It is a pleasure to bring you a happy story, a small miracle in a complex world, one that does not worry much about the life of a chicken. Fran was a starving wreck with we got her, full of holes and peck marks, too skinny to lay eggs. She got healthier, loved to pal around with Meg. She got attacked by a fox, and survived, Meg ultimately did not. Fran was so mangled I wanted to kill her, a mercy killing, but Maria and I decided to give healing a shot. Small miracles are important.

It’s been about a month, and as recently as two days ago I did not think Fran would make it. Maria and I decided together to keep her going, and Maria worked especially hard and patiently – putting her in a crate at night, carrying her out to the pasture to walk around. Fran cannot move her wings, and may not ever be able to jump up or fly. Doesn’t seem to bother her. Today for the first time, she marched around with the other hens, and they were all comfortable with one another. Life does not always work out, for them or for us, and if you live with chickens, you see a lot of life happening. It was sweet to see her walking around. Maria and I sat watching for awhile.