. Their bright, beaming eye balls go back millions of years to their dinosaur ancestors who once ruled this planet we now call home

With this ancestry there are tales to told and lessons to be learned by the humble hen. How once ago they were reptilians who trampled the earth, but now are merely avian friends who graciously give us eggs. It is a reminder that there is constant evolution occurring around us as well as below our feet. Whether it be terrestrial, sub-terrestrial, pelagic, or atmospheric the creatures that inhabit those areas have been changing their chemical, physical, and biological structure since the dawn of this planet.

So the next time you see a hen prancing around on the grass, remember that she has a past that we didn’t see. She lives a life according to a script set forth by ancient beast millions of years ago. Her lesson is that the times are always changing and the outcome can most certainly be remarkable.

Peace to all,

David Gambino