How to catch a rooster and lose a hen; or, the saga of a suburban micro farm
Both my wife and I had our happiest childhoods on farms. So, when I heard three years ago that a large chicken farm gave away egg-laying hens for free, I told my wife about it. OK, we got four hens for free and paid $250 for a chicken coop (center picture) the price of which has gone up to $450 in the meantime. Because egg-laying hens live only 2 - 3 years, and we may have gotten older ones anyway, the last hen died a year ago.
I had enough of chickens because I had done all of the work. But my wife had gotten the hang of it. Within two months, she bought two baby chicks although one turned out to be a rooster (bottom left.) Because my wife wanted to have more eggs, she bought yesterday another chick that died within hours. We buried it on our pet cemetery this morning (top left) where a dozen dogs and other pets rest in heavenly peace.
My wife bought this evening two more chicks (top right.) She also found someone who would take her unwanted rooster although I had fallen in love with its crowing. It brought back so many happy memories, but it's futile to argue with my wife. To catch the rooster, she laid out a row of chicken favorites leading into a large box, a la Hansel and Gretel, but no luck. I tried a blanket and almost caught it, but this rooster is a brave warrior (see bottom right.) I checked online my immunization records, and my tetanus booster still covers me.
Eventually, we waited till it was dark and the chickens had gone to sleep. This time I won the game. The rooster is now in a box inside my car waiting to be driven to the new owner. In the meantime, however, the hen had left the chicken coop in search of its mate. It turned out that the hen is a more talented escape artist than the rooster. We searched in vain for an hour in the dark without finding it. Our hope is that tomorrow morning the hen will hopefully find its way back to where the food is, namely the chicken coop.
Last not least, my wife somehow blamed me for all the misfortune. Over the years, I learned my lessons and kept quiet.
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Good news: just before midnight we located and caught the hen, but only after I lost my footing and roled down a slope
) I do too!
)
Heal well brave, persistent soldier. 
