You came out from California to do what?

Rescue chickens, that's what. A Bay Area woman went to Mississippi to rescue chickens that might have been left behind at farms. She gathered up 1000 chickens, mostly by waiting until nighttime when chickens tend to settle down and allow themselves to be handled a bit more.

Hurricane Katrina has got us all wondering if we are ready for a disaster. Especially in California, especially in a town like Eureka where it would be pretty easy for all roads in and out of town to go down at once. I was just thinking about whether we should get a special cage for the chickens in case we needed to get out quick, then I realized that we have two cat carriers. Our two cats prefer to travel together, and the hens love to nuzzle up together, so we could probably fit all four of them in the other carrier. The feed's already in a plastic tub ready to go anywhere, and of course they can eat grass and bugs and supply us with eggs, which we would only share with the cats if they, too, came up with some way to contribute to the group's general welfare.

There you go--that's our pet disaster plan. For more on the chicken rescue efforts:

1,000 chickens that rode out the storm now escape the frying pan / Vacaville woman leads rescue effort at Mississippi farm

Thanks to Animal Friendly Life for this one.