I was busy working in our studio and was looking through all my clothing textures for an "eggshell white" lace when I found something claiming to be actual eggs.
In Second Life, when you want to see something "inworld", you pull it out of your inventory and drop it on the ground.
Out came two things that did indeed look like eggs, and after a minute they gave me a message to inform me that they were hatching. I wondered what that might mean for half a second before dismissing it and mentally moving on. I had just remembered that the lace I was looking for was actually called "bone white", and all thoughts of eggs and hatching were gone as I finished my project and logged off.
Hours went by in the physical world, and I thought of a new project that needed to get finished. Back into the cyber workshop went I. I hopped up on my model stand and started adjusting skirt panels when I thought I heard a bird somewhere close by. I took my headset off and listened. All was quiet, and I went back to my skirt.
Again I heard bird cheeps close at hand. I took my headset back off and looked under my computer desk. Nothing, and all was quiet. Suspiciously I replaced my headset and was instantly accosted by fervent cheeping from somewhere in my virtual workshop. Looking around I discovered two small yellow things that resembled chicks hopping around in a corner. Suddenly the egg hatching message came back to me, and I had the uncomfortable realization that I was now a pet owner.
My knowledge of what they call "breedables" has expanded quite a lot since those early days of accidental chick hatchery. I've since found out that if I have a rooster and a hen, I'll have eggs which (if you aren't careful) hatch into more chicks. I now have a small flock of egg laying, corn munching mini monsters that push me around affectionately and play with the toys I make them. They eat, breed, sleep, grow,cluck, crow... and eventually will die. For all intents and purposes, I keep a flock of chickens.
As far as breedables are concerned, my chicken habit is pretty mild. Some people keep whole farms of not only chickens, but horses, pigs, turtles, kittens, dogs, spiders and, I found out today, breedable robots. A whole cyber industry is built up around selling animal feed (grown by cyber corn farmers of course), cages, toys and the offspring. I now make regular trips to my favorite breedable supply store, The Menagerie, to stock up on supplies.
Who would have thought that I could be a rancher and sell my livestock from my small, one room flat? I certainly wouldn't have, but as I explore the virtual world of Second Life more, I'm discovering anything is possible... even chicken farming.
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