CHICKENS

Nov 20, 2013 by Gail Hatton

CHICKIN’ KILLIN

So, uh, she had the, had one hen, and she, uh you couldn’t break her, ‘n’ Ery claimed her, that ‘as the man, and she was a big red hen. “Well, now,” Phoebe says, “I’ll tell you what we’ll do,” that ‘as her name, the woman. I said “what?” says “I’ll take,” says “we’ll kill the chicken and have it cooked for supper.” “Now” I said “I won’t kill a chicken.” And, “now,” she said “neither will I.” She said “just take it out” she said “take the ax” she said “and shut your eyes and just. . .” I said “I won’t do it” I said “I won’t cut its head off.” “Well” she says and she just kept a’beggin and beggin for the chicken, for me to kill the chicken. And I said “I won’t kill the chicken.” “Now” she said, “well,” she said, “just take it by the neck and just give it a hard sling,” she says, “around and,” she said, “just throw it and run.” “Well,” I said, “that’s killin it.” “Well,” she says, “I know it is,” she said, “but you won’t know it.” So I done it as she told me, I, I minded her finally. And the hen went cowkin’, and I never hurt the hen as much. And she run plumb off, but I found out if it didn’t break her from settin. She was a’wantin to set and they didn’t want to set but I never killed the chicken. “Well,” Phoebe says, “you let loose of the,” says, “you didn’t hold tight enough.” “Why, no,” I said, “I just tuck and twisted it ’round,” I said, “and throwed her like you tol’. Now,” I said, “I ain’t a’killin’ nary chicken.” Ery said, “Ruie,” said, “was Phoebe putting you up to killin’ my chicken?” I said, “Yes.” Ery said, “I don’t blame you,” said, “I wouldn’t kill one.” I said, “I told her I wouldn’t,” and I never would kill a chicken ner nothin’ that a’way. I can’t stand to kill anything, just walk and catch it and cut its head off. No sir. I never would kill a chicken. . . Well, I never killed the chicken. Phoebe said, “well we got her to quit setting.” And he said, “it’s a good thing,” he says, “you all didn’t kill my old settin hen . . .,” said, “man,” says “that’s the best hen they are to set.” And Phoebe said, “she’ll not set,” says, “we broke her from the nest.”

CHICKIN’ DIPPIN’

R: So one day he had a hen.
D: Had a what?
R: He kept chickens. And she said to me she said, “and they got these lice on ‘em.” And she says, “I’ll tell ya,” she says, “how we’ll fix the chickens.” I said “How?” Said, “we’ll take the washtub and fill it half full of water,” and she says poured uh about a quart of that uh crees’l [creosol/creosote] dip in it.
D: That what?
R: Crees’l dip that you dip sheep in. And she says, “We’ll dip ‘em all in that,” she said, “and it’ll kill the lice on ‘em.” I said, “Well.” And we took and we had pert nigh all of them drownded and we ….‘em all and they went snuffin’ and well you know and cowkin’ and ever’thing else as they went. And you couldn’t, uh, they was a’layin’. I reckon it did kill the lice on ‘em, I don’t know. And you couldn’t eat the eggs. Yes, tasted of that smell now. And Ery says, “I wanna know,”–that uz the man–he said, “what ails these eggs?” He said, “what have you all,” he says, “what have you fed ‘em?” “Why,” Phoebe says, “we dipped ‘em in that Crees’l dip.” Well, he says, “I thought they was somethin’.” He says, “Didn’t you know not to do that? Why . . .” She says, “we wanted to get shed of the lice on ‘em,” and even throwed the rest of it all over the coop and ever’thing.
D: All over the what?
R: Yes, washed the coop out with it. D: Oh, chicken coop.
R: The chicken house.