The Most Recent

Last Monday-- I opened the front door to discover a LEO. He asked me how many chickens I had, I said 9. He then explained they had a complaint of rogue chickens flying about and upsetting my neighbor. I dutifully walked around the house with him to count my chickens. Heart in my mouth, wondering who had managed to jump a 6 foot fence and how on earth their wings had grown back already. 9 chickens were to be seen, 1 appearing to be "tied down." The tied down comment came when she was not moving at all. Not dead, just not moving. I lifted her up to show she had huddled her daily egg and someone else's under herself and was protecting them from our visitor. I tried to explain that Black Australorps are broody. Then, satisfied that the chickens were present and even cared for (food, water, nesting boxes, shelter, heat lamp) he went to talk to my neighbor.

LEO soon returned with the complaint that I had too many chickens. He said he set neighbor straight, as I am allowed 15 and a rooster. He asked if I wanted a rooster, I said no, never. They peck you and since all I want out of my chickens are eggs the last thing I am going to risk are fertilized eggs. He told me a story about being a child and his grandmother's rooster attacking him. I told him a story about once killing a rooster that viciously attacked me as a child (I figured the statute of limitations were up on chickenicide). He was nice and told me to consider a new coop and to keep the food and water visible since his guess was he'd be back to chase another complaint up within the week. Seriously though, if someone took my chickens away I would have hit my final straw, this town is hanging by a thread already (a later thread called leaving).

This led me to Neighbors