New Kids Update

baby
Baby turkey and baby chicken are doing pretty well, considering they had a rough start. The chicken is probably a broiler chicken, which means it won’t have a very long life. Just google “broiler chicken” and read up on what humans have genetically done to chickens.

babies
Having a little baby broiler chicken in my house is sad, and it leaves me with the very strong belief that we are terribly wrong as a people to genetically engineer suffering into baby animals. But baby chicken does his (or her) best to get around, and he does okay.

outside
Turkey and chicken go outside each day for a bit, but it’s been too sunny to leave them out very long. Chicken has big bald spots and we don’t want him to get sunburned. They do enjoy sprawling out on the grass and eating some dandelions though.

turk
Isn’t baby turkey beautiful? S/he has slipped wing on both wings and a slightly twisted leg, but so far she’s getting around okay. Turkey makes a sweet trilling noise and also kind of vibrates her whole body. Baby chicken and baby turkey speak different languages but they do talk to each other a lot. It is very sweet to see them go their different ways in the pen and then come back together for a nap and a chat.

lap
The new permanent kid, this here lap chicken, is adjusting pretty well. The other chickens still pick on her, so she stays in a separate area during the day, and sleeps in a protected area where everyone can visit her at night. That way the chickens get to know her without being able to hurt her.

butt
Lap chicken was very lucky that her raccoon bite was between her oil gland on her tail but above her vent where waste comes out. A big chunk was bitten out of her, right down to the bone, but it looks like some of her tail feathers are growing back, so she might not be tail-less forever.

she
She is a very sweet young chicken. We hear she is only 3-months-old. Hopefully the other hens will accept her before long so they can all hang out together. Until then, she is lounging out of their reach on my knee, which is just fine with me.

lastly
Lastly, we’re out of town for all of 27 hours, so all the kids are locked up in their spots. They were pretty bummed about it, but they can’t really tell time, so it’ll be over before they know it. Also, they got extra treats.

In fact, we’re posting this blog update from the airplane, at 30,000 feet. Isn’t modern technology wonderful? Back soon! And in a few days, we’ll also have these new kids tell us their names.

Quacks and clucks,

Tiff

05. July 2011 by Silly Human
Categories: New Rescues | 1 comment

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