Chicken Nuggets

 Several days ago, mama hen brought her 10 little ones to visit in the yard, which I discovered when I heard a loud "PEEP, PEEP, PEEP" coming through the house.  One of the housecats was bringing me a treasure with the other cat close behind in case he dropped it.  When I went to take the chick from him, though, he changed his mind and no longer wished to share his little nugget with me or anyone else.  After a short chase, I managed to retrieve the poor terrified chick.  Out in the yard there was panic with hen and chicks scattered to all corners.  I managed to scoop up four more babies and found another little one had already been killed.  I penned up the five I had caught with the hope that mama would come back for them and I could then catch her and the remaining four.  She did come close, but was always watching out for me and I could not manage to get the gate to the the outer pen closed before she was back out.  Poor babies cried and cried for mama for two or three days and have just today stopped calling for her, but she thinks the yard is a dangerous place and refuses to come back in.  Yesterday I checked the babies in the morning and found my favorite chick had died overnight.  He appeared healthy and strong, so am not sure what happened, but was sad to lose him as he was a beautiful mahogany color with feathered feet, while the rest are black chicks with some light patches.  He did not happen to be the one the cat brought into the house, either.  That was a black chick and is doing just fine!

They look so tiny in the big tank all alone.

Minnie Mae would like a taste of chicken nuggets, please.

Sorry, Minnie Mae, you are going to have to stick to your cat food!