The Curse of the Sussex
Barbara and her girlfriends burst out the coop door yesterday. The snow that had been on the driveway was gone, and all the chickens were very happy. They ran/flew over to the spa under the spruce tree. Then they ran/flew over to the spa under the other spruce tree. Then they ran/flew back to the first spruce tree. Mrs. Chickendad smiled as she watched the chickens enjoying themselves after being cooped up so long.
A bit later, Chickendad asked if she wanted to make a run to the elevator for chicken feed. The girls were having such a good time that Mrs. Chickendad decided to leave them out. They were only going to be gone an hour.
While the Chickendads were gone, Barbara noticed a Funny Chicken watching them. The Funny Chicken made her uneasy. He was smaller than her and kind of skinny. Maybe he was a Bantam Funny Chicken. All the girls decided to go back in the coop, but the boys beat them to it. So much for chivalry . . .
When the girls made a pileup at the outside of the door, the Funny Chicken made his move. He grabbed the girl in the back of the pileup. She was one of the Speckled Sussex girls, the ones that the Chickendads have had such terrible luck raising. The rest of the girls raced over to the spa area to hide under the tree. The boys were already safe in the coop.
When the Chickendads returned home they saw the Coopers Hawk dining on his catch. Oh no! It was Specky Becky! They ran out and shooed off the hawk and took the sussex girl away from him. It was too late. Mrs. Chickendad put Becky over by the garage until she could change out of her good clothes. They would dispose of Becky later.
After the Chickendads changed clothes, they went back out and took care of business. In the meantime, the Funny Chicken had come back to see where his lunch had gone. He found her by the garage, where they had put her temporarily. When the Chickendads came out, the Funny Chicken was gone again. They took care of Becky, finished the chores and went back inside for supper.
The next morning, Chickendad noticed the Funny Chicken sitting on the ground in front of the garage where he had last eaten. He was waiting. Mrs. Chickendad took his picture. The project for today is to make sure all the outdoor pens are covered with netting. The hope is that Funny Chickens migrate, and this one is just passing through.