Star's Story

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Today was a beautiful day. I took Star for a walk around the yard and then walked with him all the way to the park, where he met several little kids who were delighted to see him. They petted him and poked him, and little Star just took it all in stride with this look on his face like "Yes, I know. I AM adorable." The kids were good too--they didn't pet too hard, though I did have to remind one little boy not to rub the feathers the wrong way.

I wish I could have gotten a photo, but unfortunately I was not in a position to do so. Even if I wasn't holding the chicken with my camera hand, I was way too close to the action to get a shot. I did however get several photos of Star wandering around the yard with me.

First, here's a couple of shots from yesterday. Star getting a look-over by Bubbles, a Polish crested. Gryffindor, the other chick, does not seem concerned.


Star in the evening light. His red is REALLY rich in this shot.



And here are some brand new photos from today's adventures.



Dandelion seeds are apparently tasty, if you can get past the fluff.


"I'm not sure how I feel about this, Mom"


It's a jungle out there. Especially when it's been too wet to mow.


The driveway offered up a surprising bounty of snacks.


"Hey, Mom, whatcha doin?"


I kept having to back up to take the photos, and Star kept following. He's almost as hard to photograph as my cats!







Star found a worm. More importantly, Star found a worm without any adults around, so Star got to keep his worm!



And here's a reminder of how far we've come... Star when he was too weak to walk:


And Star today:
 
I went out to tend to the chickens this afternoon, and Star as usual came running up to greet me. I picked him up, put him on my shoulder, and PLOP. Big ol' stinky poo down my back. That little stinker! Fortunately, I was wearing my ratty old jacket and I was able to just toss it in the wash.

I let all the "kids" out to play. The adults are getting along really well with them now, though they do occasionally give the little ones a peck to make sure they know who's boss. Star hasn't had any problem with that, though--he stays well clear of the big girls.




"Edith", who I am pretty sure is a pullet, but has a lot of attitude, likes to challenge Star to pecking order contests. Star doesn't even hesitate.


"You want a piece of me!?"
"Bring it on!"

"I WIN!"



My mom had a package of hamburger buns that had become infested with beetles, and she gave them to the chickens, saving some back especially for the chicks. Star had no trouble getting bites of bread and keeping it for himself, despite the efforts of the bigger chickens to take it from him.



Once again, Star demonstrates his willingness to be a lap chicken, hanging out on my mom's lap and getting his two favorite things--cuddles and treats.

And in case you're interested, here's some of Star's flockmates:



Mrs. Patmore:
Another feather-legged banty from the same batch as Star, I'm 99% sure Mrs. Patmore is a pullet. She is friendly and energetic, and along with Star is my favorite among the new chicks. If I hold my hand down to her, she hops right into it, and loves to perch on my arm and talk to me.



Gryffindor:
Gryff is an Easter Egger roo, and is about 2 weeks younger than Star. Despite being one of our youngest chickens, he's one of the boldest, and is usually the first to escape the brooder when given a choice. He and Star love to challenge each other to dominance "battles" where they spin around in a wild dance before shooting off in different directions before actually figuring out who the victor is.


The Australorps:
Despite being twice the size or more of the oldest banties, the Australorps are the same age as Star and his fellows. Nicknamed "The Four Stooges", they aren't the brightest of birds, but are generally very friendly and easy going. The two little roos will have epic battles with each other for dominance (often resulting in one or both of them finding themselves in an awkward situation), but don't seem to regard the other chicks as contenders and exist completely peacefully even with the smallest babies. The two pullets are of completely contrasting personalities: Mrs. Hughes is friendly and loves to cuddle me, but Mary gets very alarmed if I'm anywhere near her. The one thing they all have in common is that they are very beautiful birds.



Sybil:
Although named after a female character, I fear Sybil may in fact be a little boy. Even so, the name has stuck. He is a beautiful, tame bantam who is a little reluctant at first to be held, but calms quickly. Quiet and unassuming, I rarely see him involved in the dominance games the others play. He is usually found in the company of the Australorps, perhaps because they look the most like him.



Mr. Bates:
I am 99% sure this little bantam is a roo, but he is an absolute sweetheart and loves to be handled and cuddled. He looks a lot like Anna and Mrs. O'brien--two feather legged bantams that are a week older and the same color, but much larger than him (for now). Mr. Bates tries to get into the dominance games when the others are vying for status, but he is usually totally ignored. If this hurts his pride or not, I can't be sure. He is usually so busy exploring the run and doing excited little dances for no reason at all that he isn't much bothered by what the others are doing.



Pipsqueak:
Pipsqueak is the smallest chicken. A bantam of unknown breed, she is the same age as Gryffindor, and seems to be aware that she is very, very small. She has become quite skilled at dodging in and out between the others' legs, grabbing treats or just avoiding being stepped on. She doesn't like to leave the brooder unless everyone else does, in which case, she does NOT want to be left behind! Despite her small size, she can make her discontent known with a loud, unhappy cheap that can be heard near and far. Pipsqueak is a little shy, but seems to know that people are her friend. Though she avoids being handled normally, she will rush into my hands whenever someone is being mean to her or she is frightened. Her docile nature worked out very well for her today, when she got to gobble down lots of tasty bread from the safety of my hands and didn't have to share any of it with the big, pushy australorps.



Honeybear:
A buff orpington pullet, the same age as Sybil, Edith, and Mr. Bates, Honeybear is a quiet, mellow bird who instantly springs into action when she spots a bug. Although she went through a brief phase where she was afraid of me, she quickly got over it and now tolerates being handled without fussing or trying to escape.



The Newbies:
When half of our Australorp "pullets" turned out to be roos, the store we bought them from replace them with these two chicks from the rainbow layer bin. My best guess is a buff orpington and a rhode island red, but we shall see. As long as they're girls, I'll be happy. Their working names for now are Buffy and Princess. They get along with the other chicks just fine but haven't shown a lot of personality of their own yet.



Edith, Anna, and Mrs. O'Brien
Although I have really great pictures of these three, I haven't taken any today and I'm not at home where I can access my picture files. Edith, Anna, and Mrs. O'Brien are all feather legged bantam chicks of an as-yet unknown breed. Anna and Mrs. O'Brien are the same age as star and buff-colored, but though they look identical their personalities are very different. Anna is friendly and tolerates being handled while Mrs. O'Brien is flighty, nervous, and uncooperative. Edith is from the second batch of chicks we purchased, and is the same age as Honeybear, Sybil, and Mr. Bates. Although I'm fairly certain Edith is a pullet, she loves to challenge the other chicks to dominance games, especially Gryffindor and Star, though they get along quite well the rest of the time. Edith is brown with striped feathers and has a rather flighty personality, though I get the sense she may yet warm up to me.



The Adults:
In addition to the chicks, we have 18 adult chickens, including our lone adult rooster Mars and his ladies. Although they are not fully integrated into the flock yet, our chicks have all met the adults, and get along with them with varying degrees of success.
----
That's all for today! Until next time, avid readers!
 
It's been a while now, and Star has pretty much caught up to the others of his age group developmentally. He has even been able to dominate a larger roo chick, though his efforts to intimidate Mrs. Hughes--a black australorp pullet the same age as him--it didn't go as well.

"Did you have something to say to me?"
*ulp*

Fortunately, Star's rambunctiousness is limited to short bursts. Most of the time, he's happy to roam around the yard with the other chicks, foraging for bugs and greens or rolling in a dustbath. When I sit still long enough, he climbs into my lap for a snuggle.

 
Star's brush with death early in life seems to have given him an abundance of confidence. It isn't unusual for us to find him standing off against a much larger roo like Gryffindor, an Easter Egger that is nearly twice his size. In fact, about the only chickens Star will back down from are our Polish Crested hens--and with good reason! Those sassy ladies take no nonsense from the uppity youngsters!

When not challenging his broodmates to a scuffle, Star is content to range with the flock or hang out with his people. While we have several friendly chickens, it perhaps comes as no surprise that Star is the most friendly of them all. On the Fourth of July, he was spoiled by all the laps that wanted to hold him and hands that wanted to pet him, and he spent most of the holiday dozing in someone's lap and helping them eat their hot dog buns. On another occasion, I took him to the park where he ended up meeting a group of small children. Even though they were noisy and they crowded him and they pet his feathers every which way but the right way, Star sat there calmly with a look on his face like, "Yes, I know I am awesome. Feel free to continue adoring me".









My friend John has dubbed him, "The Chicken Who Almost Wasn't". Sounds like a good title for a book!
 
In other news, since my last post there have been a few developments. Two new chicks were added to the flock named "Sugar" and "Spice". Sometimes referred to as my "clearance chickens", I purchased them from the feed store when they were marked down and nearly fully feathered out. Since they were never socialized as little chicks, they shy away from being handled, but are otherwise calm, level-headed young birds. Perhaps because of the age disparity or perhaps because of their lack of socialization, Sugar and Spice do not integrate much with the rest of the flock, and are usually seen running in tandem from one place to another. They are not shy birds, however, and won't hesitate to compete for treats if there are any. Despite being a fraction of the size of the fully-grown adults, they zip in and out fearlessly to get their share of goodies. Should they become separated from one another, they cheep loudly until they spot each other, then race to meet each other halfway before darting off to resume their adventures.

This is an older picture, but here they are shortly after I brought them home. They are quite a lovely pair now--Spice is obviously a little roo and Sugar a pullet, and they have developed lovely cheek puffs that set them apart from the other bantams.

Edit: Here is a more recent photo of the dynamic duo



Also, as it turns out, "Edith" (who I was SO sure was a pullet!) is actually an Eddy. He's a gorgeous little roo with a calm personality, though he doesn't like being picked up AT ALL. I'll post a picture of his gorgeous self as soon as I get home and can get the photos off of my external HD.
Edit: Here's the photo! Isn't he a beauty?


On a sadder note, we lost one of our favorite hens recently. While I was away on a weeklong job out of state, my dear Chipmunk somehow got into the dog run and was killed and eaten by my dog. Farewell, sweet Chipmunk. You will be missed.
 
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