Tuesday, March 13, 2012

When Chickens Fly

With six brothers and sisters there was never a dull moment growing up.  The adventures were never ending, and the experiences memorable.  I remember one spring Daddy brought home a box of chicks to be raised.  They lived in the garage under the house, until they would be big enough to move over the hill.  David and Bob decided to teach them to swim. So they put them in the middle pond and trained them until Mom discovered their endeavor, and swiftly put a stop to it, luckily before any chicks drowned, although my brothers said they were sure that some of them had learned to swim. Was this a tall tale?

Research in this day of technology provided enlightenment. Any farmer who raises both chickens and ducks will tell you that chicks will follow the ducklings into the water and float and paddle about just as well as the ducks but a little slower as their feet are not webbed. The mother hen will also reluctantly enter the water to retrieve an errant chick. Chickens do not enjoy getting wet, they do not like the pouring rain, they do not bathe in water but yes, they will swim. 

12 comments:

  1. Haha. That is fascinating!! And aren't little chicks SO cute! Too bad their 'teenage' days are so ugly. lol

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  2. So sweet! The little chick and their dog-babysitter are cute!

    Your brothers were such...boys! :)

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  3. Fascinating! And you proved your point!

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  4. How funny! Another little known fact! xo Diana

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  5. Awe those little chicks are so cute. Sandie

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  6. I think you had a might fine childhood.....Marti.

    xo

    Jo

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  7. This is a great story especially for this time of year.

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  8. Yep, this farm chick knows that many critters swim that we would never think of.

    We once had a cat that would swim in the creek with our dog.

    God bless ya girl and have a sunshiny kinda day sweetie!!! :o)

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  9. What a funny story, I never thought about swimming chickens before.

    Have a lovely day

    Brigitta

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  10. I learned something new today via your post. [o= I loved reading all about it. I am hoping to get our chicken house up this summer but no ducks are in the plans. So I guess I won't see my chicks swim. [o;

    Blessings!
    -Mary

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