Playing Chicken

There is a flock of chickens living on a patch of undeveloped land next to our flats. A man comes by on his moped a few times a day and feeds them, occasionally separating them into little groups under big woven baskets. I'm still not sure why. They are the skinniest chickens I have ever seen. They are certainly fed enough so it must be because they're Thai chickens. Just as Thai people are smaller are slighter than those in the west, Thai chickens have different physiques to their counterparts in colder north-western countries. It makes sense I suppose - an excess of feathers in this heat and humidity would be rather uncomfortable I should imagine.

They actually live in a coop across the narrow street from the patch of land they run around on and we occasionally have to wait in the car for them to run across. This can take a while as they tend to panic - some run straight across on their skinny little legs, some turn and run back the way they came from, and some simply run around in circles. Like headless chickens in fact. But with their heads intact on their scrawny little necks.

There is a cockerel living amongst the chickens who seems to have a problem telling the time. He crows, as expected, early in the morning, but then continues to crow in erratic bursts throughout the day. Perhaps he just has lots of naps. He is a Thai cockerel after all.