True stories of a small flock of remarkable individuals -- and other critters.



Sunday, November 3, 2013

A Chicken in Love


Until recently, Marky's job was a piece of cake.
He was in charge of three old ladies.
Lil'White and Daisy have never been much trouble, 
and Lucy hardly ever moves from her chosen spot.

This was a pretty cushy job.  
.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  

Then came the four young Nuggets.  
Four additional chickens shouldn't have been much of a challenge for a professional chicken-protector like Marky…. 

But these four chickens were unlike any that Marky had met before.
These four Nuggets adored the dog. 
  
They truly enjoyed his company.  
These little gals gleefully pushed the boundaries of chicken-canine relations. 

They stared at him.

They flapped at him.
They cornered him. 

They napped with him.

They stalked the poor guy.



Being friendly with the flock was not part of Marky's job description.

All this attention made him very uncomfortable.  
.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     

Eventually, Marky felt pressed to teach each of the little ladies a lesson. 

Below, for example, was Phoebe's moment.  She came in from the left and scooted behind Marky.... just a little too tight a squeeze.

Don't worry -- she escaped unplucked.

Next, Dorrie pushed her luck 
She got a little too close.



Just moments after I clicked this photo, Marky expressed his feelings toward Dorrie.  She now demonstrates  proper respect for the dog's personal space. 

One by one, each of the little ladies learned the hard way that Marky's beak contains teeth.

Scarlett, the little Buckeye, had her moment with the teeth, too, but she was not deterred. 

Every day, Scarlett continues to risk her shiny red feathers….




to be near the dog.
She examines him from behind. 
She gazes deep into his eyes.

 
Marky just wants to be left alone. 
Scarlett just wants to be close to Marky.
  
Wherever the dog goes, Scarlett finds him. 
Marky has become extra patient with this little gal. 
Maybe he realizes that another display of fangs will be useless in thwarting her advances.

He tries to ignore her. 
And I try to fend off disaster.
It's Scarlett I'm scolding in this photo - not Marky. 
And still she doesn't get it. 
Thank you, Marky, for not killing the chicken today.

…..it's not easy being Marky. 




But it's also not easy being a chicken in love.

26 comments:

  1. What a great story....Marky is handsome, debonair, well mannered, attentive - the list goes on and on - every girl's dream... ah Marky...

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  2. That's one dear dog. I truly love Marky. And the nuggets.

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  3. I love your cheeky nugget babies!

    And Marky, what a good guy he is xxx

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  4. Love it! The kids will, too, when I show them tomorrow :-) All the girls are gorgeous and I'm insanely jealous of their fluffy butts!

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  5. Love you cute story! Marky is gorgeous, so no wonder the girls love him! And the girls are so pretty! I just love them all :)

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  6. Oh smiles! Oh grins! Thank you for such delight!!!

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  7. I love love stories that dare to dream across society's norms...even unrequited love stories...thanks for a wonderful read today

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  8. Such a lovely story, Lauren. You've captured a very special moment within your animal family with beauty and warmth, as always. :-)

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  9. I agree with all of the above posts! Thank you for starting my day off to a happy start!

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  10. Hah ha ha I love it! Thanks for the morning smile Lauren.

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  11. We are living Marky's story in The Lone Star State as well, my friend. Our new girls are enamored with Beagle and our smallest pullet is smitten with our smallest dag, Baby. The dogs find this most unnatural and disturbing. They do their best not to draw attention to themselves but the ladies, the feathered ones, are like heat seeking missiles and suss their canine friends out wherever they may be. Marky is reMARKable! Pass that along to him along with well wishes. May his bottom remain unpecked!

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  12. Marky is truly a gentledog! In the 3rd picture down, it looks as though Scarlett is offering him a bug, or worm, or mouse part! Long live Marky and his harem!

    Nancy in Iowa

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  13. And this is why I love animals! They can teach us all a thing or two about how love is blind!

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  14. Awww poor Marky haha. He just wants to be left alone but seems like the chickens won't have any of that. Scarlett seems like she has it bad for him! But I think it will only end in heartbreak for her. Who knows, maybe Marky will come around one day? :)

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  15. Adorable as always. Marky is a sweetheart and the nuggets are beautiful.

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  16. Marky's such a good boy. <3 It's so sweet when animals display such regard for one another.

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  17. Your pictures and text are always perfect. I couldn't resist a well-told barnyard fable when I was five, and I still can't! Love to all at Chez Lauren. ~ Cheryl Elliot

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  18. My favorite blog ever. Love every post.

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  19. WOW, Marky is such a good sport! Thank you for sharing.

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  20. Lauren your Marky is pure gold! I have never seen such tolerance from a dog. Thanks for this delightful post. My kids just love your blog and book. So do I.

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  21. I just shared you with a friend, and this is the perfect post to introduce you to her. She is such a dog lover!
    As always, I loved your post! :D

    ~Lynda
    ":<>

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  22. Too cute! What an amazing dog!

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