A few months ago my parents spontaneously bought 3 chicks, said they wanted fresh eggs. Like so many of their other decisions, they didn’t actually think it through and we had to go up and rescue them. It’s true that as people age, they become more like the kids and we’ve reverted roles as being their parents.
The chicks were adorable, cheeping chirping encouragement as we built them a little starter home after googling like mad to swot up on their needs. As well as chick starter feed, many guides recommended ‘fresh’ nutrients such as worms and spiders, mmm! Below is a video of the chicks competing for a juicy worm – excuse the poor camera work!
We got befriended by the chicks as we emptied the garden of spiders and worms, and of course we had to name them! My brother Jonny named his one Symbian, my one was called Dimples (as she had a dark patch of feathers on her head) and the last chick got stuck with Lord Rannoch (courtesy of Phil). As you can tell, I won hands down on sensibility.
Phil fancied some chicken nuggets
Symbian, Dimples and Lord Rannoch pretty much spent their time chirping for food, eating, pooing and dozing – all within the space of 10 minutes before starting the cycle again. We were very sad to leave as the weekend flew by, knowing the next time we see them, they would have grown out of their fluffy coats.
After a month later we came back to 3 fully grown chickens, each with their own personality. They are very inquisitive creatures and always came up to the patio to spy on what we were up to. The parents are hoping for eggs by January so watch this space.
