Close Encounter

This morning brought another snowstorm. We received about 3 inches of snow and then once again it turned to freezing rain. Yuck. After which it went back to big fat snowflakes. I went up to the barn just now to check on the birds. Upon entering as always the count begins and I unfortunately found 2 chickens are missing. The hunt began, under the hay bales, behind the feed bins, up on both sides of the loft. Thoughts of those coyotes came to mind and I started to become concerned. I checked outside the barn door again, nope no prints in the snow.
That's when I saw them perched over on the fence. Both fluffed up and looking quite pathetic. I circled round and encouraged them to fly off to the warm barn. Both flew away, one where I hoped, the other shocked me by flying right back around and landed on the fence no more then a foot away. This is new as the chickens know me as "the food provider" but usually keep their distance. I reached for her and she just stayed still and looked at me. I thanked her for the moment, snapped a quick pick for you all and told her I needed her to go inside now.

Slowly I reached out and took hold of her legs and gently brought her under my arm. Surprising me again she didn't struggle at all. Now I was a little worried but the temperature had only gone down to -2 degrees Celsius. I took her inside the barn, put her down and watched her for a few minutes. Happily she joined her fellow chickens and pecked around completely fine. Of course I'll check on her again later, but all seems well and I appreciated the trust.