I have been studying the chicken forums on Facebook since we first got chickens more than ten years ago. I have found that social media is one of the ways I learn about humanity, and so, in the chicken forums all these years, I have not only learned about caring for chickens but I have also learned about the humans who keep chickens.
I learned pretty early on that, just like anywhere on the internet, there is a lot of misinformation circulating in the chicken forums. In the beginning, when I was seeking advice about various animal husbandry questions related to my chickens, I sometimes got some really bad advice. But it didn’t take long for me to learn who to trust in the groups and who to ignore. One of the things I learned is that being loud isn’t the same as being right.
Over time, I became experienced and would sometimes try to help others the way I had been helped. It’s hard to do online, but I would do my best, and overall, I was always thankful for the kind of people I found in the chicken forums, especially when I decided to narrow my presence to just chicken forums based on Maine. These forums were practical, helpful, and connected me to local resources. As much as I hate Facebook, I love the Maine chicken forums.
There was always a “edge” that would appear in these Maine forums though. Just like the rest of the internet, people can be mean in the chicken forums, and sometimes, when people ask for help, they get reprimanded instead.
But I am noticing a shift…
Just last week, I saw the shift illustrated beautifully.
A woman made a post about needing help covering the costs of chicken feed. She said she had been struggling financially and couldn’t cover the cost of feed for her chickens that week. In the past, this kind of post would have been met with some help but mostly reprimand.
And there was some of that. A few people said the thing I would often see before “If you can’t afford animals, you shouldn’t have them.” However, mostly, there was help. When I first saw the post, four people had offered to meet to give the woman some chicken feed. At that point, I didn’t know how far away the people were, so I posted that I couldn’t deliver food but could Venmo her the funds for a bag of feed and for her to send me a private message.
I checked back later that night, and the post had blown up–with offers of help!
Dozens and dozens of people were offering funds and feed, and I saw a post from the author that said she had already been delivered a bag of feed and was so thankful for the support and help. I think this shift in the chicken forums is significant, and the things I read lifted my hopes and spirits in a way I cannot describe but was desperately needed.
I think we are learning that we are going to have to help each other, that hardships are upon us but that, through community, we survive. I read a quote that really resonated with me not too long ago: Civilizations fall but villages live. I think we are beginning to understand we need a village and that we have to be kind to each other.
I love Maine with every fiber of my being. I could not live anywhere else in the U.S. The people of Maine are my people, but there can be a kind of grumpiness to the practicality here. I saw a few comments in that thread that were of that nature. I have learned that Mainers are truly trying to be helpful though, not usually mean. One woman said something along the lines of, “Times are just going to get harder. If you can’t afford your chickens now, you might need to re-home them.”
Of course, this comment was likely hurtful to the original poster, but I could see the earnestness there. Times really are likely to get harder. Ron and I think often about how we would afford food for our animals if I were to lose my job, and with AI being what it is and doubling in ability every six or seven months, I can see that it might happen to me one day sooner than I thought possible. I can see that it might be hard for many people to keep affording the feed for their animals, but chickens are critical for survival in hard times. They are how my great grandparents survived the Great Depression. People are going to need their chickens.
And, as I was thinking about the earnest advice about how times are going to get harder, I thought about what happened in the chicken forums that day. Times are already hard, but there are people there to help–lots of people.
And, what if, when times get harder, we just keep helping each other?
photo credit: Robert Katzki, Unsplash
thank you