The case of the missing chicken

Saturday late morning my husband called me and told me that one of the chickens was 'missing'. I told him not to worry she was probaby in the coop laying. I came home and she was still missing. I got worried, searched the coop, the yard, the shrubs and nothing. There was no evidence of predator attack. I started to worry. I realized it was Pearl who was missing. I felt sad and worried and hoped that if she had been 'chicknapped' that she had not suffered.

I did all my afternoon stuff and at about 5pm I went to get the bucket for my horses beet pulp. In the winter we soak it in the house. I got to the barn and the bucket was outside the door upside down. I grabbed it and SQUAWK out runs a wet, beet pulp soaked chicken! She ran through the barn lot carrying on. The weather was only moderately cold and she had 40 minutes of sunshine, so I hoped she would dry.

Jay got home later and I went to feed the horses, tuck the girls in and just generally secure the farm for the night. I stopped by the coop and used my flashlight to look at the girls. There were two LOVELY floofy chickens and one sad looking chicken. What I hadn't considered was the molasses in the beet pulp that had dried on her feathers. I grabbed her up and took her to the house for a bath. I handed Jay a chicken, got a crate to put Pearl in when she was washed. Then I held her while Jay washed her feathers (from neck to tail covered) and she flapped and squawked and soaked us in the process.

She spent the night in a crate in the spare room so she would be able to dry. The next morning I turned her out and listened as she told the WORLD how she had been abused. She got to her pals and hushed. However, all day Sunday if I so much as went by her, she would scold me loudly. Yesterday she got herself INTO the horse barn, but couldnt' get out, she is definately not gonna be the 'easy one'.