- May 17, 2014
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When I was in the seventh grade, our ag class took a trip to the local farm store to get baby chicks. I barely talked my mom into letting me get some. I was so excited. On the bus ride home I picked out one that seemed really special to me and named him Roger when I got home. I loved him so much, as he grew up he became the biggest baby ever. He was the coolest chicken ever! Everyday I couldn't wait to come home and see him and the other chickens. He was so tame and always came running up to me and wanted to sit in my lap or hop up on my shoulder. I thought Roger was the most beautiful chicken ever and i was so proud of him. He wasn't perfect but I wouldn't have traded him for the world and would've put him up against any other chicken when i was a kid. I remember wanting to tell everyone about him and getting laughed at by a lot of people in middle school. I remember sneaking him in the house when my parents weren't home to hang out with my siblings and I. Roger wasn't a dumb chicken, he was my friend, he never laughed at me, and was always happy to see me. All i had to do was call his name and he'd come running. As the years went by Roger was still my awesome chicken buddy. He was more like the family dog really. As time went by Roger has gotten older, his comb is stubby from getting a little too cold at times, he's went blind in one eye and his beak is worn. He has been a tough old bird and has outlived all the other chickens i got with him. Over the last month his age has really started to show. I moved him onto the back porch last week to keep a close eye on my old pal. I've made sure he's been eating and drinking plenty and had a heatlamp because he would get cold very easy. My big old bird has turned back into a baby chick again. The last day or so all he has wanted to do is sleep. I figured the time was coming soon for him to go so i moved him into a kennel in my room with a heating pad and a warm blanket. This morning my sweet Roger has passed away at 9.5 years old. He's taught me so much about chickens. Of all the 100s of chickens I've had over the years, Roger has to have been my most special. Thanks Roger for being the coolest bird ever.
Beautiful photos!
