Thanks for the welcome everyone.
JT, you are right. I need to find some nearby chickens to visit. I do a round at every county fair I find and mentally design my next chicken house to keep me sane. My first one had only two nests, six chickens and a stained glass window. The second one had "framed" pictures of their chicken ancestors on the wall and also had six chickens. The third one was the "Chicken Hilton" with a floor I could hose out and coyote-proof wire. There were 30 chickens that time, all of them individuals.
For now, it's just a crazy attack manx cat named Eddie who sleeps with his stuffed toy cat.
I'm enjoying your stories.