I became a parent to two chickens I named Sitfwatfwa (snow) and Thandi (love) in January 2017. This is their story. 
A few days after their release, Sitfwatfwa and Thandi ran away again. 

My neighbors and the former owner of my chickens came over to give me the news. I followed them home and proceeded to start chasing my chickens. 

Watching me chase my chickens has to be high on the entertainment lists of others. It’s definitely no fun for me, though. 

My family and my neighbors laughed when I told them I have never chased a chicken before. Swazis generally assume that all Americans have backyard chickens just like they do and are flabbergasted when I tell them this is not the case. They are happy to hear that having backyard chickens is a growing trend in the States. 

I unsuccessfully chased my chickens for about 10 minutes when the sikoni (sister-in-law, the wife of my tutor’s brother) next door enticed my chickens with rice and promptly caught Thandi. 

I took Thandi home and returned her to time out. 

I returned to my neighbor’s house with food to attempt to capture Sitfwatfwa. She knew I was on the prowl though, so she stayed well away from me. I gave up after about 15 minutes to get ready for church. 

When I returned a few hours later, Sitfwatfwa was still socializing with her former friends and hiding from me. 

 

 
I tried tricking her with food when I got her out of the grass, but she knew she was being chased and was extra vigilant. 

Finally my neighbors decided it was time to help me. Four of them surrounded her and managed to catch her with some food. And then Sitfwatfwa was returned to time out, too.