the prodigal hen

oh katymay, the prodigal hen.

last friday morning, katymay disappeared. this wasn't the first time she has done this. once before, during the snowstorm in february, she was gone overnight! we searched the property high and low, but she was nowhere to be found. the next morning, she was back! waiting outside the barn, perched on the bench like nothing was amiss. meanwhile, the other 6 chickens spent the night warm and dry inside the barn. we thought it was a fluke- that she was disoriented by the snow- apparently not.

during the day, the chickens range around the property and pretty much do what they want. they wander up to the house in the morning and scratch around in the gardens for bugs and then, in the evenings around sunset, they put themselves to bed and file into the barn to find their favorite spot to perch.

and then there's katymay...
when katymay was a chick, i named her after the nickname that my dad calls my mom. i named her this because she is a golden color, but her crest has these feathers that look like she has highlights. lovingly of course, i compared them to my mom's hair, which is somewhat uncontrollable in nature and also has highlights. besides the hair/feather similarity, katymay was an adventurous chick- always the first to "check things out" and one of the first to hop out of their little enclosure and adventure into the stalls for a dust bath. my mom is adventurous as well, and not afraid to try new things, so katymay seemed like an appropriate name for her.

now that katymay is grown up, she is still a sweet little chicken, but is quite a wanderer. fearless, although she shouldn't be since she is the smallest of all the hens, she spends her days exploring on her own- waiting for no one to accompany her. she always used to end up back with the pack by the end of the day to come in the barn for an evening snack of sunflower seeds, but last friday, she was gone!

we searched EVERYWHERE. with flashlights in the trees and i even parked my car with the headlights facing the woods where she sometimes roosts to look for her in the dark. i was terrified something had "gotten" her. i was scared to look at the ground for fear of finding a pile of feathers. there was just no trace of her. i spent a few hours that weekend walking the creek lines and fence lines and there was just- nothing. come sunday morning, i was starting to accept the fact that she wasn't coming home.

monday evening, i was at the barn in the evening to feed and my barn owner was down there as well, we were chatting about the chickens and talking about katymay. she said that while looking for her, she had found a nest with 26 eggs in it in the woods at the base of a tree. we thought katymay wasn't laying yet, well she was- just not in the nest boxes! just as we were discussing why she goes off on her own to lay, our neighbor from up the road came walking down to the barn. she said she wanted to talk about the chickens. i thought immediately that we were in trouble because our rooster, einstein, REALLY likes the sound of his own crow lately, and is very loud. i thought for sure he was probably driving them crazy and she was going to ask how long it would be before he gets butchered... (which he isn't, although i have threatened his life with explanations about where those delicious chicken fingers from zaxby's come from when decides to attack people)

surprisingly, she wants chickens of her own, and came to ask us about ours. i introduced them to her, and we told her about the disappearance of katymay, and how even though people say chickens are stupid, they each have their own personalities and you do grow attached to them. mid-sentence, she said, "oh, there's a little brown chicken down by my pond and it's been there for days". i said, "WHATTTT?????!!!!!- is she dead?" and she said, "no- she's fine". she was very calm and matter of fact about it all, and although i wanted to sprint off in the direction of the pond immediately, i tried to remain composed and said, "do you mind if i walk over and get her?", they both offered to join me, and as we walked over to her property, katymay trots out of the tree line by the pond and straight to my feet, like, "hey mom!". i scooped her up in my arms and lectured her about running away from home. when we got back to the barn, i made her spend the night in the chicken condo to remind her of where she belonged! she was quite hungry and ravenously ate her sunflower seed treats and chicken food and i was reminded of the story of the hungry prodigal son in the bible. i was so glad to have her home, even though i was quite insulted that she would try to leave us. she has stayed around fairly well this week and i have been watching her like an overprotective crazy person. feeding her treats every chance i get to remind her of where her bread is buttered! hopefully, that will be her last foray into undiscovered territory. much like trying to keep up with my mother at scott's antique market, katymay needs a leash, or maybe an electric collar of some sort.