Baby Chickens!

Bertha, my black and white chicken, was killed a couple months ago by an unidentified creature of the night leaving me with one lonely orange chicken. What plays over and over in my mind is the woman with a backyard full of chickens talking to a group of a chicken meet-up group (myself included) telling us that she only sells her chickens in threes, because if one dies, they still have a buddy to go through life with. 

Not wanting my chicken to be lonely and definitely not up to the task of offing her for the sake of a nice winter stew, I decided it was time to get some new friends for her. 

It took a few weeks of hm'ing and ha'ing, but as the weather started to warm and Ginger got settled into her new and improved chicken mansion I felt that it was time. A lucky day of getting out of work a few minutes early found me at the feed store picking out the four cutest little chicks that ever hatched out of eggs!

They aren't as excited about me as I am of them, but they tolerate my existence and may even be grateful for the food I replenish daily for them. They on the bedside wardrobe in a box with peep holes drilled into the side and a heat lamp shining overhead. They grow exponentially during the day while I am gone at work and chirp continuously throughout each night, soft and sweet chirps that make the memories of the stressful day at work slip right out of my body.

Today two of them popped out some tail feathers while I was gone; all four of them are starting to seem like lanky middle schoolers, all legs and attitude. The pecking order is being established. 

We take excursions out to the greenhouse where the chicks can run around relatively free and work on their huntin' skills. T-rex set her name in stone by being the best hunter and catching at least 6 grubs and pill bugs in one outing! Cheeks, Peaches, and Irene are a little bit of late bloomers when it comes to huntin' bugs, but I trust they will step up to the challenge.

It will likely be a few more weeks until they can join Ginger out in the chicken coop so I am looking forward to these remaining days of physical proximity to my new little friends.