The great escape of my Buff Orpington, Bertha

I was in the yard in Portland yesterday when I saw Bertha was gone, and the coop door was wide open. I found her two houses down, calmly pecking at my neighbor's petunias. I just walked over slowly, picked her up, and carried her back. Has anyone else had a chicken with a real taste for landscaping?

3 comments

3 Comments

blair6261mo agoMost Upvoted

Bertha sounds like a pro... mine always head straight for the vegetable patch. Try clipping just one wing feather, it throws off their balance enough to stop the big escapes.

hannahcoleman1mo ago

Bertha has good taste, petunias are basically chicken candy. Mine always go for the marigolds first, they leave the rest of the garden alone. Did she put up any fight when you picked her up, or was she just resigned to getting caught? My escape artist always squawks like I'm kidnapping her.

ninabutler1mo ago

Oh my buddy had the same issue with her hen, that bird just glared at her the whole way back to the coop.