I dreamed I lived in a stalinist state where keeping chickens had become mandatory

[Burney]

Is it because they are dependent?

I'm down to one chicken. Poor, lonely Millicent. I don't want to get new ones until she dies, but it's sad to see a poor old hen trotting around without any sisters to keep her company.

I don't think bees are dependent. They do their bee thing and we just provide the hive and nick their honey.

I have been considering bees recently. But it's a lot of arseing about and getting stung just for honey given that I probably eat about a quarter of a jar of honey a year.

I could make mead, I suppose.