<p style="text-align:center;"><em>A blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara</em></p>
I was in my bedroom getting ready for work when I heard a chicken.  On Miller Farm, this is normal.

The clucking was coming from right outside my window.  This is not normal.

I put shoes on and went outside to see which one of our silly birds had spent the night outside the coop.  As I rounded the corner of the house, I spied the escapee – except there was one problem.

This was not my chicken.

My first thought was from the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Are-You-Mother-Beginner-Books-ebook/dp/B00480OHWK/" target="_blank"><em>Are You My Mother?</em></a>

In the story, the little bird is searching for its mother when it comes upon a steam shovel.  It quickly realized that this was not its mother.

<a href="https://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/snort.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-5422" src="https://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/snort.jpg?w=500" alt="snort" width="500" height="315" /></a>

I named the stray bird “Snort.”

Now you may wonder how I distinguish my chickens from others.  It isn’t always easy but this bird was a barred rock, and we have none of that variety at the moment.

<a href="https://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/chicken-snort.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-5423" src="https://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/chicken-snort.jpg" alt="chicken-snort" width="221" height="259" /></a>Being a Chicken Wrangler, I could not leave her out in the open so I scooped her up and carried her to our coop.  She was very calm about the whole process, until I let out all our chickens.

You see, chickens are not particularly kind to strange birds.  They chased the poor stray around the yard until she flew up to the fence.

I tried to catch her again to clip her wings so she wouldn’t meet Bella (the chicken-killing dachshund). Since I was unsuccessful,  I left the dogs inside while I went to work.

When I got home, the first thing I did was check the backyard.  Sticking out from a bush against the fence was a chicken head.

The stray bird had flown the coop again.  She seemed to want to go back inside the fence so I caught her, clipped her wings and put her back with the others.

Meanwhile I have asked my friend with chickens if she is missing a barred rock.  She is checking her chickens.

I may have to post a “Found Chicken” sign at the corner. Someone may be missing their chicken.