I'd follow my grandma out to the chicken coop to collect eggs when I was visiting. She always carried a 2x4. My dad was a carpenter so a 2x4 never seemed out of place until one of the roosters charged her and she hit a line drive I was young and didn't expect that. So I asked her what if she had killed him. She shrugged and said chicken for dinner.
He survived but he staggered around the rest of the day.