Our friend, TIny

I know that I have said in the past that some girls just aren't meant to be mamas...

Well, this is a story of a girl who is very bent on being a mama, but just cannot get her act together.  Really, this is the story of her little one...

Our Phoenix hens LOVE to go broody. The find the craziest places to hide and hatch out babies.   Well, after we had turned off and cleaned out the incubator and brooder for a while, she was at it again. And before we caught it, she hatched out this cute little baby chick in the big pen. The big pen isn't really the place for hatching a baby.It is a pen of laying hens with a few protective roosters mixed in.

When we found out she had hatched again, we were going to take the baby chick to keep it safe, but she consistently thwarted our efforts. We gave in and chose to watch carefully and track, especially since she still had eggs- in a loft above the nesting boxes.  

Before long, we went to check and she had gone back to sitting on her clutch of eggs.  The little chick was huddled in a corner of the barn, crying.  So Wyatt handed her to me to keep warm while he finished chores, and then we set up a little brooder in the living room.

Chicks need friends, and can sometimes cry themselves into death.  So we didn't put a top on the brooder, and she would hang out with Bailey while she did school work. Then, Bailey was out of town for a few days, and "Tiny", as we had come to call the little one, was crying, so I gave her a stuffed animal.

Another week or so passed, and "she" was getting out of the brooder to roost on the edge, and soon wander the house. We don't advocate this!  We all chat with her when she sits on the edge, and she chats back and watches the world go by out the front window.

When "she" gets out of the brooder, Tiny wants to explore the house, and also find a comfy spot.  You will find the little chick heading for the dog beds, looking for someone to cuddle with.  Tiny tries to be coy, and starts on the edge of the bed, side stepping and sneaking up to cuddle with the dogs.  

When Tiny settles in, though, Vegas bolts.  AT eighteen, he says he has had enough of the babies we bring around.  He likes life on his own terms, where he puppy makes sure his bowl is full and the door opened whenever he wants it.

Shadow Paws wants to be a good girl, but has been trained that chickens are not her domain, aside from protecting them, so she backs away from Tiny, wagging her tail and cutting her eyes to make sure we see who is messing with whom.

Of course, TIny runs from us humans when out and about, because "she" knows we will put her back in her brooder, and there will be no more gallivanting

I am starting to get worried about Tiny's lack of friends. Tomorrow afternoon, I will try the back porch brooder again, keep your fingers crossed! 

.