emilysteng
Songster
I posted this story on my facebook page first but wanted to share with the chicken community here. Hope you enjoy reading it!
So most of you know by now that I am obsessed with chickens right now. There's my number one hen, Casino, and now 5 new chicks from another hen friend, Sakka. (There's Dorito, Frito, Sun Chip, Cheeto, and Scrando - which is pronounced Scrawn - doe. Or they also go by the Chips) Anyways, there are numerous other chickens who live around the nursery who we see regularly and of course have names. These other chickens are afraid of us though, and only come around to steal the food we put out for Casino, Sakka or the Chips. Otherwise they scream and run away when we get too close. Doppy (named because she is Casino's doppelganger) is a regular and has been hanging around the house at the nursery for as long as Casino has been around. Here she is last year with her "baby" who was almost as big as she was already.
So about a week ago Doppy showed up with a new baby chick. Just one, which is weird, but I guess that happens sometimes. She would hang around, come and scare away the Chips and eat their food. This monday Doppy was around, but no chick. We thought, "oh no - you lost your one chick? You only had one to take care of and you couldn't even do that? Gees." She doesn't have the best track record. That one baby in the picture up there? She was one of maybe eleven that she started with. The weird thing was we thought we could hear a chick peeping and calling quite loudly. So we kind of thought Doppy just couldn't find it or something. All day she hung around quite close to the house but no chick in sight. We thought maybe the peeping was from the other new mom, Francis - who has 5 babies. We went on with our day - Mondays are quite busy. Afternoon came, and I could see Doppy from the back window laying in the yard. I thought she looked like she was sitting on her chick - which they do when the chicks get cold. But there was no chick under her. And I thought I could hear the chick peeping still. So I put on my mosquito net and long pants to go back there and try to see if I could find the chick. Of course she freaks out and screams and squawks but never really leaves the area. I saw a baby chick run away up the hill so I went back inside. But another hour or so passed and she's still sitting in that same spot like she is laying on her chick. By this time everyone else has gone home except for me. So I go back out there and see what looks like a hollowed out tree trunk close to where she was laying. It's dark and shady in that area and I look down in there and can't see. But I hear the chick! So I go back in the house and get a flashlight and the fly swatter thinking I can scoop it out with that. But when I shine the light down the hole, this is what I see.
It's at least 5 or 6 feet deep!! But I see the chick down there way at the bottom. So I look around for something much longer than a fly swatter. I find this pole thing, which I later find out is a Hawaiian fishing spear, and attach a small pot to the end. I lower it down and use another long pole to try to push the chick in the pot. But it just keeps trying to get away from me. While I'm poking at it I see something else move. A big toad is stuck down there too! Gees. Now I'm getting worried I won't be able to save it.
Next I get a sour cream container and stab it sideways.
I lower it down again but the chick still won't go in. It's hard to maneuver two poles and the flashlight myself. Plus there is other stuff in the way. Toad gets up on the container and I start to raise him out but he jumps off again. This is getting really frustrating and I'm getting bitten by mosquitoes even with my mosquito net on. Plus Doppy is hanging around nearby squawking away because she thinks I'm trying to attack her baby or something. Finally I get the bright idea to put some food in the container. So I start to lower it down again and some food drops down there. Chick starts eating it. I get the bin down there and chick is in front of the container looking at the food and I push it into the container!! I start to pull it up slowly, so worried it's going to freak out and jump out. I finally get it up near the top and yay!! It's out!!! Doppy comes running down the hill squawking and flapping her wings. Chick runs towards her peeping away and they run away together!!!
Of course after this I have to rescue Toad. That wasn't as difficult. He was big and slow and pretty cooperative now that the little fluffy featherball was out of the way. I get him out and he just sits there for awhile, kind of dazed I guess. I might have poked him a few times with the spear a little. Who knows how long he was in there? But he's ok and eventually hops away.
One last thing to do - I check to see no one else is stuck down there and put a board over this treacherous hole. I guess it's on old telephone pole? Are telephone poles hollow? I always thought they were solid. There used to be some kind of structure back there. Who knows?
So here is happy mom and chick. Coming around to steal the Chips' food again. Take care of that baby Doppy!!
So most of you know by now that I am obsessed with chickens right now. There's my number one hen, Casino, and now 5 new chicks from another hen friend, Sakka. (There's Dorito, Frito, Sun Chip, Cheeto, and Scrando - which is pronounced Scrawn - doe. Or they also go by the Chips) Anyways, there are numerous other chickens who live around the nursery who we see regularly and of course have names. These other chickens are afraid of us though, and only come around to steal the food we put out for Casino, Sakka or the Chips. Otherwise they scream and run away when we get too close. Doppy (named because she is Casino's doppelganger) is a regular and has been hanging around the house at the nursery for as long as Casino has been around. Here she is last year with her "baby" who was almost as big as she was already.
So about a week ago Doppy showed up with a new baby chick. Just one, which is weird, but I guess that happens sometimes. She would hang around, come and scare away the Chips and eat their food. This monday Doppy was around, but no chick. We thought, "oh no - you lost your one chick? You only had one to take care of and you couldn't even do that? Gees." She doesn't have the best track record. That one baby in the picture up there? She was one of maybe eleven that she started with. The weird thing was we thought we could hear a chick peeping and calling quite loudly. So we kind of thought Doppy just couldn't find it or something. All day she hung around quite close to the house but no chick in sight. We thought maybe the peeping was from the other new mom, Francis - who has 5 babies. We went on with our day - Mondays are quite busy. Afternoon came, and I could see Doppy from the back window laying in the yard. I thought she looked like she was sitting on her chick - which they do when the chicks get cold. But there was no chick under her. And I thought I could hear the chick peeping still. So I put on my mosquito net and long pants to go back there and try to see if I could find the chick. Of course she freaks out and screams and squawks but never really leaves the area. I saw a baby chick run away up the hill so I went back inside. But another hour or so passed and she's still sitting in that same spot like she is laying on her chick. By this time everyone else has gone home except for me. So I go back out there and see what looks like a hollowed out tree trunk close to where she was laying. It's dark and shady in that area and I look down in there and can't see. But I hear the chick! So I go back in the house and get a flashlight and the fly swatter thinking I can scoop it out with that. But when I shine the light down the hole, this is what I see.
It's at least 5 or 6 feet deep!! But I see the chick down there way at the bottom. So I look around for something much longer than a fly swatter. I find this pole thing, which I later find out is a Hawaiian fishing spear, and attach a small pot to the end. I lower it down and use another long pole to try to push the chick in the pot. But it just keeps trying to get away from me. While I'm poking at it I see something else move. A big toad is stuck down there too! Gees. Now I'm getting worried I won't be able to save it.
Next I get a sour cream container and stab it sideways.
I lower it down again but the chick still won't go in. It's hard to maneuver two poles and the flashlight myself. Plus there is other stuff in the way. Toad gets up on the container and I start to raise him out but he jumps off again. This is getting really frustrating and I'm getting bitten by mosquitoes even with my mosquito net on. Plus Doppy is hanging around nearby squawking away because she thinks I'm trying to attack her baby or something. Finally I get the bright idea to put some food in the container. So I start to lower it down again and some food drops down there. Chick starts eating it. I get the bin down there and chick is in front of the container looking at the food and I push it into the container!! I start to pull it up slowly, so worried it's going to freak out and jump out. I finally get it up near the top and yay!! It's out!!! Doppy comes running down the hill squawking and flapping her wings. Chick runs towards her peeping away and they run away together!!!
Of course after this I have to rescue Toad. That wasn't as difficult. He was big and slow and pretty cooperative now that the little fluffy featherball was out of the way. I get him out and he just sits there for awhile, kind of dazed I guess. I might have poked him a few times with the spear a little. Who knows how long he was in there? But he's ok and eventually hops away.
One last thing to do - I check to see no one else is stuck down there and put a board over this treacherous hole. I guess it's on old telephone pole? Are telephone poles hollow? I always thought they were solid. There used to be some kind of structure back there. Who knows?
So here is happy mom and chick. Coming around to steal the Chips' food again. Take care of that baby Doppy!!
