Pippi...

At 11 days old...

mama hen left off brooding over this egg

knowing there was a chick growing inside...

and not sure what to do...

I set the egg in a basket in some old linen with a lamp over it...

but, didn't clean it so as not to disturb the protective bloom on the eggshell

after another 10 days of watching and turning the egg...

if you look closely...

you can see the little crack at the bottom of the egg

much to my surprise and delight...

a tiny chick pipped her way into the world

I made sure she was completely detached from the egg on her own...

so as not to make a mistake in injuring her

at this point, I'm pretty sure she was imprinting herself on me as I cared for her

making sure she was kept well warm and out of drafts

she slept for the next few hours as she dried...

and imprinted even more on me

on the second day...

I took her outside to warm up with the sun

she took to it with a lift of her tiny wee wing

over the next couple of days...

I took her to the garden and we hunted for tiny worms

and she loved the sun some more

she eats well and drinks plenty of water

and now, everyday in the mornings...

she goes outside with me to the gardens and pecks her way around...

learning to see what is good to eat and what is not

today, she is growing feathers and acting chicken

I keep her in a cage with food and water when I cannot give her complete attention

later, when she is old enough...

she will be integrated into the rest of the flock...

free ranging to her heart's content

her name is Pippi

of course, she could be a he

someday in the not too distant future...

we shall find out : )

May your day or night be sweet in the grace of God.