Art by Carin Maehr

Mr Chook

Every single morning for weeks we woke up vowing to end Mr Chooks life.

“His days are numbered” we’d threaten, as we smothered our ears with pillows trying to block out his screeching at our door. He was a miniature rooster and his crowing sounded more like screeches. His internal alarm clock woke us up every morning at 5am. He somehow found our bedroom window and there he sat screeching every morning.

Every day the thought of running around trying to catch him exhausted us, he was a free range Mr Chook. A lady in our village had extended the offering to take him and put him to sleep in the kindest possible way and feed him to her gigantic coiled up pet python.

Each day that passes his annoying crowing and his feisty little nature has become part of our life and I feared I might just become attached to him.

“We will have to find another way of dealing with Mr Chooks’ very loud screeches” I tell my daughter; “Besides he watches out for his hens” I try and convince myself and my daughter. Mr Chook was the last of the roosters that we’d kept for the brood of hens we have. It is a severe education for anyone that has not yet experienced having too many roosters with a brood of hens. One afternoon I went out to find two roosters fighting one looking soaking wet, it was only on closer inspection that I discovered it was blood. The hens have no choice in the matting matter and the roosters have their way all day long leaving bald patches on the hens’ heads from the pecking.

There is a lot of speculation that small scale farming is rather cute, until you discover the true nature of nature. Perhaps you have now changed your mind about Mr Chooks possible future and the python.

Then something happened the next day that change things. The dogs heard it first and scrambled down the stoep stairs and out into the garden. Running all over the place barking. It was a loud rooster distress call. The dogs shot off in all directions as I followed on behind them. There under one of our large trees stood Mr Chook facing an even larger hawk who had his eyes on the ten little babies that had dived under a mommy hen when the commotion broke out.

Mr Chook stood his ground flicked his legs up in the air screeching at the predator, his miniature spurs ready to cut into anything that dared to come to close to mom and babies. The dogs were still running around barking at the air not sure what to attack. The hawk took one look at the chaos around him and flew off up into the large open blue sky leaving the madness and mayhem to the creatures below.

The dogs finally returned to their blankets and the baby chicks came out to eat around mom and Mr Chook strutted off with his brood, one eye on the sky. He was a good dad, a good protector perhaps he has earned his spot on the farm. As for the early morning calls, they too came to an end when the family decided to nest further down on the property with a little bit off human intervention.

What is your purpose

What are you doing each day to earn your spot in this chaotic world we live in. It needn’t be a big thing, it can be as small as protecting a brood of chickens, or running a country.

Remember through it all God really has your back, watching over you answering your prayers. Yes, some are definitely not answered the way you expected. But wait and see how it all unfolds and over time you will understand the why’s, where’s and how comes.

Find your place find your purpose.