March 26, 2010

Chickens Beware!


There's a new sheriff in town…and he's out to enforce some law and order in the local, renegade poultry population. For weeks now the chickens have been boldly, and frequently, trying to annex (and fertilize) our front porch as part of their territory. We thought at first it was a passing phase, due in part to the scarcity of dry, bare ground during the deep snows, but the snow is long gone and the habit has continued. In fact, it seems that porch walking has become a favorite game among the chickens, one they dare each other to play. When all barnyard banter ceases or drops to a whisper level, it is a sure sign there are chickens on the porch. After weeks of a frustrating and fruitless battle of wills, Joe decided to bring in the big guns, literally. The chickens may have dogged determination on their side, but we now have "Chicken Bane", a water gun capable of shooting a steady blast of water up to 70 feet with a reload time of mere seconds.

Who knew chicken training could be so fun! After only one day, some very surprised chickens are already showing more respect. Now that we have the power, the whole front yard is off limits. No more dust bathing under the porch unless you wanna get a REAL bath. There have been civilian casualties as well, however. Joe got a little trigger happy this morning and didn't bother to take very close aim, the result of which was a soaking blast of ice water right to my gut. He reassured me that he didn't mean it and I was still allowed on the porch, but I have my suspicions. Only time will tell if this new strategy proves to be successful, but win or lose, we'll have a lot of fun trying.

No comments: