Funny and Sad Chicken Stories (EDITING)

Silky

Silky is my sweet little bantam silky chicken.

I found Silky at a chick sale at Ausborns/Agway in New Hampshire a November day. There was five chicks. Silky was the gray one. The rest were yellow or white.

Also she was shy. I saw them and I asked if we could get them. My mom said no for awhile, before she got tired of me asking. Then she gave up and said yes. They are my oldest chickens now. They are 3-4 years old. We put them in a grayish box (you can see above), and a heating lamp on top. As you can see, it was not a reddish colored lamp. I held Silky each morning. She became more and more friendly with me. She would snuggle up to my pajamas. Then I would put her back in to the box and start getting ready for school. When I got home from school I would take her out and let her wander around the porch. I sat and watched her tumble around while I did my homework.
Sometimes when my neighbor came over, she would pick up Sunshine. (The yellow one above) Then he would pee, and poo on her. Then she would basically throw him in the box, and go and get a paper towel to clean off her hand.
Then she would come back and I would be laughing because she put him into a beekeeper box (you use them to get bees, they make a hive in it), where Sunshine would be scrambling around looking for an exit. Then I went over and pulled him out, and put him with the other chicks. Luckily, there was no bees (sorta obvious thought, it was inside) .
Once, when I had a Halloween party, we had the chicks in the "library" above the mud room, the room we kept the chicks when it got cold. Since I told my friends, we all went up to the library. As usual, Sunshine peed on my neighbor. After awhile, the chickens began to fly out of the box.

I know. You are all surprised that young chickens can even fly.

So then we put a window screen on top. I don't think any bugs will get through. After that the chickens pushed it off. Then we put them in the barn. I am still surprised that chickens are smart enough to get out of a box.
Before long Sunshine started crowing. Now, this isn't the I-will-crow-each-morning-to-wake-you-up it is the I-will-crow-to-annoy-you-and-to-show-that-i-am-boss crow. Not that he was though. I let my chickens go free-range in my yard. Day 1= slowly venture beyond the door.
Day 2= a little farther.
Day 3= let's try the other direction!
Day 4= a little farther in that direction is fine right?
Day 5= hey, let's check out the driveway! I'm sure bugs like to dig through the pavement. Maybe we'll find a few worms buried deep in the pavement!

I don't think they'll ever find any worms in the pavement. And they probably won't be able to dig a dent into that pavement. But the first days they had more sense, till they realized the pavement was only good for pooping on. No bugs. Sadly.

Day 1 with car= no chickens
Day 2 with car= no chickens- yet.
Day 3 with car= still no chickens.
Day 4 with car= no chickens. Wonder where they are.
Day 5 with car= no chickens. *loud squawking as car backs into chickens* Oops, maybe there is a few.

Sometimes you just hit the jackpot (their favorite digging area at the time). Then they wait awhile to get back there, and everything has dried up (mud, puddle, or dirt [but not in that case]). Then they waddle (or walk) off dejectedly, and find a new jackpot area. Then they forget about the old spot.
Once Silky was hiding in a bush next to my house cooing, and then my friend walks, no STOPS, and asks me what that was, so I say my rooster (she is scared of him) and she jumps away. She had the funniest look on her face. Then I tell her that it was my talkative, and favorite, chicken Silky. She just started laughing along with me. After Goldie died, he had three chicks, and two were cruel roosters, one a sweet hen, Pumpkin. The roosters, Soupy, and ones name I can't remember, tore Silky up. She became basically featherless, and super shy. I started feeding her seeds by hand, and she became friendly with ME again. Nobody else for awhile. We named Soupy, Gillespie , after foods because they were hurting hens, and because they would become food. I so happily watched my least favorite die. It was still sad, because I raise them all by hand, and because they were some of Goldie's last descendants. Now only pumpkin, the friendly hen, was left of Goldie.
Once Silky was pecking at snow, then some of the stuff on top of her mined area fell on her head. She just shook it away. But her head was still soaked.
When Silky was broody, at one point, the sparrows had these sort of bird fleas. She sat around and got them eventually. Twice in a little pan sort of thing, full of water and suds, I bathed her. She hated the pan part, but after some time we blow dried, and towel dried her. I was worried it would dry or hurt her skin, but she just loved it. Thankfully she is still living, unlike my poor rooster Goldie. She is living a great life.

----------------------------------------------

I decided this "author's note" WOULD, not SHOULD, be short(er) than the last very boring and long one. I hope you enjoy my stories about my chickens, and our experiences. Thank you all so much for reading this!

🔸🔶orange-fire🔶🔸