Mr Silkie (and lots of other "people")

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This is our new rooster, Mr. Silkie (far right). We’ve been “roosterless” for over a year, since our previous rooster, Rootie, hopped up on the fence and crowed one-too-many times. Catching the attention of an eagle who lives in a tall cottonwood nearby, Rootie became the main course for supper that evening. (Eagles make for cool songs and symbols of freedom, but horrible neighbors for folks who have small animals and poultry. ☹ )

We auditioned another rooster a few months ago. He was quickly “fired,” for eating eggs - and teaching the hens how to do it as well! It’s good for the flock to have a rooster, one who watches out for them and warns them of possible danger - and takes the hit for them when there is real danger. So, we were glad when some friends asked if we wanted one of their Silkie roosters, assuring us that “It is not aggressive - and doesn’t eat eggs!”

Well past dark after Mr. Silkie’s first day with the hens, I went out to shut the flock in the coop, only to find that Mr. Silkie was still under the coop - waaaay under - in the farthest corner. I tried shining a light in front of the door that leads out from under the coop. That had worked well with the hens (see my previous post). But not with Mr. Silkie! I even grabbed some sunflower seeds and sprinkled them in front of the opening. He didn’t budge from his post in the far corner. Stubborn rooster!

It was one of those below-zero nights, so I was getting cold, gave up and headed back into the house tell Violet that we might have a frozen rooster in the morning. Violet reminded me, “Remember, Mikala told us that this was her favorite rooster, so we need to figure out how to get it out and into the coop!” I guess I gave up too easily.

I bundled back up and headed out to the garage in search of a long, thin scrap of wood, one that would reach to the far corner under the coop. Sure enough. I found a ten-foot-long piece I had saved from a cutting long ago. (There’s nothing quite like the feeling you get when one of the million scraps you have saved actually finds a use!) My hope was that I could use the stick to gently move Mr. Silkie out of his corner and guide him to the opening. 

Thank God - literally - it worked! Mr. Silkie followed my stick-led guidance and came to me at the entrance.  I left the stick near the coop, figuring I might need to repeat the procedure a few nights in a row. (Us guys tend to be slow learners ☺ ) But I was delighted to discover Mr. Silkie was safely in with his girls the next night!

In the previous post, I compared Jesus to the light that the hens had followed to come out of the darkness under the coop. The incident with Mr. Silkie reminded me of a simple truth that not everyone automatically “flocks” (pun intended) to Jesus to get out of their darkness. Some people need a little extra help. Don’t give up on those folks! (Remember, we're ALL God's favorites!) Ask God to show you how you can gently move them out of their darkness and guide them to see that Jesus has what they need.