Maggie May Went Visiting

When I got home about 4 pm after going to ASK ABOUT renting a storage unit and get a free Chic-fil-A sandwich, I was surprised. Thelma was sitting on the porch with her face in the corner nearest to the door. She made herself so small, I barely recognized her. Patsy Cline was talking to me from the ground. Something happened.

Usually, when the hens are frightened, they come to the back porch and get as close to me as they can. Thelma is the only one who would remember sleeping in doors for 19 months. She was the one seeking refuge close to me on the porch.

Hoping against hope, I rushed in and poured a bowl of oats and started calling "Delilah" to call Maggie May since she was not at the porch. No, she did not come to me. I locked the other two in the pen, eating oats.

I got into the car and drove around the block. There she was right in the yard behind me. There was a woman using a tool to pick up pecans. Maggie May was within four feet of her, pecking eagerly. I trilled out the window "Deee Liii Lahhhh" and Maggie May raised her head, looked around as she turned her body. When she saw me in the car, she ran eagerly with wings outstretched to reach me. I felt all warm with appreciation. Have you ever seen chickens run with wings out?

No, she did not want to go home with me. She evaded my attempts to herd her home, even with the nice woman helping to head her off. At one point, I found a pointy stick. Well, it had three points. I chased, poked and prodded, but she ran back to the woman and where she had been pecking when I arrived.

At one point, Maggie May was in the road, so I decided to chase her with the pointy stick and throw short ones.  An old guy in a truck decided to wait at the side road while I hobbled along. Yes, he was old like I am old...lol. When he passed me, he was laughing. My chase is a slow stumble, lurch, and a limp mixed in.

Finally, I came home, determining to just leave her out all night. But, you know I cannot bear to do that. So, I went back. She was standing in the road where I parked the car to get out for her earlier. She was looking around as though she was confused. Then, she started looking for my car. Did you know that chickens, like dogs, learn the noise of our car motors?

I pulled wide and drove very slowly. When I rolled the window down and said Delilah in a high tone, she immediately started following the car. That half block took me a long time since I stopped, called to her, and drove on slowly while she ran after me. When I got to the corner of the block and my yard, she jumped right on the curb and started toward the back yard.

After I pulled into the driveway, I just sat there and finished a Coke. When I got to the pen, she was just arriving, too. No, she was not going inside. Not yet. After hanging onto the gate for a bit, I slowly circled her, causing her to move away from me and into the pen.

I did have a nice conversation with the woman picking up pecans.  She thought Maggie May was a rooster because she was so large. She said she had never seen a hen so large. We both laughed a lot as we tried to get Maggie May to move in the right direction.

I am glad I don't own cows.

Your turn
Do you or did you ever have to chase chickens? Have you seen them with wings out when they run?