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Poor, Poor Hen
My mom and I went to Wakeman Town Farm to volunteer yesterday and found that there was only one chicken alive. There were four before, but a predator broke in and attacked the flock.
We knew that Hurricane Irene was coming and decided that we would move the chicken into the farm house cellar to keep it safe. The cellar was dark and a bit creepy. My mom and I looked at each other and then back at the chicken. The frightened, lonely chicken was a Rhode Island Red. She was wounded from the predator attack with tons of plucked feathers and a chipped beak. We placed the chicken down in the cellar with food and water then closed the cellar door. My mom and I were very worried for the poor hen. |
Today, after Hurricane Irene left our town, my mom called Mr. Aitkenhead and asked him if we could help the chicken and Mr. Aitkenhead agreed that it would be a wise idea.
So, my mom, dad and I went back to the farm and went down in the cellar and to our surprise we couldn't find the hen. We searched behind old items in the cellar until I shouted out, "Found her!"
I peered down to see a miserable hen behind an old worn out shelf. I yelled to my mom, "I think she laid an egg!" But my mom replied, "She is much to old to lay an egg." So, I said, "Okay," and my mom lifted the hen up and to her surprise there really was an egg. A dirty white egg covered in cobwebs. My dad opened the cage door as he saw us coming out of the cellar. Before we placed the chicken in the cage we sprinkled her with poultry dust. The chicken looked up at me then down again, probably thinking "Ugh... great, more humans."
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Beatrice: "How come
I didn't hear of this?!" |
We placed her in the car and closed the cage door. Then we drove her to our home. Once we got home we picked up the chicken and fed her and gave her love and noticed her wound. My mom ran upstairs to get ointment while I gave the chicken some comfort. Finally, my mom came back down with the ointment, cleaned the wound and applied the ointment.
The chicken looked happy. My mom carried the chicken up to the old baby chicken coop and placed her inside with fresh food and water. Now our old coop is a chicken hospital! And we named her, "Angie." We look forward to helping her recover and will return her to the farm as soon as she is healthy again. A happy chicken life it is.
Today, after Hurricane Irene left our town, my mom called Mr. Aitkenhead and asked him if we could help the chicken and Mr. Aitkenhead agreed that it would be a wise idea.
