A LETTER FROM CHRIS SUAREZ

THE GREAT CHICKEN MASSACRE

Went down fighting for what we care about, what matters to us, what we love….

The title of this week’s blog might be a bit dramatic, although I assure you, this was the vibe at the Suarez house this week. I received an “Emergency” text from my wife while in some meetings at the office. That doesn’t happen often, and it usually involves one of the kids, so I stepped out to hear what tragedy had occurred in the two hours since I had left home that morning. 

She proceeded to tell me that two of our chickens were killed and were dead in the coop that morning when she went up to feed them. I’ll spare you the gruesome details, but the clues that were left were pretty clear. The automatic door to the coop hadn’t shut the night before and a raccoon had gotten into the coop. For those with chickens, you know that a raccoon in the coop often leads to an entire flock being killed. Racoons tend to go in, eat some of them, and kill the rest. 

Sadly the raccoon was able to quickly get to one of our oldest hens.  The second dead chicken is where the lesson shows up this week. He was actually our rooster - a family favorite. He was always aggressively guarding the flock of hens, even showing real attitude to us when we went into the run or coop. If anyone ever came near one of his hens he’d get as big as he could, ruffle his feathers, make noise, jump at the visitor with claws out and beak pecking in attack. He and I always had an understanding, and he tolerated me around the flock.  

Perhaps his protective and nurturing nature towards the flock came from his earlier memories. Just days after we got him as a 3 day old chick, he became sick. Our family literally nursed him back to health with a bottle inside our house. He was held around the clock by the girls, lived in the house until he was old enough and healthy enough to return to the coop, and I am quite certain turned into one off the higher maintenance chickens in the state.

But as I pieced together the evidence - no pun intended - of the massacre of the previous evening, it was clear to me that this raccoon had found his way into the coop, killed one hen, and was there for more. Until of course that raccoon met his match. By the signs of it, our rooster gave that raccoon a solid fight. He stood up to protect the rest of the flock while they were under attack. He must have put up a long and good fight, ultimately scaring the raccoon away and pushing him out of the coop. Racoons are pretty vicious and rarely back down. It would appear that after the raccoon left, our rooster died. But he died protecting his flock of hens- protecting his family and community and friends. 

At times that rooster was aggressive. I remember days where I was upset that he attacked a friend visiting the farm. He seemed a bit bossy, overzealous at times, and abrasive. But in the end some of his most difficult personality traits and qualities to appreciate were the ones that were most endearing. He also cared about something so much he was willing to give literally everything he had. He took his role as protector and leader seriously. It is amazing to think of a bird caring so much about other birds, that he was willing to give his own life. He was clear on his mission. He knew what his purpose was.

It had me stop and ask myself a few questions. Are there friends, co-workers, collaborators, or other people that have personality traits that rub me the wrong way? Do I always see the negative of those traits? Could I begin to look at those differences in a more positive light? 

And am I so committed to everything that I am doing in life that I would be willing to fight to the end for it. Do we fight for our family that way? Do we show up for our partners that way? Do we drive forward to help those we’ve committed to helping that way? Are we that mission based or purpose based that nothing else matters?

For some this lesson may seem like a stretch. But as my family talked through the events of the week at the farm, told stories about all of the chickens - especially this rooster - we are pretty certain this lesson was needed, and also part of the value that the chickens continue to bring us.