In response to my how we carry children post, Willy commented about how he carried a dog in his back while riding his bicycle. This reminded me of the time I went with one of the community development workers from my village in The Gambia on a quest for chickens. I had invited 10 Peace Corps volunteer friends to my village for Christmas and was looking for our dinner. The quest took us on a journey to several villages with me on the back of his small motorcycle. I hung on with every bump along the unpaved roads. Big chickens in a Gambian village are hard to find. As we acquired each chicken it was was hung upside down by its feet from the motorcycle’s handlebars. Eventually, there were four chickens, two on each side.
Recalling this memory got me thinking about the other ways I’ve seen animals carried. Once I carried a wild baby bird in a shoebox from Columbus to Cleveland, but that’s another story. In the meantime, here’s how folks take animals, mostly chickens, from one place to another. But here’s a dog photo in honor of Willy’s head-turning ride.
This photo by margiewphotos is of Christmas Day in Peru at the Pisac Market. This is sort of how I tried to carry my son when he was a baby, but this boy is certainly having more luck. The goat looks like he’s enjoying the ride. Interesting version of a manger scene don’t you think?
Here a woman carries animals in Guatemala. Chickens perhaps? I think I see a feather. This was taken by Neal Waters at the San Francisco el Alta Market, the largest one in Central America.
This photo was taken in Cambodia by kschlemm. I saw pigs being carried like this in Vietnam also. Yep, it’s tough being a pig.
More chickens on the way to somewhere. These are in Myanmar. Photo taken by netdance.
This photo caught my attention for a couple of reasons. One is the method of carrying chickens. The second is that this was taken in Tatopani, Nepal. I’ve been to Totopani. It’s on the Annapurna Circuit and a terrific place to stop for the night. There are hot springs here where you can go for a soak. I did not. Too tired to move after trekking all day. I did hear that pani means water in Nepalese and Tato means hot, thus the town’s name. I didn’t see this guy and his chickens, though. Dey must have taken this shot in the early morning.
This is cute. Sort of looks like a funky purse that squawks. I wonder if there’s room to tuck in a comb, a wallet and car keys? According to beccabrian who took the shot, the chicken belonged to a guide who carried it along on a trek in Laos and let it out at rest stops.
A bit more chickens than I was after for our Christmas stew, but the transportation method is about the same. This is in Phenom Penh and taken by fadedfromthewinter.
Javachickn carries show chickens around in his Toyota Corolla. I wonder why. In his post he mentioned picking the chickens up from O’Brien, Oregon. When I was a kid I bought two fluffy yellow chicks at a dime story, one for me and one for my brother. We named them Tinkerbell and Abby. Both turned out turned out to be roosters. I think we took them in a cardboard box to the farm that agreed to take them.