It was a bit of effort but I got them. Their names are Fruhstuck(white hen) and Abendessen(brown hen).
I walked to Usalama market on Sunday morning in the hunt for chickens. My idea was to buy tiny little chickens. Usalama market only sell grown up hens that are meant for dinner that evening, so my hunt continued.
I walked home and saw some very small chickens following a hen near Elaine's place.
I asked Elaine to come with me to translate if they were for sale. She decided to ask the shoe shine guy outside briefly if he knew where to get some. A guy helping someone with a broken down car overheard and said his relation up the road will sell some. It was the same hens and chickens I saw earlier. I asked about the chickens and was told that they are difficult to raise and would probably die very soon. So I bought 2 young hens for 10,000tsh (€6).
On Saturday, I had bought some chicken wire and put it on the bottom of the big gate. I made it big enough to keep small chickens in. I also cut my fingers to bits while putting up the chicken wire. I also had about 6 young children sitting at the other side of the gate talking to me while I did it.
The hens were brought back to the yard and were exploring the yard. They climbed on a flower pot and made a jump for the small gate and climbed out. There were people outside still at the broken car. Billy and some others went after Abendessen, who ran left and a boy of about 10 and I went after Fruhstuck, who ran right. Fruhstuck ran into the site next door where a mosque is being built. By the time we chased him out of the site, Abendessen had been caught and was back in the yard and Fruhstuck was running across the road to his old home. At this stage there were about 5 guys following her trying to herd her into a corner. Eventually Fruhstuck was caught.
We used a long shoelace to tie Fruhstuck in the yard, to a car wheel without a tyre.
Abendessen was still running free around the yard. Along the side of the house is a path where the clothes are hung out. Abendessen was down there. I tried to grab her but she flew over me. Billy was at the other end and forced her back down and again she ran past me and through the gate at the end of the path into the neighbours. Billy and I went around with a towel. There was a woman sitting down doing something with a basket of rice. So, Billy and I caught Abendessen while this woman was calmly amused. When we were walking back around, all the guys around the broken down car were laughing because they saw the hen had escaped again.
So eventually, the hens are mine, they are tied up until they know where home is and Sarah and Billy got their taxi to the airport.
I thought this would be the end of the post so I went out to check on them. Abendessen, the cunning little sandwich filler, had got out of his knot and was roaming free around the yard. I tried cornering him down the side path again but he kept getting past me. Clearly the farmer within is coming out. Again she climbed through the back gate, so again, I went around the back and our neighbour helped me grab him while his son sat on a potty saying hello to me.So, I finally have my chickens...... and I have no idea what to do with them now !!!!
They have 5 weeks until they are shipped out again to a new home.
All very exciting on my 4th weekend in Tanzania.
Monday morning, their first night is over. AND ABENDESSEN IS NOT TIED UP AGAIN !!! She's a clever one. I will leave her untied since she is still in the yard and chasing her will probably lead to another escape and I hope she will stay and be her sister's companion.
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