Priscilla

I have a pet!

Whit never had pets growing up, so this has been a long time coming. I have wanted a dog (he's not quite there yet), a cat (never going to happen), a chinchilla (yeah right), but he finally consented and we got...

...a chicken.

Her name is Priscilla. She is a "Cochan" - the kind with feathers on her feet. She is straight off a Mary Engelbright calendar.

My parents have always had chickens and my mom got Priscilla (she named her) and brought her home to join their other chickens but nobody liked her. The other chickens are regular Rhode Island Reds and were probably jealous of the feathers on her feet. Ayway, they pecked her, almost to death. She only survived because she stuck her little head out through the chicken wire and my dad found her, barely alive.

I guess she was at the bottom of the 'pecking order' - this is where that term comes from. I guess if there's no rooster, the chickens are meaner to each other.

So my mom asked and Whit said yes! So now we have Priscilla! I think Whit was hoping she'd eat the box elder bugs. She doesn't.

But she is seriously the calmest, most friendly chicken I have ever seen. She hops up onto my lap and just nestles down. I love it, even tough the whole time I'm thinking, "Don't poop. Don't poop. Don't poop."

She eats out of my hand - or anyone's hand. She comes running when I get home from. She is so cute.

Our neighbors have met her and have all commented on how mellow and friendly she is. It surprises us all. Even the cows love her. I don't know why, but they often come close to the fence and stare.

But she loves me the best.

We got her a friend, a Rhode Island Red from my dad's chicken bundle. We named her Roxanne. At first they didn't like each other, but now they're inseperable. Always running together through the yeard, eating the bugs (not the box elder bugs), and pooping on the deck.

They're favorite place to poop is the deck. Chicken punks.