ByMariah Congedo|August 20, 2020 at 7:50 PM EDT - Updated August 20 at 7:50 PM
VIDALIA, Ga. (WTOC) - A mother hen came at a store employee with a vengeance in Vidalia.
Customers aren't the only ones who frequent Center Grocery in Vidalia.
“We got them all over the place,” Drew Johnson said.
More than a dozen chickens roam the little corner store. So much so, that employees say they hold up traffic and that they almost seem to do it on purpose.
“It’s not a country store if it ain’t got chickens running around.”
Johnson works at the family-owned business. Johnson says he loves animals, in fact, he's always the one who feeds the chickens, which is exactly what he was doing when this happened.
"Jumped, hit me in the arm, hit the ground, she turned around and came back and hit me in the chest."
The mother hen is surely “no spring chicken,” but she plays a fine game of protection.
"It's almost like she went out of the way to attack me, but it's fine."
Johnson says he was minding his own business when before he knew it, the hen was in his face.
"I'm the first victim."
One of the other employees witnessed it and said it's even funnier because of who it happened to.
“It’s almost to be expected, if it was to happen, it would happen to him,” store manager Brittany Absher said.
Customers are even coming in asking about "chicken boy" and making sure he's ok.
“We had somebody come in the other day just to ask about Drew and the chicken,” Absher said.
Johnson says there are no hard feelings between him and the hen.
"I didn't hurt her, just so you know. We're both okay!"
The chickens have never been mean to any of the customers and the customers often enjoy their company.
"The people love them. The children love them. They think it's great, they'll sit and watch the chickens."
But, for Johnson, it just wasn't his lucky day even though he says it could've been a lot worse.
"She could've clawed my eye or caught my lip or something like that, but I was lucky."
Johnson says he does want people to know one thing.
"This is one of our nice chickens, but I just want to let everybody know and warn you when they get older and they have babies they are ruthless!"
And of course, the question looms, so why did the chicken cross the road? In this case, it may have been to give everyone something to smile about because after all, she is a “comedi-hen.”
"I was actually laughing the whole time it was happening!"
Again, Center Grocery says no people or chickens were injured.
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