I didn't want to hijack the pet chicken thread so here's a couple of my rescues. The firsts one is Pidgey, named by my little cousin after a pokemon, I think. The hen had hatched 9 out of a dozen eggs and I usually let the rest stay in the nest for two or three more days then they go in the compost pile. I always break them open just to see what stage they are at before they go in the compost and when I cracked it against the side of the bin it peeped at me. I carefully peeled some of the shell off and this little rascal was inside and seemed alive but weak. I took it inside and it took about 24 hours before I could get it to take any water or chick starter. It was too weak to stand on it;s feet for about two days so it was lucky I wasn't working because it needed 24 hour attention. Once it started eating and drinking it took off from there and grew very well. I would lie on the couch and it slept snuggled up against my neck. Once it was a couple of weeks old I took it outside and eventually let it run around on the grass all day but it slept inside at night in a cardboard box with a nice comfy rag in the bottom of it. It would follow me around the house and would get real upset if It lost sight of me and peeped up a storm. I could hear the really fast ticking of it's toenails on the linoloum floor as it followed me from room to room. It was incredibly fast and kept up with me so well I had to be careful mot to step on it. EVentually, It was introduced to the flock, went through the gauntlet of getting picked on for a few days but is now nicely integrated into the flock and has apparently forgotten all about me.
<br /><br /> __________ Wed Mar 02, 2016 10:48 am __________ <br /><br /> The second one is Andre. It was one of the nine hatched out of the batch Pidgey was rescued from but was the last one hatched and was scrawny and the chick down was a bit sketchy. I brought it into the house and it ate a drank right away. It followed me around the house with Pidgey and they both always wanted to be picked up. Andre would furiously try to burrow into my neck under my goatee and go to sleep scrunched up against my neck. It grew out well and was introduced to the flock where it eventually found it's spot in the pecking order. both turned out to be hens which is good so I didn't have to eat them...lol
<br /><br /> __________ Wed Mar 02, 2016 10:48 am __________ <br /><br /> The second one is Andre. It was one of the nine hatched out of the batch Pidgey was rescued from but was the last one hatched and was scrawny and the chick down was a bit sketchy. I brought it into the house and it ate a drank right away. It followed me around the house with Pidgey and they both always wanted to be picked up. Andre would furiously try to burrow into my neck under my goatee and go to sleep scrunched up against my neck. It grew out well and was introduced to the flock where it eventually found it's spot in the pecking order. both turned out to be hens which is good so I didn't have to eat them...lol
