My suburban son, who likes the idea of self-sustainability but isn't fond of picking up chickens, was here this weekend. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. I had the girls out foraging in their portable pens/tractor and he watched as I lead them back to the coop for supper with a bag of mealworms. The cats got into the act, so the chickens went every which-way. He chased the chickens toward me while I corralled them: I left the doors to the hen house and run open so they would go in when herded that way. Unfortunately, after I got the chickens in and shut the door to the run, one of the cats got curious and went in the hen house. I attempted to chase him out, but he went through the pop door, down the ramp and into the run with the chickens. So, now I had the cat locked in the coop. My son went in after him and, with chickens squawking, wings flapping, and my son's long legs all over the place, he finally got his hands on the reluctant cat.
The following day, my son convinced me to allow the chickens to roam free, which went pretty well .... until the cat started to stalk them. After a failed attempt to pounce, I captured the cat and put him in the chicken tractor. Cat in tractor, hens running loose. It was the silliest thing I've seen in a long time.
My son still won't pick up a chicken ... doesn't like the flapping wings and the jumping around of an excited hen. :cd [COLOR=333333]He’s going home today. I think he’s had his fill of the country life for now.[/COLOR]