Little Baby Chickens

Near my house, there is a country feed store. It's very old fashioned, and the type of place you'd find in a small country town where all the residents have cows and goats and sheep to tend to. I think where I live use to be a lot more country not that long ago, but as Seattle grew it started infiltrating the towns surrounding it until the only thing left to remind residents of the olden days is a dusty old country store. The people that work there are still super friendly, just like traditional people in books about the country. But the best part of the store isn't the friendly customer service...it's the baby chicks!

They are all huddled living together in an open roofed enclosure. They have orangey-red lights glowing down on them to keep them warm since their mothers are not near by.

Even this small, you can see their personalities developing. There are the friendly ones that come marching toward human onlookers. There are the shy ones that curl up toward the back and try not to be seen. There is the bully chick who plucks at the feather fluff of the other chickens. There is the curious ones investigating oddities within their enclosure. They are all their own little individuals.

The best part of so many baby chicks together is the sound they make. It is the most beautiful and tiny sounding little chirp chirp in all the world. 

Someday, all the baby chicks grow up to be grown chickens. They've lost their fluffy, big-eyed helplessness but they've gained confident chicken bravado! Chickens certainly are peculiar and charming creatures.