We made a lot of mistakes when we moved here last July, and one of them was waiting to move the chickens last. The other was leaving the chicken coop for the new owners because that meant that we HAD to move the chickens last!
Since it rained the whole month that we had to move, we didn't have a chance to build a new coop, so the chickens needed to stay in the horse trailer until we could get that done. So on closing day, we were, of course, running late and the last thing to do was catch the chickens. Alan and I were on our way back to the house after delivering the horses to the land. We called and asked the girls and Darren to catch the chickens and put them in the big wooden box we had left.
We had left the chickens in the coop to make this easier and they had no problems with most, but one did escape! So as the new owners were making the last walk through, my kids were outside chasing a stubborn chicken around the yard! We got there and it was another 1/2 hour before we finally got the darn thing, and put them all in the horse trailer. By now there was no way we could take them to the land and get back in time for the closing, so we settled for a quick wash up at the neighbors to get the sweat and moving grime off and headed in town to the lawyers with the horse trailer carrying the chickens in tow.
It was a really warm, sunny day, FINALLY, and the closing didn't go as smoothly as planned. One bank didn't transfer something they should have, etc, etc. and we ended up sitting there for a while waiting for it to be straightened out. I was getting concerned about the heat in the trailer with the chickens also being in a box, so during the wait asked Alan if maybe we should go check on the chickens. The real estate agent for the buyers (who it turns out I knew through horse-related friends) asked me what I was talking about. So I told her that we had run out of time and had to bring our chickens to the closing with us. She couldn't believe it, and I think she thought they were in our car! I told her not to worry, they were all buckled in! We had a good laugh and the chickens were fine when we were done. We really felt like the Beverly Hillbillys though, and probably looked like them too!
So we got back to our new home and set the horse trailer up as the chicken coop.
For the next few days though, a black and white chicken, which is the what the one we couldn't catch was, kept coming up to "visit" us at the camper while the rest of them stayed around their new "coop". I really think it was that darn chicken and she thought she was very special because of all the effort we put into bringing her along!
A few nights after moving here, I went down the check on all the critters for the last time and found a chicken that had fallen off the side of the wooden box and gotten caught hanging upside down between the side of the trailer and the wooden box. All I could see in the flashlight beam were sticking up chicken feet and I was thinking, "What the H---!" I grabbed the feet and they were cold. I really thought that she was dead. I moved the box, pulled her up and got her right side up again. She was still alive and gave me a look like "whoa, HEAD RUSH!". I set her down on the trailer floor but she couldn't walk right away, just kinda wobbled around like a drunken sailor then plopped down again. You could tell she couldn't feel her feet. By the time I went back to the camper, she was looking better, and her feet were feeling warmer, but I didn't know how she'd be in the morning. She ended up being fine and I made sure the box was further away from the side of the trailer!
We did get a chicken coop finished fairly quickly and they seem to really like it!
We're very happy we brought them along, as they have been a big help in clearing the land and keeping down the ticks!
Blueberry (our oldest chicken) checking to make sure the tractor is in gear!
Where do you want this big boy?
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