Where you are born can make a difference in your life. It turns out the same is true for chickens. Every year I have followed a 2nd grade class as they go through a life cycle unit that involves hatching chickens. Not all the eggs make it to a healthy hatched chickens. That’s true of chickens everywhere but sometimes if you are a chicken born in a 2nd grade classroom and you need a little help to start your life, you get a lucky break. Meet this year’s lucky break:
Not cute, like the other chicken photos I have shown you. The reason for this is pretty simple, this chicken needed some help getting out of its shell, so it is still sticky and gunky. Shortly after I took this photo though, he was cleaned up a bit, so the next day he looked like this:
He is still not the cutest, although his feathers have begun to grow in. Because he is small, he has to be separated from the other chickens who peck at him. Here he is three days later, moving day:
He is still small, but able now to hold his own with the other chickens. He moved to his permanent farm home shortly after I took this last photo. So, he has lived his first week. Under other circumstances, he would not have made it, but a twist of fate and he has enjoyed the luck of hatching in a 2nd grade classroom.
Not a pretty chicken is he? He was particularly hard to photograph because he was always in motion. The lighting wasn’t helping me either. While these aren’t my most technically good photos of the year, this was the most interesting storyline to develop in this year’s life cycle unit.
Cheers!
Awwwww! : )))
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🙂
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That was such a lovely story and I think the little guy is super-cute (just in case my previous comment didn’t convey all of that meaning! ) : ))))
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I was happy for the good outcome for this little one, thanks for coming back to comment further 🙂
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: )))
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Lucky chicken to have this early twist in it’s life. I think quote adorable all things considered for this challenging arrival to the world. 🙂
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It has quite the personality too, pretty much the loudest of the hatch.
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In Afrikaans we have a saying “mooi van die lelik”, which we use when something is this cute despite not being richly endowed with “beauty” (directly translated it means “it’s pretty because it’s so ugly”). I think it applies in this case – he might not be the prettiest chicken in the coup, but he sure must be one of the cutest 😉
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I forgot to add, that he was probably the loudest as well, which suggests that he might be a rooster.
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had to chime in on this comment 😉 – and well – thanks for sharing this term “mooi van die lelik” – I have tucked it away for further use!!!
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Yeah, it is a pretty awesome phrase 🙂
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You’re absolutely welcome Y. Prior!
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I used to raise poultry, and sometimes I would get impatient with the incubator. If I saw that a chick was taking forever to emerge out of its shell, I would sometimes help by gently peeling the shell off. The trick is knowing when to peel and when to leave it to Nature.
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Yes, I agree it is a balancing act.
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It might grow up to be the finest chicken in the land! 🙂
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It could be!
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Ah sweet!! It is an ugly duckling story and I am sure he is going to be a delight someday….although I do admit he didn’t start out looking good!
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I was just glad he made it.
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how inspiring – and he is cute to me – 🙂 awe!!!! well I know what you mean compared to the others – but how fun – to get on with life with TLC – thanks for the smile *** ❤ ***
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I was glad he was able to be put back in with the other chickens and leave when they did.
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Here’s to hoping the chick will grow a healthy normal life.
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At this point, I would say that he has a pretty good chance of doing just that 🙂
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Nice take on the theme Amy ! One lucky chick to be sure .
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Lucky indeed 🙂
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I didn’t think the chick was ugly at all when it first came out of the egg. I think it just looked a bleary eyes and a little lost, trying to make sense of the world around it, seeing it for the first time. It’s good to hear that the chick is in motion – definitely has a lot of energy for a small bird and I’m sure the class will find that fascinating. Twist of fate. Love your creative take on the theme this week, Amy 🙂
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He did provide an interesting lesson for the kids, starting with the idea of when do we intervene and help and when do we let nature take its course. Also, how tough it can be for chickens who are smaller, I think that is probably something that the kids can relate too.
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It’s very nice to see you and the class approaching the hands on life cycle study with so much positivity. I do hope that the small bird is still doing well, and that the class is feeding it well so that it’s growing everyday.
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Yes, this little one made it to its new farm home, leaving the same time as the other chickens and able to be in with the other chicks without conflict. So, he was small, but he made it 🙂
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Well, he is adorable. So glad you were able to show us the various stages he went thru. Great job, Amy.
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I’ll be honest, it was a bit tough to watch, I was concerned that he might not make it.
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Such a sweet little chick, Amy. 🙂
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And a loud one too 🙂
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Glad that he’s a survisor. I always root for the underdog.
Do the siblings resemble him?
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Actually, no not really. Most of the other chickens that survived were other breeds. I think all the kids were rooting for him too, he had quite the personality.
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Excellent twist on the twist theme PJB!! Not a very attractive species, chickens. Maybe to another chicken tho LOL.
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They are cute and fluffy usually when they are little though. This one, not so much…
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