My Little Miracle..... Marble

Ok, Busy busy hectic week here, what with hospital appointments and working what will be a 55 hour week before I even begin with my lot, and our Tom's Engagement Party this evening, which Ive been helping to organise for over 140 of his friends, I aint had time to even think straight this week..... I do not know how Im gonna cope tonight at the party, its a bit out of my depths with so many people and added to that Im totally exhausted LOL its gonna make for a great mix.......

But, within all the hectic hustle and bustle of this week, something happened that warmed the cockles of me heart.... it made me smile and beam and feel all warm and protective inside.......

Anyone that knows me KNOWs how daft I am about me chickens Janet (who I found wandering around outside our junior school about 18 months ago) and Mabel (who just turned up on Sunday morning in our garden, we have no idea how she got here) and Cedric (who is our cockeral and was given to me by me bestest matie Wendy, who I started off with chickens last year for her birthday, Cedric came to me cos her neighbours complained about his cocker doodle doodling and she knows I aint really bovvered what my neighbours think lol)..... anyways..... I love these 3 chickens like I never thought I would LOL daft right?

Since Cedric arrived on the scene he has been 'getting his oats' as us Brits would say, daily from his 2 woman.... and during the summer we so hoped that Janet or Mabel would go broody and maybe hatch some eggs, but alas no such luck....

Until, 3-4 weeks ago, Mabel laid a couple of eggs and just wouldnt budge off them and even pecked me hard when I tried to have a look to see if she was poorly or not, ya see, I had no idea she had these eggs, she had stopped laying a few weeks previous, so I thought that she was poorly and went to lift her out of the coop with thoughts of dam vets and high bills...... but to my surprise she was egg sitting....

It takes 4 weeks for a hen to egg sit, until hatching..... and all day this little Silkie chicken would sit on her eggs only briefing coming out of the coop to rush up me garden, grab a bit to eat and drink and dash back and sit in the coop on her eggs, how dam boring for her... no telly and not even a newspaper to keep her sane LOL



This is Mabel a few weeks ago sitting on her 2 eggs, its not a good photo but she was getting cross with me.....

Mabel is our little punk rocker chicken, cos she dont have a red comb on her head like Janet does, nor a dangly wattle under her chin, instead she has the most tiniest of weenie feathers, so tiny and soft that they actually resemble downie hair.... the only thing with that is that she aint waterproof like Janet and when she stays out in the rain she looks like a drowned rat LOL

So, imagine my surprise when on Tuesday I hobbled over the school to pick up 5 nippers, we came home down the little track that leads to the bottom of me garden instead of walking the road way round... so we have to walk up me garden, I could see Janet and Cedric up the top end of me garden near the back door, but as I passed the coop I heard Mabel making a fuss and I hear chirping.... YES chirping.... it stopped me in me tracks and I opened the little door into the inside bedroom of the coop......

There was Mabel still sitting with her wings spread out wide.... as I went to touch her she went crazy at me lol..... I shouted for Jacob to come help me, I thought he can get pecked LOL.... he gently grabbed Mabel from behind in the 'chicken holding' position lol.... and Oh my gracious..... there was a tiny weenie chick...... AND... which was sad, there was also a flat as a pancake dead chick.... amongst the broken egg shells....

So, I present to you....... Marble...... my little miracle..... my first ever little hatched chick, I could not feel anymore proud then if one of me lads had given me a grandchild LMFAO hahahahahahaha....



Marble is small and round and fluffy and multicoloured.... whereas the other chick was flat and wide and squashed and dead..



We think that maybe this little chick hatched the day previous and somehow got squashed or even pecked by Cedric during its first night.....

When I reached in to remove the dead little chick poor Mabel went frantic, she didnt want me to lob it in the dustbin.... but I had to.... I couldnt just leave it in the coop to rot....

I then thought, I should remove Marble and mum so that the surviving chick didnt get squashed...... but I had nowhere to put them, so I rang me matie Wendy whose chickens had hatched eggs in the summer and within 5 minutes Jon her hubby had brought round a little hutch and run, so we lined it with fresh herbie hay and lemon sawdust LOL yes, me chickens are spoilt.... and carefully lifted Mabel and Marble into the seperate little hutch, she snuggled down and marble crawled under her wing.....

The night was to be bitterly cold and I was hoping against all odds that this tiny weenie chick would survive, and come the morning I was a little scared to uncover the hutch and peep inside........

I could of bought them both into the house in a box, but, thats not nature, and Im sure Mabel would be a good mum and keep the chick warm, she had enough hay in there to keep an army warm lol



But as you can see, I worried for nuffin...... and as soon as I had dropped nippers off at school, I shot up to the petshop and bought some chick/crumb so that the chick had its own special tiny food....



First Mabel showed Marble how to peck LOL.... and then the chick begain gobbling up the chick crumb....aint it amazing how independant they are almost from the outset...

You can see in the above photo that Mabel dont have a comb and waffle but looks like a beady eyed punk LOL



I love this little chick and Im hoping so much that nothing now happens to it.... me minded nippers love it and it will be a great learning thing for them to watch it grow....

Im hoping its a hen, but if its a cockeral then Im still gonna keep in, and Cedric will just have to learnt to live with another cock on his patch lol..... on saying that, this chick would be a tiny cockeral compared to Cedric.....



Here is Janet, Cedric and Mabel back in the summer..... dont they look healthy :)

I dont need flash cars or houses, or posh resturants to make me happy, I certainly dont need diamonds and jewellery, I dont need expensive paintings to bring me so much joy.....

I just enjoy the simple things in life..... my maties here in the real world just dont 'get it' with their flash cars and big houses and gardens all neat and tidy.....

Me, well, Im just low maintenance, I gleam so much from the little things in life.... just a simple life, thats all Ive ever wanted........ but, Im still hoping that one day my prince will come.... but he would have to love me chickens to LOL

Ok, enough Twaddle for a damp Friday morning, I have to much to do today WITH kids in tow LOL.... but thats me, Ive usually got a kid in tow, no matter what I need to do...... wish me luck tonight, I know I am well out of me depth with so many people and I will feel like a fish out of water..... but I love our Tom so very much, and I need to be there, he needs me there, that was his words last night...... so be there I will....

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