Which came first the chicken or the egg?

by Teresa Gregory
(Kalispell Montana )

The answer for me to that question above is the egg. But only eggs from the grocery store for breakfast and so on - never have I ever hatched one to raise.

Then one day my son-in-law was watching my granddaughter while her mom and I were off to work and had decided to walk with her to our local feed store. When we both came home from work we were welcomed by the peeping sounds of not one, not two, but three, Rhode Island Reds chick's in a box! ❤️

I have a love of all critters and although I knew that I would be the keeper of said chicks I couldn't help but fall for these sweet bundles of fluff even though it meant more responsibility and work to do in building a coop and care everyday and so on..

I love my birds and the flock grew over the next few weeks, one of the Reds passed very little and my daughter and I went to replace her before my granddaughter would know but they had none left.

Hence the reason for the arrival of my two Yellow Orphingtons(after all you can't just get one by itself or it would be the odd one out in the flock).That's what I told myself anyways 😊!

Well, a couple weeks later I decided the kids would want to take their chicks they picked with them when they moved out(which they were doing), so I went alone and picked out two chicks of my own, welcoming my Black Australorp and my little Banty all black and white and fiesty!

The first chick to escape from my bathtub nest area I made for them all was my RI Red that I named Lucy, due to her ability to get loose a lot! She had so much confidence and loved to explore and soon, her sister whom I named Red, would follow...

Eventually they were all named: Lucy, Red, Goldie, Blondie (aka Phyllis as in Diller) and Lil Bit and Ducky! Yes Ducky:) Why Ducky, you ask? Well my granddaughters wanted the chickens, but my grandson did not! He wanted ducks(which I now have two I recently brought home)!! So I named my Black Australorp Ducky!

My memorial is for two! First I lost my Lucy, for no reason at all that I could tell, and her flock mate Red was devastated as I was! I cried so hard I was howling as my husband retrieved her from the coop that morning 😭

And now just yesterday I lost my Ducky! Same thing, no signs of anything at all for explanation of her passing!

I have tried not to let it get me so much but can't seem to just get over it and I sit with the chickens in the straw now where they stay and play classical music for them and even brought a big old mirror to help Red with her loss of her mate because I'm hoping to trick her to thinking that's Lucy.

She was spending days looking at the back wall of the chickens run as if looking for Lucy there. Now there's a mirror and she seems better. Until now. Bit my Banty is calling for Ducky and waits at the fence as if she wants me to bring her back in, and my heart breaks!

I can't trick her because they were two very different chicks when little even tho then they were the same size. Ducky of course grew up much bigger and she looked after Little Bit, with the other hens being all bossy!

So farewell to my Lucy and to my sweet brave Ducky, it's with tears I share this story, because the loss of you both hurts deep in my heart like a friend I have lost and you were both my babies once!

I will miss you and I love you both, we all do here.. I pray I see you in heaven and be good girls til I get there okay!

Thank you for letting me share and for understanding the hurt that comes in having a chicken or and egg that you love!

God bless.