The Law of Averages

When you learn that in a population, 50 percent of the births will be male and 50 percent will be female, you must remind yourself that that doesn't apply to a specific farm during a specific year.

We're having a roosterfest on the farm this year. Sixty-three percent of the birds are cockerels. If you think that 13 percent doesn't make a difference, come visit the farm and listen to the crowing and watch the chest-bumping. In a few weeks, most of the boys will got to the butcher and we'll have a more manageable population of 10 percent males.

Meanwhile, over in the sheep barn, the lamb population is just 30 percent males. The boys have been separated from the flock, so we don't have a lot of head-butting and strutting. Away from the girls, these boys are content to eat alfalfa in a stall on a rainy day.

Rarely do we get a 50-50 ratio. Over time, though, it may even out to about 50 percent.

In the meantime, we're going to be eating a lot of chicken.