Miracle

Yes, we have a house chick. This little fellow is a miracle. About a month or six weeks ago, one of our hens started hatching the eggs we had put under her. Six of the eleven hatched on Wednesday, and we brought them in the house for a couple of days, then put them out with another batch, of a dozen chicks, that were just a couple days older. She was still sitting on the remaining eggs, so we let her. The next day, another egg had a hole in it. On Friday morning, the chick was still in the egg, still peeping, and had its head sticking out. We could tell that the egg was stuck to the chick, dried on. I knew you are not supposed to help a chick out of the egg, as they need the struggle to be strong enough to survive, but we also knew this one would not live without help. My chicken-lover, Simon, gently picked the shell off, to give the chick the only chance it would have. Once out of the shell, the chick flopped around on its back, from side to side of the plastic tub it was in with several others, crying piteously when they stepped on it. We put all the ones that were strong enough out with a mother hen that evening, and the next morning this little one was on his feet! He surprised all of us by that. He was still bumping into the sides of the tub, and couldn’t get one eye open, but within a couple more days was acting much more normal, eating and drinking. All the others have moved on, but this one doesn’t fit in with any flock we have. He now lives in a bucket, with a lid on at night because he won’t stay in. During the day, we put him outside in the grass and he scratches around like any other chicken. This afternoon, it was chilly outside, and he came to the door and seemed to want in. Someone opened the door and he hopped right on in and walked around, totally at home!