Meet Gladys and the Chicks

Gladys and The Chicks

Most of the drama in our family is centered around the chickens. Gladys is our oldest hen. She was one of the first group of chickens I raised. My friend Debra raised her for the first two months, along with Edna, Wanda, Bertha, Bula, Carolina, Henrietta, and Raeline. Then I took them and put them in the coop my dad and I made. This was April of 2007. She is the only one left from that group. Anyway, Gladys got a little broody while Matt and I were on our honeymoon in June - she must have missed us. The neighbors were taking care of the chickens and let Gladys sit on the eggs, so excited that she was going to have little chicks. So three weeks later Gladys successfully hatched two little chicks. One was totally fine and healthy, the other had tons of energy and fight but had splayed legs and couldn't stand. We made a little brace for her and propped her up in a little cup under a heat lamp and made sure she got food and water. We all tried our best but she didn't make it through the night. The other chick did great for a few days until all of a sudden one afternoon (when she was five days old) she disappeared. As we could find no evidence we figure a hawk got her. I swear this story has a good ending, so keep on reading. So I went to the feed store and bought Gladys one giant black cochin chick and one buff orpington chick. That night, Matt and I snuck into the chicken yard and slipped the two new chicks under Gladys. In the morning - poof - she had two new chicks and she is raising them as her own. Thank goodness for tiny chicken brains. The family of three now have their own corner of the chicken yard protected from overhead predators and are doing fine. Today they got their first taste of cherry tomatoes and leftover corn. Lucky chickens! The buff's tail is developing and the cochin already has feathers on her feet. We haven't named them yet but will soon. We will post updates as the chicks grow. They are pretty freaking cute.