Before Thanksgiving, a little bantam rooster lost his mother and three sisters, who disappeared without a trace to my great sorrow. One day, he nested under his mother next to his sisters, and the next day he was alone in a strange, cold world with big chickens who picked on him. I rescued him and set up a cage indoors. He made such a pet of me, that he would stand on my knee or shoulder and groom his feathers, or nestle into my neck and make little contented chirps and coos. He is so imprinted on me, he really needs a lot of attention. He has been indoors all winter so far (what's wrong--lots of people have indoor caged birds! I kept him clean!) One sunny day last weekend I put him in a temporary outdoor cage where I thought he would love scratching in the dirt and finding little seeds and bugs. He freaked! He was so upset when I left him, so I came back and sat in the cage with him until he calmed down and finally started scratching and picking like chickens do. He was so funny, though. He's such a spoiled indoor boy, that after each peck in the dirt, he would wipe his beak on the nearest clean straw.
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