There are a lot of chickens in our life right now: chickens outside, roast chicken for dinner, and 8 baby chicks upstairs. Sometimes I wonder if Tucker knows which one I'm talking about. I'm trying to teach him that baby chicks say "cheep cheep" instead of "bok bok." I'm not sure that lesson is taking hold.
In any case, the more important lesson for Tucker right now is how to treat the baby chicks. Another thing that is different with baby chicks is that you can't just throw food at them. The grown chickens think it's a treat when Tucker comes near with a handful of corn, but the baby chicks are terrified.
Tucker also tries to hang over the side of their box so he can touch them. Thankfully, the box is too tall for him to get his hands on any of them, but the end result is that the chicks get a little toddler earthquake when Tucker rams himself into their box.
He is pretty good at being gentle with them when I hold one in my hand and let him pet her. He also is getting more content with just watching them quietly from the edge of the box.
The chicks are absolutely darling to watch. We have four different varieties: barred rock, aracauna, white rock, and rhode island red. The aracaunas that we have look like little chipmunks, but it's hard to pick a favorite breed over another. They are all darling. They're like little puppies, or infants--they just fall asleep whenever, wherever. One of them has a habit of falling asleep in the middle of eating and sleeping with its head stuck in the feed bowl.
Oh, and I just need to clarify we didn't get these chicks on Easter on purpose... they were supposed to come in early March but our order was delayed. I was talking to someone this week who was given a chick on Easter as a kid... and rolled over it in her sleep. Personally, that doesn't seem such a good idea. I'm all for chocolate and jelly beans on Easter, and save the chicks for when you want to raise chicks.
