Chickens Named Doug

By Kimberley Osness

A farm can be a big, scary place for a chicken. Just like people, chickens want to be well cared for, protected, have something to eat every day, and feel special. The Coatsworths’ Farm would be the perfect farm for a flock of chickens, if it wasn’t for that horrible hawk, a pesky fox, and the fact that all of the chickens will have the same name. Who does that to a chicken?! The red-shouldered hawk and the fox don’t care what the chickens are called. They just think of them as breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Strutting around the farm all day long sounds like a life of ease, but the chickens learn there is more to life than just sitting on the fence, watching the world go by. And once the chickens learn why they are called Doug, they are in for the adventure of their lives. They are on this farm for a reason, they are special, and there are chickens who need them. It all starts with a loving farmer and his grandson, a rooster like no other, and some neighbors in need.

• Language: English
• Publisher: LifeRich Publishing
• Release date: Nov 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9781489738776

Kimberley Osness

Kimberley Osness loved growing up as a preacher’s kid. She resides in California and is currently a creative production manager for Disney Parks. Her favorite roles, though, are being a daughter, sister, friend, and Aunt Kim to 22 nephews and nieces. Her love of God and family is the foundation behind her story of redemption, faith, and bravery. God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him. When I got my act together, he gave me a fresh start…God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes. - Psalm 18:20, 24

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Copyright © 2021 Kimberley Osness.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

LifeRich Publishing is a registered trademark of The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.

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Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

All scripture quotations are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright ©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publications Inc.

ISBN: 978-1-4897-3876-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4897-3875-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4897-3877-6 (e)

LifeRich Publishing rev. date: 10/28/2021

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Just Ordinary Chickens?

Chapter 2 Name That Chicken

Chapter 3 Two Cooped Up

Chapter 4 Birds of...Pray!

Chapter 5 Chicken Eve Service

Chapter 6 Nora's Farm

Chapter 7 The Coop Troop

Chapter 8 Easter Egg Hunt, My Foot!

Chapter 9 Frizzled and Frazzled

Chapter 10 Wigging Out

Chapter 11 Mighty Fine Chickens, Indeed!

Chapter 12 The Fall Festival

Chapter 13 The Showdown

CHICKENS NAMED DOUG

WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED BY

Kimberley Osness

LifeRich Publishing

To My Family

You are the wind beneath my chicken wings

And to Scott

Your spirit lives on in the little roo

Behind the Story

This story began with my clever great-nephew, Brayden. His creativity and unique view of the world will continue to bless our family for years to come.

I am so happy to be an aunt and a great-aunt to my beautiful nieces and nephews. I LOVE that we are family!

I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to my friend, Annette, who edited this story and inspired me to create my own characters. She cheered me on as I grabbed a lump of clay, tiny rocks and beads, several bottles of paint, and cut hundreds of paper feathers by hand, hoping to come up with a chicken. She provided countless hours of dedication and prayer to this story and even sculpted one of the mice.

My father Richard, the chairman of our chicken council, and Nora, my nurturing mom have pointed our family to Jesus for decades. For this I am eternally grateful.

To my brother, Doug, it has been a privilege to write about this special story in your family’s life. Thank you, to you and Glenda for your generosity in getting this story to the printed page. And to my brother, Ken, and his wife Jenn, you are my special encouragers! What a privilege it has been to watch the generations of our family grow in relationship to God. Our family has lived in His goodness and He watches over us all. I, personally, know this is something to crow about.

All glory to my Heavenly Father! Thank you, for allowing me to be a part of your big adventure!

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to the Osness, Bahlmann, Metzger, Colbert, Lenertz, Johnson, Wills and Force families, and also Jerry, Lana, Scott and Heidi Jo, Carolyn, Eric, Greg, Karyn, Babette, Jim, Karla, Judy, Skeeter, Mary, Jake, Peggy, Ed, Roxanne, Michele, Janet, Johs, and Joe. Collectively, you are my beautiful farm family. The characters in this book have your characteristics embedded in their souls.

A special thanks to the Stein Family Farm in National City, CA. I’m still amazed it took me 47 years to notice this beautiful farm across the road from the grade school I attended. It was a special place to take some of the photos used in my artwork. To those who read this story, I pray you will be filled with hope and inspired by bravery, and perhaps you, too, may notice things you have never seen before.

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CHAPTER 1

Just Ordinary Chickens?

He put your feet on a wonderful road that took you to a good place to live. So, thank God for his marvelous love, for his miracle mercy to the children he loves. – Psalm 107:7-9

When Brayden