I gotta say, I am turning into a pet chicken person. Kinda like having a guinea pig. Cheaper than a cat or dog. I have a silkie chicken in my room. He has his own cage when he is here and I take him to the farm and put him in the chicken tractor when I am there. I tried putting him with the rest of the chickens but first, the rooster was going to try to mate with him. Big rooster was doing his dance when all of a sudden, he stopped and looked and wondered What am I supposed to DO with THAT?! Later, I put little silkie out again and he was doing all right with the girls but I put some food down separate for him and the lowest hen on the pecking order figured beating up little silkie and taking his food was a way to move up. So I took him home. On the warm days I put him on the deck. He doesn't know how to fly yet and he doesn't seem to see that well. Will have to trim up his face, I guess. His favorite food is beef! Whodda thunk? I was making a beef roast yesterday and put a few little slivers of it on the deck. He came to the patio door and, on purpose or by accident , was pecking at it. It was as if to say, How do I get this door to let out a few more pieces? Or Who is that handsome guy in the reflection? Maybe I can train him up to do you tube videos.
Over my life, I’ve had cats and dogs at different and same times. Over the last 20+ years, my wife and I have had only cats (she used to breed standard schnauzers). We are both deeply attached to them and deeply fascinated with them.
I used to have a coworker who bred shelties. She also trained them to compete in Agility competitions and was always traveling to dog shows in her van full of crates. She was so stringent in her "interviews" for prospective owners of her puppies that I was surprised she ever sold any.
My father found an abandoned Sheltie in the parking lot where he worked and brought it home. Called him Chico. Later an abandoned kitten showed up at their house. Those two were never apart. My parents would take them both to their farm in Ohio and turn them loose. They would explore the fields together and come back to the house, together. In the house they played hide and seek. The cat had a cute trick he played on the dog. It would get under the couch and stick the tip of its foot out from under the skirt at the bottom, so the dog could just barely see it. the dog would go crazy and come running. The cat would withdraw the foot just as the dog arrived. The dog would stick its nose under the couch and the cat would slap it (no claws). They did this over and over, like Charlie Brown and Lucy with the football.