
I shine my flashlight on the ground and talk to them in reassuring tones as I try to lead them toward the chicken run. It works and I am able to guide a couple of them into one of the coops with just the beam of light. The rest of them have become confused and are hung up in the fence. I set the flashlight on the ground and pick one up. I drop her inside the gate to Chickenland and shine the light on the door of the coop. She catches on and goes inside. I have to repeat this routine a number of times until I have gotten all of them that have been lined up watching from along the fence. But I still don’t have twelve.
I shine the light under the deck, but I don’t see any chickens. Then I remember that when they get caught our after dark, they sometimes will roost in the large lilac in the middle of the yard. I spot a black one on a lower branch. I pick her up and put her in the run. She is happy to follow the light inside.
I check the bush again. I know there has to be another chicken in there somewhere. Finally, I spot her. A Leghorn, pure white and easy to see in the dark, but roosting so high I had missed her. She is about seven feet up in a tangle of branches. She is one of my tamer birds, used to being handled, so I don’t expect her to give me a hard time. I talk to her and she coos back, but, working at such a height, it is really difficult to untangle her without causing injury. I get her to climb onto my forearm, lift her out and show her the way home.
Most of the chickens have ended up in one small coop. I have to move some of them in order to avoid mayhem when the sun comes up. For each chicken I pluck off the roost in one coop and place in the other, I shine the light so she can see to hop back up on the roost. It is amazing that this all works so well. They seem to know what I expect and give me their full cooperation.
Now it’s time for a head count. I have eight in one coop and four in the other. This will have to do. As I bid my darlings goodnight and lock the doors, the fireworks begin.
2 comments:
You're a good daddy. Nice story.
I have to go find some kleenex.
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