When Mosiko arrives for work shortly, she will ask him to help her carry the cages from the barn, and assist her in setting them up, one at a time, in front of the chicken coop door. A bit of food sprinkled on the ground would be enough to attract the stupid birds out of their chicken coop and into the cage when she released them from captivity by opening the door. Once safely inside, Mosiko would then help her carry the occupied cages back to the barn, ready to be hung under the wagon before the family trekked.
This piece of 99-word flash fiction was written for Charli Mills’ Flash Fiction Challenge. You can join in here: https://carrotranch.com/2020/01/03/january-2-flash-fiction-challenge/
In South Africa, we refer to a chicken run and a chicken coop rather than a chicken hutch.
roberta-writes.com 
This made me remember when we used to keep chickens and how some would avoid going back to safety at night. Good piece!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Denise.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good vignette, Robbie! I’ve never kept chickens, but I remember my dad and my aunt’s stories about how the birds weren’t too bright!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks Priscilla. They are definitely not very intelligent birds. We had chickens when we lived on the plot.
LikeLike
I think chickens are not the only creatures who would fall for this trick. (K)
LikeLiked by 2 people
Haha, I think you might be right, Kerfe.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on Ed;s Site..
LikeLiked by 1 person
Is the family getting ready for a move, or is “trekked” being used in a different way?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Liz, trek does mean move away. This is a small extract from A Ghost and His Gold
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah, OK, I thought there was a journey in the offing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, indeed, from Irene near Pretoria to Zeerust near what is now Botswana.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That would have been a trek!
LikeLiked by 1 person
One of my friends grew up on a chicken farm, Robbie. Good flash fiction!
LikeLiked by 1 person
We had chickens when we lived on a smallholding when I was young. One of my days many attempts at farming. He also grew zucchini; so many that I remember the bath being packed full of them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Robbie, I really enjoy learning how language is shaped around the world, and though names and word choices differ, the actions people take remain familiar. Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am glad you enjoyed this little piece, Charli
LikeLike
Well done!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Bette
LikeLiked by 1 person
You set the scene nicely, Robbie. It sounds like a great plan.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Norah.
LikeLike
Here we also keep chickens in a coop, but we keep pet rabbits in a hutch.
LikeLike
This reminds me of pioneer America… but it is quite true that pioneers existed everywhere!
It is the trekking that families had to do in order to seek better lives, that has gotten us where ‘we’ are today –
no matter what country of origin we think we have come from, we most likely came from somewhere else.
Just in my married life I have move four times. Hard to believe I’ve settled her for three decades. As still because we weren’t from here we are often considered ‘outsiders’.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, the world is quite a hodge podge with regards to people. Very few South Africans original from here as the African peoples largely moved south from the Northern countries. The only original inhabitants are the Khoi and the Khoi san and their populations are quite small.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Quite vivid. I could see this very well!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Annette.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like the idea of taking the chickens along on the trek, it makes sense.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh yes, the livestock were vital to survival. Thanks for visiting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We had chickens when I was a kid. My mom still has some. I remember they used to get out sometimes. We called it a “Chicken Alert!” We had to chase them around the garden and catch them before they did too much damage. We always called it a coop, too. My friend bred rabbits, and she had a rabbit hutch.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That sounds like fun. You are fortunate to have been exposed to a more natural upbringing than most of us.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve never had chickens myself, but the ones I’ve met embody the spirit of “insipid creature that would die if I didn’t force it to live” which you showed so well here. I enjoyed this!
LikeLike