I just realized I’ve developed a ridiculous compulsion. Let me explain.
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We’ve been free ranging the chickens in the backyard for a year and half now. I let them out every day when I get home from work and put them in when it gets dark. While they’re running around, I do things around the house and check on them every so often.
They have hopped over the fence before to see what’s on the other side, and not been able to find their way back. I’ve had to follow Dee Dee and Rosie into neighboring territories more times than I’d like to admit.
I have always had this terrible paranoia that they will hop over the fence into our driveway and go running into the very busy road in front of our house. This paranoia has caused me to panic every time I hear a car horn in front of the house. I always imagine a car is blasting their horn because one of my ridiculous patio raptors is gallavanting through the streets. I go running for the backdoor to count chickens and make sure everyone’s safe and sound.
The chickens have never hopped over that part of the fence and anytime they get in the neighbors yard, they’re always panicked trying to get back to their flock. I still have this horrible fear of them getting in the road.
I’ve realized that this has turned into some kind of compulsion when, not once, not twice, but three times this week I heard a car horn and was at the back door so fast that I wasn’t able to comprehend that the chickens weren’t even out. They were all safely tucked away in their coop, where I had last left them. Three times this happened! I’ve been conditioned to respond to car horns by checking on chickens! It sounds like something out of an asylum!
Does keeping chickens make you crazy? I’m tempted to say yes.
Reading this post made me smile…wait until you have children…you will definitely be a wonderful, loving and protective momma…
This is why i keep everybody’s wings clipped. I can only handle so much stress!
Hahaha yes I agree! I’ve been tempted to clip the wings of our more adventurous birds but never got around to doing it.
Oh I’m just like this… but with my goats! 🙂 I love our chickens too, but I think I have a special affection for the goats since it’s the first animal I really learned about when we began farming.
That’s amazing! I can’t wait to get goats, I love them so much. I think that’s the first new farm critter we’ll get when we finally get out to the country. You can bet I’ll have a million questions for you Krystyna!
The first time we went on vacation I was so worried that the person caring for them was going to struggle getting them in the coop if one got out of the run. We drove 6 hours to reach our destination and my husband happened to check facebook and saw a post about some chickens roaming our neighborhood. I was terrified it was our girls. We called and had our neighbor check and all was well. We now have cameras in their coops so I can watch them from my phone anywhere, anytime