When I was working at a parfumerie (perfume store) in Paris a long time ago, a group of 10 Japanese gentlemen came to the store.

They had a special skill that no one else could imitate, which was the reason why they were invited by a French agricultural association. They are reputed to have a skill to sort out male and female chicks in just a few seconds. I have always wondered what the purpose of this work was, but recently I learned why.

I was curious to know how many eggs does a female lay in her lifetime? I heard one a day, but that would mean 365 a year, and at that rate for how many years? There are a lot more questions coming out.

The period of vigorous egg laying by the female is about 7 years. She lays eggs and then takes a few days off. Per year 300 eggs is the average number. The eggs fertilized by the male are called fertilized eggs, but there are not many of them on market. Roosters make a loud "cock-a-doodle-doo" call to appeal to the female, just as they spreads their flashy wings to attract the female's attention, but the female's response is a subtle cock-a-doodle-doo. I feel sorry for the males, which have few survivors. But I also feel sorry for the female who uses all her strength to lay 300 eggs a year.

Recently, the price of eggs, which have been called "the best of the best" in terms of price, has gone up. Eggs are inexpensive, highly nutritious, and have done so much for us that we would not be able to cook without them. When I hear that 17 million chickens have been killed by the flu, my heart aches and my hand with chopsticks would stop while eating Tamagokake-gohan (raw egg dropped & mixed with cooked rice).

Chickens laying nothing but eggs in a cramped chicken coop and dying. I feel like putting my hands together and pray for the eggs, which I used to eat, as if taking for granted.

There is no other living creature that plays such an active and useful role for human beings. As chicken meat and eggs, they provide us with everything from skin to organs, bones, and even chicken manure as fertilizer. In France, chicken marrow was sliced diagonally to make toothpicks, which were sold at pharmacies as a luxury item. Recent technology has also made use of eggshell ingredients in cosmetics. Chickens are the "number one" creature in tangible value.

When I was a child, a pair of comedians on the radio asked a question: "What will chickens leave behind, when they die?” When we heard the buddy comedian said: " Chickens leave the red feathers for the Red Cross community chest.”  I regret that we even laughed together,  What a potty mouth we had!  I would like to set aside one day a year to honor chickens.
The life of a chicken is a warning to humans. In the 21st century, when we are heading toward food shortages, chickens enlighten us and make us think about many things.

And if we were to be asked by the chickens: "What will you leave behind when you die?", I am at a loss for an answer. I would like to face this super intangible question squarely.

Compared to chickens, humans have very little to leave behind.
The only thing we leave behind is a tangible legacy, big or small, regardless of its amount. A buddy comedian said: " Chickens leave red feathers for the Red Cross Community Chest.” What a potty mouth we had!  I would like to set aside one day a year to honor the chickens.

The life of a chicken is a warning to humans. In the 21st century, when we are heading toward food shortages, chickens enlighten us and make us think about many things.

And if we were to be asked by the chickens: "What will you leave behind after you died?", I am at a loss for an answer. I would like to face this super intangible question squarely.

Compared to chickens, humans have very little to leave behind.
The only thing we leave behind would be a tangible legacy, big or small, regardless of its amount, which is the ultimate source of strife.

Isn't that right?