One of our peep-ducks passed away this morning.😢 She was about 5 years old. We referred to her as a "peep-duck" because she was raised with ducks. She was one of two Barred Rock chicks that joined us at the same time as several ducklings toward the beginning of the pandemic. Since they were all raised together, the chicks preferred to be near the ducks and occasionally had odd duck-like behavior. The chicks and ducks would snuggle together in their warm bedding. The odd assortment of birds became a family, always together, as close as best friends, brothers and sisters. Above is one of the peep-ducks after we moved them outside. It was hard to tell the two chicks apart. Later, the only way I could tell them apart was by their preference for how closely they hung to the ducks. One peep-duck stays with the ducks at all times, even bedding down in a pile on the floor of the coop with them at night. Meanwhile, the other peep-duck began hanging out with the chickens, and chose t...
Recently, we commissioned our daughter to create a mascot for the blog. She chose to draw one of our chickens, Angel (we mostly call her "Little White Bird!"). See more from the artist here! Here's the real chicken. She's a white Ameraucana hen. When we got her as a chick, she was supposed to be a white leghorn (think Foghorn Leghorn; they lay white eggs!), but sometimes they mix up the breeds, and we ended up with her. We couldn't have been happier! She has a wonderful personality. She loves to escape and explore, and usually ends up in the middle of the yard or around the back side of the chicken coop. We've found piles of the green "easter eggs" she lays hidden before from her adventures; we've realized she must figure out how to get back in sometimes, and she's probably gone in and out without us even knowing. Here she is posing with Miss Prissy Fuzzy Bottom!