Chicken Run ....

Ever seen the movie Chicken Run? I swear our chickens think they are in it. Since the dog has been poorly we have had all sorts of animals in the garden, including some pesky foxes. The chickens have been under attack 3 times just lately. They have only survived because we have been in ear shot to intervene and shout at Mr Fox.

On Wednesday at 11.50am he struck again, picking up 2 of the girls, Marjorie and Gladys. On releasing them we caught Marjorie and placed her safely back in the run, however Gladys was off!! She headed behind the house down into a small gap which separates the house from the steep Quarry bank. The cheeky bird slipped through our legs and sprinted up the bank. The quarry is so steep the rescue mission was like something out of Indian Jones. She was more agile than us and was up into the gardens above before we could stop her.

By now Gladys had hidden herself deep inside a shrub. We let her be, in the hope that come dusk she would make her way back to the shed. But alas to no avail.

On Thursday night I woke to some chicken noises like distant murder in the night, however it was very muffled and I was not sure if I was hallucinating. The next morning however with Gladys being on the run for 2 days we had just about written her off. Then all of a sudden I spotted her out the back window hiding in the quarry side.

Again we headed out on a far more adventurous mission this time, I waited safely below while my housemate scaled the bank in order to come down from above and flush Gladys southwards. After 30 minutes of being out witted by a far more nimble bird, we resorted to Ruby the Wonder Dog!

I released Ruby and within minutes she had rounded up Gladys into a bramble bush, at last we had her! Gladys is safe! What a relief to have her home with the others, and what an exciting expedition.