It's Official! Backyard Chickens are Pets!

In the famous Oscar-winning Christmas movie, Miracle on 34th Street, attorney Fred Gailey proves Kris Kringle is Santa Claus because the Post Office is delivering mail to him. If a professional, recognized, competent entity such as the Postal Service thought Kris was Santa Claus, the burden of proving he wasn't dramatically shifted. 

Now, in a comparable revelation, a professional, recognized, competent entity, PETSMART is selling chicken coops. Why is this significant? Because the retail supplier is not called FARMANIMALSMART or LIVESTOCKSMART--  it's PETSMART. 

J.J. Hart's "Ducks" and the Obstinacy of Local Governments

Taken at face value, the story of J.J. Hart's "ducks' (which are really chickens) is just another feel-good story that media outlets trot out to offset the "We're all gonna die, tune in at 11:00 to find out why" stories that seem so common.

But subsequent analysis reveals this is a more complex tale that spotlights the dysfunction of local governments (as well as the inherent values of "ducks").

CLUCK THEORY: The Six Stages of Residential Chickens In America

This is conceptual model that attempts to explain the various stages of residential chicken relationships every community in the US experiences. Not all communities experience all stages, and some stages may be leapfrogged or skipped.