Lilla : Hi Gina, Thanks so much for your wonderful newsletter. I really enjoy reading comments from so many people who love their chickens as much as I do! I am attaching a picture of my husband and our rooster, Salt. Initially, I did not want a rooster because I had heard how they can be mean and rough on the hens, and I didn't want to subject my girls or myself to the shenanigans of a mean rooster. However, fate intervened and one day my husband brought home two young chickens from a swap meet. We named them Salt and Pepper. We were told they were both hens, but as they grew, we had our suspicions. Sure enough, one turned out to be a rooster. Salt has turned into a very handsome and nice rooster, and I am very smitten with him! We can pet him and hold him, and he is a good protector of his ladies. And, I don't even mind his crowing at all hours of the day!

I wanted to make a comment to Laura Lee of Spokane, WA: Bless you for rescuing those chickens from the factory farm in California! You are truly a wonderful person. I am sorry they didn't all live, but I am sure with you they felt the love and compassion they deserved for the first time in their precious lives. Also, I am thrilled that you mentioned bathing them in Basic H! That is a safe, non-toxic, biodegradable cleaning product made by Shaklee Corporation. As a distributor, I am very familiar with all the uses of that one product. While the company does not specifically endorse the use of Basic H for animals, there are many testimonies about using it on animals (bathing, worming, mosquito and fly repellant, to name a few) with great success. I even have a document written many years ago about the usages of Basic H on the farm. I don't want this to sound like a sales pitch, but if any readers are interested in the farm document, or would like more info on the product Laura Lee mentioned, I would be happy to share. Thanks, Gina! - Lilla from Colorado