September 1, 2010
-
Upon my honor, the following is a true story.
My mother called me one morning last week and said, “Jan, you’re not going to believe this.” And then waited. From the tone of Mom’s voice, I thought something dreadful had happened. So I took a deep breath, girded my loins and said, “What in the world?” Pause…..then, “I think one of your chickens is in my garage.”
Pause. “What??” “Well, there’s a chicken in there, and it looks like your speckled one.” Chuckling, I countered, ”Surely not, Mom….there’s no way a chicken could be in your garage.” Indignantly, “Well, no way or not, there IS a chicken in my garage!”
Phone in hand, I dashed outside, into the yard, and began looking for Minnie. She’s a black and white, sort-of-speckled hen. No Minnie to be seen.
Meanwhile, Mom is continuing, “How in the world did she get here? I KNOW she wasn’t in the car with me last night! What in the world am I going to do?” There was a touch of panic in her voice.
It was true that Mom had come out to our house the evening before. And we had talked about the chickens because they were doing their usual evening thing, scratching around in the driveway, the junior roosters practicing their crowing, and Minnie’s baby staying close to her side. And now, the next morning, Minnie was no where to be seen. Did she somehow hitch a ride to town with Mom? Eighteen miles away??
I did what I always do when I have a problem: I called my farmboy. “Hon, you’re not gonna believe this but Mom has a chicken in her garage!” “What?” Repeat. “You’ve got to be kidding me. How in the world did a chicken get in her garage?” “Don’t ask me, but PLEASE come and help me get her!”
So, off to town we hurried, puzzled and wondering if Mom had maybe been imagining things. And feeling a little sad, too, because along with Minnie’s absence, we’d found no sign of her baby, who ALWAYS stuck to her mama like white on rice. Something strange had happened to two chickens.
We got to Mom’s and I cautiously crept into the garage. (Mom hadn’t been back out there–she said the chicken seemed a little upset. Indeed.) Sure enough, there was Minnie! And what else did I hear? That little “cheep, cheep” that told me Mini was there, too!
Next came a chicken roundup. Have you ever tried to herd cats? Not easy, you say….well, neither is herding chickens, especially ones who’ve been traumatized. But Farmboy is quite adept at doing the undoable, and we soon had Minnie and Mini captured, secured in the pet carrier and ready to take home.
Mom was relieved–to know that she hadn’t been imagining things and to have the nervous chickens out of her garage.
We are still wondering what that ride must have been like for Minnie and Mini–obviously, they were hanging on for dear life under Mom’s car somewhere, for an 18-mile trip to town.
Do you think they might be cured of their wanderlust?
Comments (17)
Wonderful story! I think something is missing in this line, though: we’d her mama like white on rice.
I sure hope they are! haha, poor chickens
That is such an amazing story. I’m so glad your mom was “only” going 18 miles, for heaven’s sakes! They were stowaways!
We had to remove a couple of curious chickens from the back of a van once…we had workers here at the house and they where leaving their back doors open so they could get at their tools easily.
@Roadkill_Spatula - weird….I fixed it. Something got deleted…thanks for noticing!
Oh my gosh, Janet. That is one for the books. Amazing that they didn’t shed some feathers during the ride. But we know that Bonnie Ruth is a slow driver!?
I KNOW that happens, because a friend of mine lost one of his chickens going across a rough railroad about 15 miles from his house. He was in a pickup, pulling a trailer with horses. It was a 4 lane street, uptown Springfield, and he said he looked in the mirror, just in time to see a chicken rolling across the street. Of course, he just had to keep going, but as far as he could tell, the chicken was not hit by another car.
That’s just soooofunny!!!!!
Does this come under the heading of hitch hiking or chick hiking? Those poor babies had to be exhausted by all that.
Heard a lot of cat trasport stories, but this is the firdt chicken trip! Gives the “why the chicken crossed the road joke ” a whole new spin!
This sure is one of a big tale! This made me smile this rainy morning on this side of our globe. Thanks for sharing.
Janet, this is been quite a day, and I’m about to go to sleep. Your story makes my day complete. And I have to read it to the Grand-Girls tomorrow afternoon!
Wow! That’ll be the topic of conversation for a long time to come!
Okay, I’m leaving this up for Wil to read. This is just toooooo good! lol
What a great story! And I’m so glad that both chicks survived their ride! Too funny. Great way to end a stressful couple of days – thanks for posting!
Too funny! I really enjoy your chicken stories, and this one takes the cake! You should submit this story for publication somewhere. Thanks for sharing!
I wonder where they rode? Amazing!
Glad to see you posting!
Oh my gosh that is hillarious!!! I can’t believe chickens would do such a thing!
Too too funny! It sure would be entertaining to know where on (or in) the car they were hiding.