A Pet Chicken Leaves Its Mark

When we were at my son and daughter-in-law's place in the Oregon’s countryside early last week, a neighbor of Gregg and Elaine’s stopped by with her pet chicken. I guess I’m pretty much a city boy, and maybe that’s why I’ve never seen a chicken in the house before.

The photo shows our granddaughter Talli holding the (undersized) chicken as the bird scrounged for any tiny crumb that might be in her hand. Click on the photo; it may appear a bit larger.

Several months ago, the neighbor had “rescued” the emaciated chick from certain impending starvation, and, of course, from that point on, the chicken bonded with her and will not let her out of its sight. A touching story, but it has its drawbacks.

Just prior to me snapping the photo of Talli with my phone cam, Elaine was holding the chicken. Our five-year-old granddaughter, Aubrey, suddenly yelled, “Look, the chicken is laying an egg.” Well, at first it did look like an egg, but it turned out to be a “softer boiled” variety. Everyone simultaneously grabbed for paper towels.

Turns out, the chicken does lay eggs occasionally, but this time she had left her mark in a different way.