Chickens need water every day. Not just as a condiment, but to stay alive. There are pictures online of people who put swings in their coops, or sweaters on their Rhode Island Reds in winter. Those are not necessary, except to reassure the chicken keeper that they have done well by their birds. 

I confess to have tried the swing, but the girls were not amused. I took it down. Give them a stick to perch on, a chance to scratch in the compost, and they are content. Oh, and water. 

At first I used plastic waterers from the feed store. Used them for years. But a while back a friend showed me the advantages of a hanging bucket with nipples on the bottom. The water stays cleaner, and cannot get knocked over. I have tried sporadically to convince the hens that it is better with some success. But when it is hot, as it has been, I fill a dishpan with water just in case. And wouldn't you know, they go straight to the dirty water, when the bucket is three feet away. 

The Silkies are in pens that cannot support a bucket so they have continued to use the plastic ones. But the dishes get slimy in hot weather, are lower to the ground which allows dirt to get kicked in, and are annoying to refill. This week I have traded them for pretty ceramic dishes.

The hens look, consider, and walk right by. 

I explain as I sit there in the early morning that the water is cleaner, and will quench their thirst. They are unconvinced. So I brought back the plastic one. They crowded around and sipped, just like the water cooler at the office. 

The ceramic ones are nicer. But what does that matter if the flock dies?

Recently I tried to make a change around the house. I did not consult John, but rather skirted around him. When he found out, he was not pleased.

I had reasons. Why my idea was an improvement, why it would upgrade life at our house. But John has his own trove of reasons, one of which is simply that it is what he is used to. 

I decided to let go of what I wanted. Because what does it matter if I win, but our love dies?