Chickies !!

The two chicks on the left look like
George (brown) and Fred (white).

We enjoy watching the families of wild chickens that live in our neighborhood. The chicks follow their mothers from yard to yard and grow larger every week. Last week we delighted to see three NEW chicks following their mommy proudly around the neighborhood. The chicks were so tiny and so darling! A couple of days later, the chicks were there, but the mommy was gone. Boo Hoo. A hen is VERY protective of her chicks and would not abandon them unless (gulp) she died. Chicks that small don't have a chance of surviving alone. Something already happened to chick number three. What could we do but take the two living orphans under our wing (so to speak)?

Fred and George like the idea of having human parents! They follow us around the yard whever we're out. Boy, those little guys can really scoot! They walk as fast as we do. They also learned quickly what their food and water dishes look like. They love to eat rice, oats, corn, and wheat. Plus any bugs and other stuff they find while they're scratching around the yard all day. At sundown we put them in a cardboard box in our shower with a towel and a hot water bottle -- they fall asleep instantly and don't awaken until sunrise.

We know there are serious dangers we can't control. Like dogs and hawks and sickness. But still we dream of building a hen house and collecting free fresh eggs.....

Emailme <--- click this link if you have any advice about chickens for us!

or click on "comment" below.