Marty, actually, it's not so much a company as a guy and a few of his friends.. and I like the main guy very much. I
did call and let him know we had her, this morning- left him a very appreciative/nice VM.
After careful consideration, I had given the LS guy a second (final) call yesterday late morning. I left an emotional (not btchy) VM message telling him that I was distraught re missing bird, thought he'd might've seen what direction she flew off in or something, was there anything he could tell me- that I just wanted my pet back & there'd be no questions asked, etc,
2 hrs later he called- was ridiculously kind and calm, considering.
Absurdly nice, all things considered. I apologized for continuing to contact him, I was being silly because I was so upset.
He chuckled and said very calmly that he knew for a
fact that chickens came back, they
always came back, and I needed to stop worrying because he was
sure she was show up again. He reassured me several times with great confidence.
I gushed how nice he was, thanked him, said I hoped he was right, and said I wouldn't bother him any more. I hung up w/ fingers crossed.
Less than an hour after we hung up, I got the call that the chicken was standing in the middle of the neighbor's front lawn in plain view. Once I had her in my arms, I noticed that she was dry. Even our pullets hanging out in their coop got a little damp yesterday, but not RIR. She was completely clean and dry after spending an overnight in cold drizzles?? I know they get in out of the rain but geez
I was just so ECSTATIC to have her back, I didn't really think about how it played out until later last night.
I don't think any of the LS guys came into our yard with the intention of stealing a chicken but maybe the opportunity presented itself and they figured I wouldn't miss her(?). I don't know. 'Just seems weird that she disappeared while they were in the yard and re-appeared less than an hour after he assured me with total confidence that I'd have her again. Maybe he figured she wasn't worth the trouble and just dropped her off near our house...
OR it could just be a HUGE WEIRD COINCIDENCE- which is why I was very careful the way I conducted both of my calls to him; I always kept in my mind that he & his guys very possibly had nothing to do with it, despite my nagging gut. (Guts aren't always right!)
I left him a gushingly thankful (& slightly self-depreciating) VM when I let him know we'd found her- an appropriate message either way.
It's over, I'll never know either way, and I'm just glad it all worked out with the result it did- she's
home safely!
It was unwise of me to leave the birds out of the coop with someone going around with a leaf-blower anyway. I'll just keep them cooped on Thurs from now on, until after all that's done.
BTW RIR's acting a lot more submissive/meek than before all this happened. Not sure why. This is good- she's accepted being the lowest bird in the pecking order it seems, so they're jumping on her a lot less. I think by mid-week, I'll be able to let her roost & coop with them FT without fearing for her safety. They're all ranging in relative peace now.
All's well that ends well!
'Baby's back!!!
THANKS GUYS!!!
PS I NEVER AGAIN want to try to catch a frantic chicken in a hilly yard full of shrubs. Just kill me now.
'Ought to be an Olympic sport...
