A Haven for Vee

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Killer Chickens

I try to hide them, but I have issues. Have you noticed? Yes, and quite a number of them, too. Like most of my fears, I can trace this one to childhood. 

Back in the day, at Easter time, a girl would often find herself the proud owner of a flock of pastel chickies. Perhaps you did, too.

And so the girl set out to mother her little flock tending to them most lovingly and making sure that every need of their cheeping little beings was fulfilled. They soon came to recognize her and would fly to the corner of the box whenever she came near. And she thought: They are soooo 
koochy-woochy, wooby-dooby cute. 

One day, however, Mother and Father came once again to their senses and realized that they now had a herd of prepubescent chickens living in their kitchen. They decided to hand them off to the neighbors who actually had a chicken coop.

This was a perfectly delightful arrangement as now the little girl could visit and feed her flock. Imagine her surprise when one horrific afternoon she let herself into the coop only to find herself surrounded by a group of highly agitated hens. They had no patience for her wooby-dooby anymore and pecked at her legs so fiercely that the sounds of her screaming rattled around the valley three times. 

Fast forward to Sunday afternoon when John and I were happily driving like the old folks we are through the countryside looking for autumn.

 We saw a beautiful scene where there was an empty drive handy so that we could park and be out of the way. Out of the car I popped and was preparing to take my first photo when out of the barn came the herd

They ran so fast that they looked as if they were on horseback...I do believe I heard one of them say, "Get her, Gertrude!"

Ackkkk... I couldn't get back to the car fast enough. I fell in panting and slammed the door shut.


Goodbye, Ladies, hope that your real dinner arrives soon.


This was the view I was going for...


Just learned that I can do this in my Photoscape program. I do wish that it would stop flattening the top, bottom, and sides, though; otherwise, it's a great effect.

A delightful autumn day to you. Don't let the killer chickens get ya!

41 comments:

  1. I remember the colored chickens from when I was a child. Fortunately they never lived very long due to all of the handling they got.
    I love that last picture. Beautiful!

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  2. TY for making smile & laugh. When we lived in Alabama we raised chickens for eggs. Let me tell you..the "mother hen" was not very happy to me or the boy. Your story sure made me chuckle, thanks. Beautiful pictures. Looks like fall here in NY too. The colors are so pretty. I sure missed that when we lived down south. Blessings

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  3. Oh my that is a scary group. I was chased by a rooster in my youth and it has scarred me for life. I do not like to be around chickens or roosters that are free ranging...

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  4. I have those childhood fears, but mine issue was with my Great Grandfather's rooster! Love the colour; we're just starting to see glimpse of colour in North Carolina, but beautiful sunny days, XOXO

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  5. Hahahahaha! Soooooo funny! You have a way with a tale, Vee! I am imagining your horror as "the herd" came rushing at you! (Was John amused?) ;)

    As to :"issues""...we all have them. I know I have my share.

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  6. I received those pastel chicks every year, too. We always took them to a farm when they were feathered. I was told that they would have a happy life and I believed it. - You also had guineas running out to greet you. What a chatter you must have heard!

    I'll have to try rounding a photo or two in PhotoScape, too. The edges and base weren't noticeable and it looks so nice.

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  7. Just when I was chuckling away I read "Get her, Gertrude!" and nearly spit out my coffee. Thanks so much for this humorous start to the day. I kinda wish John was in control of the camera at this point. No, not really as I'm sure you weren't amused at the time of the chase. However, it does make a hilarious story.

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  8. You made me laugh this morning! I've never been around chickens much..
    That last photo is gorgeous. I like the round effect.

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  9. Vee,
    I don't remember colored chickens but I do remember my dad bringing home a box of baby chicks that grew into hens that ran all around the yard. My dad had a piece of expanded metal up over the basement door so they wouldn't get in and one of them stuck it's head in and got it caught. Needless to say, that poor baby wound up on our Sunday dinner table that week :(

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  10. I'm just heading off to school this morning (English classes) and I saw the title of your post. Just had to read it before I go. You are too funny! Glad for the laugh. Have a great day and stay away from those chickens!

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  11. Oh my Vee you certainly made me smile, albeit i am sorry you had that childhood chicken experience !
    Our chickens come running like that when we call them to be fed ~ thank goodness they are all sweet though. Such a fun story!
    Wonderful Autumn colors in the last photo ~ gorgeous !

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  12. We used to get those just about every Easter when I was a kid. They used to sell them even in the grocery stores -in a box just inside the front door. lol I am not afraid of chickens but I was attacked by a rooster when I was a little girl. Thankfully my mother was nearby and grabbed me but not before he had scarred my back a bit- xo Diana

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  13. Oh Vee, I'm so glad I discovered your blog and that I can visit you everyday. I may not comment everyday, but I always stop by to see what you're up to. This made me laugh so hard I'm wiping the tears out of my eyes. You are just laugh-out-loud funny! :-D

    This is a great story, and trust me, I'm not making fun of your chicken phobia. I'm scared to death of spiders, and I have a funny story to share about that soon. My friend and former boss is deathly afraid of chickens (actually all things with wings and feathers) because her older sister locked her up in the hen house when they were children.

    Your autumn scenes and colors are wonderful to behold, especially that gorgeous blue sky. Thanks for sharing and for making my morning. :)

    Hugs to you,

    Denise at Forest Manor

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  14. I do remember those cute pastel chicks. Oh that must have been scary trying to get away from those chickens! You were able to capture some pretty scenes in spite of them!

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  15. I hate to laugh at anyone's phobias but I'm with Happy@Home, "Get her Gertrude" made me laugh out loud! It is a delight and joy to read your blog.... By the way, my phobia is frogs, I'll tell you about it sometime!

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  16. My kids loved going to Grandma Chickie's house because they wanted to help with collecting the eggs. I don't think they did much collecting though because they were really terrified of the chickens. Once they got pecked a time or two they decided to just watch grandma do the collecting.

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  17. That is so funny, Vee. You tell such humorous stories. I remember seeing pictures, probably in magazines, of the pastel chickens but I was a city girl and we didn't have any pets, not even a teeny tiny turtle or a hamster. I do remember a house 2 blocks away that had chickens and a cow or two when I was just a child. In the city. Very unusual. I'm glad you got your beautiful photos though and that you were faster than the chickens. Enjoy the day!

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  18. You are too funny! I did have pastel colored chickens and when they grew up, my Mother took them to a young man who worked in the same building and he had them for dinner. I was heartbroken that someone would eat my chicks! When the next Easter rolled around and it came time to pick a chick, I said "NO" ... didn't want to fall in love and then watch my chick become someones dinner. Thanks for sharing the lovely Autumn color.

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  19. Oh my gosh ... got my belly laugh for the day! Cluck cluck cluck!

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  20. Wow, I had a similar experience only it was at a duck farm in Long Island. They were surrounding me because I had a bag of food in my hands, I started screaming and my dad scooped me right up and out of harm's way! I think it is so funny that a whole flock of these hens came flying up the driveway! xo

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  21. We had a "killer" rooster when I was very young. He would wait for me to come out in the back yard and when I did, he would charge toward me, fly up in my face, often knock me down and jump up and down on me. He had sharp spurs on the backs of his legs and he hurt. I would have run the other way, too, if I had seen all of the "killer chickens" in your picture charging toward me.

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  22. How killer chickens never come across them in my life.
    Merle......... ........... ........

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  23. Oh my! Those chickens do sound like a terror. I'm glad you escaped!

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  24. Great chicken story there!! : ) So far the chickens here by me are very well behaved!!

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  25. I removed the other comment because it had numerous typos. I should not try typing when sleepy... yawn.

    I do LOVE your story, so funny. The mental image was enough and then the pictures of those "ladies"! I had a wild out of control rooster in my preschool years which chased me around our old farmhouse. Don't recall the chickens being unfriendly but that rooster was definitely cranky.

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  26. I just bet John loved that!

    I have a bird phobia so I can completely understand your chicken one. We have eight hens and so far they are pretty nice. Of course being related to birds, I tend to keep my distance but I love to watch them roam our property and watching them run? Too much fun!
    Now our rooster was a problem, so he is now our 'former' rooster and can't hurt anyone anymore!

    Beautiful photos!

    Deanna

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  27. Lovely photos! I've been toying with the idea of getting chickens for a few years now. They only thing that I don't like are their feet. The talons freak me out and I read that if you don't let them free range you have to clip them (like a dog!).

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  28. Now, Vee, I woulda paid good money to see you running away from those chickens! You made me laugh out loud - actually a guffaw!!! And I don't have to clip my chicken's toenails...

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  29. My kind of day Vee, a ride in the country with my favorite Bo~ I only wish John had a camera in hand to photograph you running from the chickens! Maybe next time. ~smile~

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  30. OMG... I'm laughing so hard I'm gonna pee in my pants!!

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  31. So funny Vee!!! You've made me laugh....I too have been scarred - literally - by pecking hens while trying to gather their eggs. This was many years ago and as a child of 8 or 9 years old! Glad you took a few seconds to capture a picture of the advance!

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  32. So funny is right! On the other hand, consider your tinted chicken 'a point of view: taken from their nest dipped in dye, loved by a little girl for awhile, then ditched into a coop after being used to a lovely human home. No wonder they went psycho!

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  33. You really need to come over for a few days and get yourself sorted out. Chickens are loving creatures...really. Need I send you a photo of my wee grands toting them about?
    Love it!

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  34. LOL! I think fried chicken for dinner would be wonderful therapy. I'm glad that you survived! Ah, what we do for our photo ops, right? And it's wonderful that you are exploring some new photo effects too!

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  35. Hilarious! My grandfather had a mean rooster named Donny that kept all the kids terrified. He went after my grandfather one too many times and that was the end of him:)

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  36. I have many animal and bird phobias. It's just me. I like cats and dogs but other things skeeve me out and I'm afraid of them.

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  37. Oh my.... good thing the car was nearby. Bet that brought back the childhood memories, tee hee. Sorry, you knew we'd have to have a chuckle didn't you. ~ Abby

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