I bought a chick at the Lansing-area Chickenstock, planning to graft it to my setting hen, Daisy. Well . . .
She accepted him that night, but the next morning I looked in to find baby Fudge cowering in the corner of the brooder while Daisy helped herself to the baby food. I let them out and Daisy immediately returned to her nesting box. Thinking maybe she just didn't like the brooder, I tried putting Fudge in with her. Big mistake. Poor Fudge got a nasty peck from Mommy Dearest before I could pull him back out.
I set up a nice brood box for Fudge in the house, but he was so unhappy. His forlorn peeping was making everyone else in the house unhappy, so I decided to get him a friend.
Wynette had a chick that had lost its companion and was also very lonely [I know, sounds like the plot of a cheesy love story] so we got Fudge and Shadow together. After some staring, and a little chest-thumping from Fudge, the pair settled in for a cozy nap.
These days, the two are constant companions. When my DH takes them out to play in the grass, they are never far apart. Fudge seems to be the boss, and he always gets first dibs on whatever they find, but he's also the one who challenges the 2-year-olds if they get too close (mind you, he's two weeks old).
I'll try to post pics, but I'm a total computer dud . ..
She accepted him that night, but the next morning I looked in to find baby Fudge cowering in the corner of the brooder while Daisy helped herself to the baby food. I let them out and Daisy immediately returned to her nesting box. Thinking maybe she just didn't like the brooder, I tried putting Fudge in with her. Big mistake. Poor Fudge got a nasty peck from Mommy Dearest before I could pull him back out.
I set up a nice brood box for Fudge in the house, but he was so unhappy. His forlorn peeping was making everyone else in the house unhappy, so I decided to get him a friend.
Wynette had a chick that had lost its companion and was also very lonely [I know, sounds like the plot of a cheesy love story] so we got Fudge and Shadow together. After some staring, and a little chest-thumping from Fudge, the pair settled in for a cozy nap.
These days, the two are constant companions. When my DH takes them out to play in the grass, they are never far apart. Fudge seems to be the boss, and he always gets first dibs on whatever they find, but he's also the one who challenges the 2-year-olds if they get too close (mind you, he's two weeks old).
I'll try to post pics, but I'm a total computer dud . ..
