Have you ever lawn-mowered a chicken?

I have. I can't believe she's alive, silly girl. Yes, I lawn-mowered one of my youths, hatched in May-June, a lavender Ameraucana pullet (I think). Good news is it just got the top of her wing... I drove right over her, and Nathan lowered the cut level today ...... She was hunkered down in some long grass in an area she doesn't usually range in probably eavesdropping on the grown up hens. Her 6 nest mates were hanging under a blackcurrant bush 60 feet away where they congregate when free ranging. What surprised me was that I could get that within 5 feet of her on the mower, without her running off. Maybe she's deaf?

She flew out like a bat out of hell from under the cutting deck. I'd never seen a chook run so fast and all the roosters were buck-ark-ing She disappeared for a couple of hours at then came out and free ranged with the others all aft. I'll clean her wounds when she goes to bed, no catching her today, she's one of the least tame chickens. It doesn't look broken but she had blood running down her wing and side from a couple of wound on the top of the wing, feathers chopped off etc I figured as long as no one was bothering it and she was acting normal, she was best loose. Just thought I'd share...

Well, if she doesn't already have a name...I'd call her Lucky!!

Maybe you should call her Mow.

She flew out like a bat out of hell from under the cutting deck. I'd never seen a chook run so fast and all the roosters were buck-ark-ing

I'm rolling on the floor picturing this! The roosters can get pretty pompous when something's amiss; not that it helps but maybe it makes them feel useful!

very glad she made it! I would name her Kat. As in cat's have nine lives. Or Eight, since she only has that many lives left.

Porkchop? Cutlet?? Wow, lucky for sure.
I am also chuckling about the roosters. Where were they when you were bearing down on the poor helpless pullet, blades singing!!?? lol

The 15 or so roosters were shut up in the rooster pen, and speckled Jim was buck-ark-ing from his breeding pen. The neighbours must have wondered what was up, that little chicken ran about 60 feet in 2 seconds! The roos were in the area wherever she ran to. I couldn't find where she was hiding so was glad when she appeared out of nowhere!

She was sweet and chatty tonight when I cleaned her wing with Dettol in water and she got Watkins Petrocarbo.... She's still got black crusties on her bloomers from the blood, but I didn't want to soak her completely. She had feathers and grass cuttings stuck in the wounds which were both about 3/4" by an inch and about 1/4-1/2 inch deep, nothing else missing cept a few feathers on her thigh. I think she'll be permanently bald on the wing top as the feathers follicles are missing. After she took off today, I was sure I'd find her dead of shock +/- nasty wounds

That young group are free ranging and I haven't seen anyone go for her wounds, I know she was preening it today, I still don't understand why or how she was there and why she didn't take off when I got close. I am not worried about it ever happening again as it was so freak!

I'll check her behaviour and the wound tomorrow, if it looks like its getting infected, I'll put her and a buddy in a double run we still have and put her on antibiotics. I will give it a chance to heal on it's own first.

You know what I just thought of... somewhere in my lawn or under the tractor are two little bits of chicken meat hanging eeeew.

First, I would like to commend you for not being a lazy bum like I have been today and actually doing something like mowing.

Second, I would like to thank you for the vivid picture forever seared in my brain,

Third, I would like to bow to you for adding a new word to my vocabulary, buck-ark-ing, I LOVE IT!!

XOX Monika

PS, hope she'll be OK

OMG that is my worst fear when I'm on the mower. I drive like the wind in my vehicle, but on my mower I drive like an old lady. I never want tht to happen.

HARSH!

How long do y'all let the grass get

Buzz would be a good name too.

Lucky girl. She must be from the Shaver strain.

Not the first bird I've heard of getting mowed, but the first I've heard of surviving. I remember a guy up home lost a number of ducks that were sitting in a ditch just as it was being mowed with a bar mower. Guess they put their heads up to see what it was and it butchered them neat as anything.

Whoa. She is one very lucky chicken!

LOL Shaver strain. Shaver isn't a bad name either...or how about Lady Luck? I'd be buying a lotto ticket with a name like that.

Oh wow, that is one lucky little gal, and to hear the wounds are not as bad as one would have thought, thank goodness she got out!! Must have freaked you right out, it would have me for surely. I read a post recently about a broody turkey hen in a hay field, a combine (think that is what the mower is called? no clue actually, just comes to mind) was mowing the field and the turkey did not fair as well as your bird, sadly. Thank goodness, ya, be she even female, would call her Buzz, smiling. Beautiful and wonderful days, CynthiaM.

That was a close cull!

Glad to hear she's okay. That would have freaked me out big time.
I have a silly rooster that likes to keep a close eye on that "thing" when I mow in his pen (push mower). He's the only chicken that is drawn to it instead of running away from it. He never got close enough to where I'd have to worry. He'd just follow me and the "thing" around, keeping a close eye on it making sure it didn't get out of line. Well he never got close until this summer; the summer of the bazillion frogs. Once he discovered the "thing" would part the sea of frogs.... Gave me visions of a bloody massacre so into the coop he went.

So my daft pullet is just fine, a bit black and crusty on the one side and she reeks of Watkins Petro-carbo but her wounds are dry and she hasn't bled since the Monday when we cleaned them again. She has behaved pretty normally except Sunday she was moving a bit slower than the others but we didn't need to isolate or do antibiotics, I gave her 100mg of ibuprofen about 5 minutes before cleaning it and she seemed fine.

I've had them free ranging all week to make sure no pecking went on, and I was watching them very carefully before we left for work on Monday. Hubbys family swear petro-carbo grows back limbs!

I still haven`t come up with a name, She looks like a Penelope or Penny. I didn't want to name her til I was certain she`d be fine. I took a pic on Sunday and will take another when she is looking better and not so gruesome. She is one lucky chook.

happy for the lucky chook!