SHERRING7712
Chirping
So we recently went to a local chicken breeder to purchase some new chicks and while there we were introduced to Sami.
Sami was in a small cage in the barn and my husband saw her first. He stuck his head out of the barn just long enough to say "honey, they got a duck!"
"Uh, Oh" I thought to myself. We had just lost our male at only 3 weeks and my husband had taken it hard and had put his foot down saying "no more ducks" (only about an hour previous, on the drive over)
Sharon (the chicken breeder) began to tell me the story as we walked to the barn...
Sharon's daughter had went for a walk last summer and came home with the tiniest duckling they had ever seen (fifty cent piece sized) She was still wet from the egg and had been cast out by Mom due to her being deformed. Sami has one gimpy foot and a bill that is slightly turned as well.
Sharon didn't think the duckling would make it but the little girl had fight in her and overcame the odds against her and survived the winter. Though she did need to remain separated from the large chickens as they picked on her she didn't like being too far away so she got her own cage in the barn near the young adolescent chicks.
Unfortunately being a certified chicken breeder/importer Sharon and her husband Zack were not going to be able to continue to keep Sami and were troubled at the idea of returning her to the wild due to her deformities.
Sharon told us we could have her if we wanted. She also told us she doesn't like being held, so when we grabbed her out of the cage and she fell asleep in my arms while petting her she was amazed! We decided we would take her home and introduce her to our female pekin (who was four weeks old) and maybe that would give them each a companion!
Unfortunately...Our Pekin "Webby" is about 4 times her size and picked on her right away.
So that wasn't going to work. Time to extend our "housing" We got to work right away building a new adjoining run next to our coop and run. For about a week Sami was kept in a kennel in our living room and we started handling her more and put her in the bathtub everyday for her swim time! At first she was pretty skittish but soon she was loving it!
Once the run was complete we built Sami her own house and got our two adolescent RIR's to put in the coop for company! It has worked out well and Sami is very protective of the chicks. Once our younger babies are ready to go outside they will go in with Sami as well. Once they are older we will introduce them to our older chickens.
So we rescued a sweet girl who in turn has become a nurse maid for all of our new hatches! The Lord had plans for this family it seems!
Sami was in a small cage in the barn and my husband saw her first. He stuck his head out of the barn just long enough to say "honey, they got a duck!"
"Uh, Oh" I thought to myself. We had just lost our male at only 3 weeks and my husband had taken it hard and had put his foot down saying "no more ducks" (only about an hour previous, on the drive over)
Sharon (the chicken breeder) began to tell me the story as we walked to the barn...
Sharon's daughter had went for a walk last summer and came home with the tiniest duckling they had ever seen (fifty cent piece sized) She was still wet from the egg and had been cast out by Mom due to her being deformed. Sami has one gimpy foot and a bill that is slightly turned as well.
Sharon didn't think the duckling would make it but the little girl had fight in her and overcame the odds against her and survived the winter. Though she did need to remain separated from the large chickens as they picked on her she didn't like being too far away so she got her own cage in the barn near the young adolescent chicks.
Unfortunately being a certified chicken breeder/importer Sharon and her husband Zack were not going to be able to continue to keep Sami and were troubled at the idea of returning her to the wild due to her deformities.
Sharon told us we could have her if we wanted. She also told us she doesn't like being held, so when we grabbed her out of the cage and she fell asleep in my arms while petting her she was amazed! We decided we would take her home and introduce her to our female pekin (who was four weeks old) and maybe that would give them each a companion!
Unfortunately...Our Pekin "Webby" is about 4 times her size and picked on her right away.
Once the run was complete we built Sami her own house and got our two adolescent RIR's to put in the coop for company! It has worked out well and Sami is very protective of the chicks. Once our younger babies are ready to go outside they will go in with Sami as well. Once they are older we will introduce them to our older chickens.
So we rescued a sweet girl who in turn has become a nurse maid for all of our new hatches! The Lord had plans for this family it seems!
