Chickens and God

I enjoy my chickens. I might even enjoy them more than the goats, but it is a close call. I like listening to them, watching their behaviors, and of course, gathering their eggs! I went to a chicken class at my 4-H Leaders' Conference on Saturday. I came out of it in wonder. The class was about the many poultry programs available to youth, but it ended with a lesson on chickens and their eggs. The egg starts about a week before it is released. Once released the egg will take 24 hours to develop. It comes down a two feet long tube, where it is fertilized, covered with the "white," encased within the shell, and then deposited into the world. Even after it is deposited, the egg is changing with the temperature drop once it enters the outside world. We learned about how the eggs are fertilized, why the rooster gets on the hen's back (his weight causes the vent to come out of the hen and then he can deposit sperm), and even looked at developing chicks through the eggs. I was able to see the heart of a 4-5 day old embryo beating inside the egg. As I said, I left the class in wonder. How could anyone think that what I just learned happened by sheer accident and coincidence. Everything about the chickens point to a God; a miracle working, creative, loving God. The hens lay eggs every 24 hours, and then their bodies go through a 2 1/4 hour rest before the next egg starts. That means that once a week a hen has a "Sabbath Rest." Wow.