From the first day out of my shell I knew I wanted more from life than spending my days scratching for food even though this is the nature of chickens all over the world. Nor was I prepared to live on a farm where I only had two choices –
a) fattened up for the pot and ending my days as chicken soup or roast chicken
b) placed in a position of spending my short life laying eggs.
Oh no! not for me . I had choices of my own. I was different and I would find a different way of life.
My chance of a new life came sooner than I expected. I was just a young teenager the day my family took a different route in search of food. Along the way I spotted new ground – I saw a cat, three dogs, a few people, No Chickens. Wonderful, a chance in a million.
I left a gap between myself and my group, keeping a wary eye on the activities of this family. The dogs I was sure I would be able to control in next to no time. The cat? Well that may be a bit of a problem. I will just have to take extra care as far as the cat is concerned.. People, on the other hand , were an unknown feature in my life. I decided to spend the day in the bush so as to be able to make some wise chicken choices as I watched the activities on this homestead.
In a very short time I knew exactly which human I needed to control. The most senior lady was definitely in charge as she was the one giving instructions to all the others. All I had to do now was to wait patiently until all were settled then I could make my move. As the day faded, all became quiet. There was no sign of the chicken family I had wandered away from. The humans and homestead animals had all moved off to their respective places of rest. All was quiet. Time to make my move!
Chickens have a very special “chicken crawl” when we approach the unknown. We make ourselves look very sad, then we slowly put one foot forward, cock our head sideways then bring the next foot forward, all the time making a soft clucking noise. So very cautiously I kept going toward the main house. I had just about reached the door of the house when the dogs came charging at me.
TIME TO PANIC!
Much chicken screeching and flapping of wings caused the dogs to stop in their tracks in confusion. Also brought the human lady, who I quickly realized was called granny, come rushing out to see what all the commotion was about.
I was saved1 The dogs were chased away. I was gently picked up, carried into the house, placed in a soft box and food and water put down for me.
My new life had started. Now all I had to do was set some rules so as to live the life I wanted to.
I already had granny at my beck and call that left the cat and the dogs. I decided to give the cat a wide berth for the present. I reckoned once I had the dogs under control and on my side I would be better prepared to face the unknown cat.
After giving this much thought I decided the best time to approach the dogs was at their feeding time. Yes, I know dogs are very protective over their food but that could be played to my benefit. I worked out that when the dogs growled or went for me, all I had to do was to screech and flap my wings and granny would rush to the rescue. And that my friends is precisely what happened. The dogs growled I went into panic mode, granny came rushing out , with her broom, and the dogs fled, which left me in charge of their food bowls. Naturally I did not eat it all I just chose the tastiest morsels from each bowl. When I had made my point I fluffed up my feathers, smirked at the confused dogs and walked off. From that day on the dogs politely stepped back and allowed me to taste their food. All it now needed was for me to cautiously walk up between the two biggest dogs, cock my head to one side so as to be able to give them both a wary eye at the same time giving a low “growly” noise in my throat and “walla” ! I was safe.
My next move was to start ruling granny’s house. As long as I looked cute and helpless I didn’t think this would be too difficult to achieve. As I already had my comfortable box in granny’s bedroom my first step was to join granny on her bed. I waited until granny had settled down for her afternoon rest, which she called forty winks time, then I gently clucked and jumped onto the bed and cuddled next to granny. It worked Granny thought I was the cutest chicken in the world. After this move the rest was easy. I soon was accepted as part of the family, welcome anywhere at any time. I was always polite to visitors and waited until they were seated before settling in to join the conversation, which naturally evolved around myself. Early summer evenings we sat outside, my perch then was on granny’s lap.
Although I was always treated in a very special way this sleeping in the house soon came to an end. My own sleeping quarters were built outside but I never had to go to bed on my own. Granny always carried me to my bed and secured me for the night.
Oh yes, you no doubt are wondering how I got my name. Well I could not go totally against my nature as a chicken and soon I started laying eggs. However nothing would induce me to lay more than one egg a day and so I was called One-A-Day. I kept myself busy in the day scratching for grubs and other chicken delicacies, all the while keeping a sharp look out for any threat from the cat as well as from hawks, snakes and all other dangers a chicken had to face.
The day came when granny thought I was lonely and she needed to find me a friend. Well my life changed a bit after that but that is another story. In the
mean time I was more than satisfied with the life I had chosen for myself. I always knew I was no ordinary chicken.
In South Africa today security plays a vital part in any business or private home. This book and the volumes to follow, will guide you step by step through the essential precautionary measures to be taken in protecting your family and valuables. From employing security guards, evacuation of your site and security measures to burglar bars and alarms in your private home.
a Book compiled by me from experience gained after 10 years in the security industry as Industrial relations officer with Nosa qualifications, 1st Aid, fire protection and also S.O.B. grade A.
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