Jilda and I have kept chickens for years. You feed them, water them and in return you get a fridge full of fresh eggs.
Whenever the price of eggs skyrockets, we smile all the way to the hen house.
Occasionally we let them free range across the back yard, they are great at pest control. All bugs are chicken candy. But sometimes that trip outside the hen house/ yard can be aggravating.
We love our chickens, and through the years, some have become family pets, just like our dogs. Last week, Jilda and I drove into the driveway moments apart. We both had grueling days at work and were happy to be home.
As we stepped onto the walk leading up to our front door, something caught both our eyes at the same time. One of our chickens had taken advantage of her free-range day and had flown across the fence and was now devouring birdseed in our front yard. I guess she thought the bugs were better on the other side of the fence.
I set my laptop bag on the porch, and Jilda opened the backyard gate. We gently headed toward the rebel hen, ready to herd her toward the open gate.
You might think this was an easy task, you would be wrong…we chased that chicken all around our front yard and she finally darted under my truck. We finally shooed her into the back yard.
Jilda had been resistant to clipping their wings but now she was thinking it might be the right thing to do.
My plan was to herd them back into the chicken pen, catch them and clip.
Once again having a plan and executing it were two very different things.
30 minutes later, and still herding chickens, Jilda looked at me and said, “ if you will go get the shotgun, I’ll heat up the skillet and we will have fried chicken for supper.” One look at her face told me she was serious.
It was then I remembered the landing net I use when fishing. With it, we managed to catch those birds one at a time and while she held them upside down, I clipped.
This morning, when I went out to feed them, I could almost hear them squawking Birmingham jail. Normally happy to see me that was not the case today, I think they are plotting an escape or maybe clipping my wings.
