Chickens - Dixie

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When we were stationed at Ft. Story Virginia (located by Virginia Beach) we lived in a cottage. Behind the cottage was a wooded area and we had a chicken coop there. The Army did not know this as far as I know.

I was not fond of raising chickens. I don't remember the types of chickens we had. We did had some that laid colored eggs. Boy did we ever have eggs! A lot more than we could eat. We sold some, but we had to give some away just to get rid of them.

We had a brown hen that was Queen of the Chickens. Sonja and David named her Snubby Nose. The top part of her beak was broken. She was a good mama and boss of the yard. She liked to peck at the kids heals. They didn't like that much, but they grew fond of Snubby Nose anyway.

We eventually sold all those chickens. The children were sad for Snubby Nose to go. They were happy not to have their chores of feeding, watering and gathering eggs.

One time while we had the chickens we had one of those Nor'easters come through. The wind blew very hard. The chicken coop door latch broke and the door blew open. The chickens got out and scattered. It just ain't easy herding chickens back into a coop in a wind storm!

In the picture below you will see our little dog Dixie. I wanted a different picture of her, but I haven't finished my on-going project of sorting pictures and the picture I wanted had not made it from the box to the album. I can't lift that box yet... so you get this lousy picture of her and... there I am with my mind who knows where. Sonja, our daughter, is in the background. We were camping in the Shenandoah National Park on Labor Day weekend in 1980.



Now back to my story... The chickens are loose and the wind is blowing hard and rain is soon coming. We all start herding the chickens. Dixie was the Queen of herding that day. She just seemed to naturally know what to do. She looked like one of those sheep herding dogs. Dixie was just wonderful to watch that day.

The chickens were rounded up... thanks to Dixie. The door was nailed shut until the storm passed and we made it indoors before the heavy rains hit.

Dixie was a wonder companion. As you can tell by the picture... Dixie was my dog most of the time. She was usually not far from me. She was a cherished member of our family for eight years.





Back in the 1960's, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources stocked Burmese chickens all over the state as an additional game bird to be hunted like pheasant or quail.

Flocks of chicks were released several miles from Fitzgerald at the Ocmulgee River. Populations of the bird never took hold in other areas of the state, but for some reason, they left the river site and made their way to downtown Fitzgerald, where they have propagated and prospered ever since!.

There are a few of the chickens here in Albany. A few living in my neighborhood as a matter of fact. But is nothing like the population of them in Fitzgerald.

Every year Fitzgerald Gerogia has a festival to celebrate the Burmese Chicken. It will take place this Saturday, March 21. Follow this link for more information: Fitzgerald Wild Chicken Festival .

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It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so! -- Mark Twain