Bringing the first chickens home

The chicken house was clean, had fresh straw, food, water, and fresh paint. We were ready to bring our new additions home! Al and I took her 4Runner (the same vehicle we learned how to bring home straw from the source) and our dog crate and were on our way. The pullets had been caught into a cage by the seller. I really appreciated that so we wouldn't have to chase them through the berry bushes like we did on our first visit.

We moved the chicks from the seller's cage to our dog kennel, thanked him for his trouble and travelled home. Al and I carried the kennel to the fenced run and opened the door for the chickens to make their grand entrance. They ran one by one out of the kennel to the corner of the yard, shielded by the berry bushes on our property. These must have been comforting to them (?)

We didn't know what else to do, so we went about our business and checked on the chickens after about an hour had passed.  A-OK ! How easy this was going to be, I thought and went back to my work in the house.  After another hour, Al and I checked again. This time, something was different. The thin elastic from the center of the bungee that held the gate shut had snapped, and the gate was wide open. Our dogs, Topaz and Maya, were inside the gate and there were only two chickens to be found. Far different from the five we started with.  I could hear the other chickens calling their friends, so I trudged through the overgrown berries that were surrounding our property in search of the missing.

Meanwhile, Al was trying to catch the two that were still in the fenced area. I could hear her squeal whenever the chicken flapped from scare. This was not Al's chosen chore, but she knew the birds were important to me and was trying to help.  She did end up catching the hen and with a scream and a cluck, there were now two safely in the coup.

As Al recuperated from the stressful chase, I continued my hunt. This led me through the yard to the side fence, where I almost caught a chicken. But, just before I did, it found a hole in the fence and had passed into the neighbor's yard.  Now, I had to take a different tactic. It was time to walk up the street, around the yard, notify the neighbors about the missing and try to bring one or more home.  We had two in the coup and three missing.

Cut up from the berry bushes and trudging through the yard, I trekked up the road to notify the neighbors of our missing three. As I reached one neighbor's home, I saw one of our missing running toward their chickens. They saw the chicken and helped me catch it, so now we had three. I took it home and added the hen (?) to the others and continued my search.

By this time, it was almost dark. The only thing that was helping us was the fact that the chickens were all white and could still be seen in the dark a bit better than other breeds. Al had had enough fun and retreated to the house with my husband, Gary. I was on my own in this venture, as the others felt the chickens would find their way home on their own. I felt that I should try my best to find them, especially since it was the very first day of their arrival. No luck, after much searching, and Gary convinced me to give up on the task until daylight.

I went in the house to take a nap and after about an hour, Al ran in and woke me up saying "I hear a chicken screaming!" Oh my gosh! I was thinking as I jumped up and outside, flashlight in hand. And, low and behold, Maya was standing on the deck with one of our chickens right next to her. I guess Maya had been investigating the area and spooked the poor thing out of the vegetation. Now we had four.  Where could the other one be? What a horrible chicken mother I was!

Depressed, exhausted, and incredibly cut up and bleeding from my excursion into the berry bushes, I decided to get some rest and see what the light of day would bring.....with new bungees on the gate, and four out of five chicks put to bed for the night.