The best laid plans of chicks and men

That's not exactly how Robert Burns and John Steinbeck intended that phrase. Yet, in the same way readers discover that humans can't control fate or Mother Nature when it puts a kibash on our best laid plans, I too learned my lesson. And my best laid plans were those laid by chickens, or so I thought.

Hatching Chicks

I've hatched chicks a handful of times, but each time, I had a rooster and allowed nature to do it's job when a girl went broody. Unfortunately, I lost our rooster in a fox attack along with six of my young brown layers.

So in an effort to increase my flock and avoid the higher-expected cost of ordering chicks this season, I purchased a dozen fertilized eggs for a really reasonable price. I figured one of my older girls would jump, or sit, at the chance to be a mommy again, since a couple of them had done it before.

I set up the maternity ward in our garage and made her a pleasant and warm bed with the eggs. She seemed into it the first couple days, but unfortunately, in the ensuing days, she removed herself completely from the nest. That was not eggs-actly how I saw that plan going.

Nature Knows Best

Maybe the eggs weren't fertile, or maybe they weren't viable. She may have known; they often seem to know these things. In any case, I smiled and bowed respectfully in defeat to nature who always seems to not only know better, but also teach me a lesson at the same time.

To a Mouse by Robert Burns

But Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best-laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men
Gang aft agley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promis’d joy!

Our Best Laid Plans

I've never been known for extreme patience, especially when it comes to the birth of an idea related to my passions and plans; however, nature has a way of gently reminding us that we can't always make things happen just because we want them to happen. We can't just "will" something and assert control over every aspect of our life - that is when things can often go awry.

When it is time to expand my flock and hatch more chicks, it will be the right time. And perhaps this wasn't the right time, and I couldn't see that because I was so focused on my own immediate desires.

This surely applies to many other areas of our lives where we become blinded by passion and goals and immediate results and answers. 

The best laid plans of Mice and Men / Often go awry

What lessons about patience has Mother Nature taught you?