Yep you heard correctly. I thought I'd share a bit about my friend Pepper which is one of our chickens who is named after my late thirteen year old dog Pepper Jean. No, I don't think it odd one bit that I have had two pets with the same name. I like saying Pepper Jean. And they are both pretty special animals! In fact, not only is Pepper, the chicken, the ring leader of my egg layin' posse, she follows me around, sits in my lap and would probably sleep in the bed with me if I let her. Yea... not gonna happen.
This past weekend, I taught her a new trick that would have probably landed me a good job at Opryland if it was still open. At first I was just riding laps around the inside and front of the shop on my bicycle and when I was going through the door over and over, Pepper was just standing there watching me each time without moving. I said to her"you're not scared of this bike a bit are you.... wanna ride?" So I put a feed sack in the basket hoping she would just sit down in there... didn't work. I coaxed her up the front wheel and onto the edge of the basket with a little white bread. But she got nervous and jumped down when the bike started moving. Me, not wanting to give up just yet, tried again this time placing Pepper Jean in the middle of my handle bars which are thicker than the basket. I gave her a couple of bits of bread for a trick well done then started to move the bike. She was facing me this time which made her feel more comfortable but she didn't even attempt to get down or show any signs of being nervous. After a slow lap or two around the shop we stopped at the refrigerator for more bread and from then she rode the handle bars for a good fifteen minutes with only the flap of a wing for balance every now and then. The other chickens craned their necks to see what was up with this circus trick their fellow hen had learned but showed little interest other than that. I had fun never-the-less and Miss Pepper learned a new trick and I gained a new level of trust with my chicken friend!
