For some reason...

I was trying to find something on my hard drive and I ran into this little bit of pernicious biography:

We had chickens when I was growing up.  We had two flocks - one for meat and
one for eggs.  The meat ones came and went in a couple months.  They were a
mass of white feathers and hard work that was all destined for the freezer
and that was about it.  Our egg-layers were a different story.

There were a dozen half-Araucana/half some sort of Bantam hens, and one
rooster.  Araucanas are known for giving colored eggs, and also for their
incredible variety and color of plumage.  With the Bantam, they were quite a
bit smaller than the average chicken which was nice for keeping them over
the winter.  In Alaska you can't just have them in a coop during the
winter - you have to have an actual heated house for them.  They didn't take
up nearly so much room.

The rooster was particularly Bantam, and particularly beautiful.  He was
smaller than all of his ladies.  He looked like an illustration out of a
book but done in Napoleon's proportions.  He had a fine bush of iridescent
black tail feathers that were much sought after by the neighborhood's fly
fishermen.  And like Napoleon, he had a major size complex.  You did not
mess with him.  He was six feet tall and bullet-proof, and he had the
armament to prove it.  Even though the rest of him was small, his spurs were
about an inch and a half long and he had no qualms about testing their
sharpness on you.

I don't remember why I wrote it (the file was dated 2006). I think there was a half an idea about writing up a thing about living subsistence when I was growing up.  At any rate, enjoy this bit about chickens.