“Just you try it! I will whack you like a baseball!” This is how I started my morning. No sooner than I let my chickens out of their pens to free range for the day then a hawk starts screeching near by.
“Don’t you stupid chickens know he is coming for you? Get in the dang bushes”… but nope, I had just spread out a hand full of food which they were gobbling up blissfully unaware they were about to be gobbled up. This called for drastic measures… a broom.
I’m sure if anyone could have seen me standing in my yard waving my broom (to make myself look really big and scary!) and shouting at the hawk that was getting closer by flying from tree to tree… did he really think I wouldn’t notice he was getting closer? I live with a cat for crying out loud… I know ALL the tricks!
I may as well start writing at this point as well. I was advised by friends that I should keep a journal of my adventures (or mis-adventures) on the farm. I don’t know that anyone will actually want to read this. But it will help me to remember special times with Edgar and the zoo. I apologize in advance for my writing style. I write like I talk. (very long winded, in circles, and I constantly shift between subjects)
A bit about me... I am a country girl who left to live in the city for the past 25 years. I’m a travel agent who after 19 years has finally become an independent contractor. I no longer commute to the office. Since I can work anywhere, we (meaning I) decided to move back to West Virginia
It really started with Edgar. Edgar is a Canada goose who came into our lives in April. He was slightly mauled by a dog and I rescued him. It was only later that I discovered that while we could kill goose eggs, shoot them and do anything we could to keep them away from where we lived, we were in fact not allowed to save him. Too late.
We quickly realized that Edgar doubled his size every week and it seemed natural to want him to grow up in a safe environment. Our intention all along was to keep him wild. You know what they say about the best of intentions?? Well, I could never remember so he quickly became very attached to us and we to him. He was just so cute when he cuddled up to us. How could we resist?
Nope… I mean it, he is a wild animal and we really must stop treating him as he was part of the family. So, naturally we up and moved to the farm to make sure he had a safe place to grow up.
Since we were living in the country why not try my hand at a few chickens? I was given three feathered (footed) bantams from a co-worker. As they grew up I realized I got really, really lucky with two of them being 2 hens and one rooster, Fergus. Then my cousin gave me 6 Rhode Island Red’s which were not hand raised and they forever more shall be referred to the “red demons” in this blog. They will peck you. They will run away from you. They are not at all like my sweet banties, they are eeeevillll. (you have to say it like Dr. Evil would)
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