Human Services at work

Patsy won't win any mother of the year prize this year.  She stood up last weekend to reveal 13 fluffy heads underneath after disappearing for a while.  I'm sad to say that we are now down to 11 with the loss of two to drowings in the water bowl.  There is speculation about them being left around water unsupervised but I'm not one to point the finger.  I guess that's why she's been assigned a female Wyandotte companion to manage such a large number.  The roosters don't seem to participate in caring responsibilities and head off to working in the garden with not even a peck on the cheek.  There is one little chicken that struggles behind the rest.  He's got shaky legs and I'm keeping an eye out for him as I often need to scoop him up to transport him to the rest of the group as she often leaves him behind.  I don't think counting is one of her most identifiable skills.  At this little age you can only hope they make it through.  I've done my best to fence off unsupervised water bowls and replace them with shallow ones.  I keep an eye out for predator birds and have been known to charge them like a mad woman with arms flapping is if that means something.  I've even fed up our outdoor cat Minnie to the point of no interest in anything but sleep in the warm sun.  If I continue on this path she's going to need lapband surgery by the end of the week.  Number One son finds them an oddity but doesn't consider them of that much interest and Max can only observe from the back door in wonder as to why these wind up ones don't come to a halt like his does.  Whilst I hope to influence nature towards a happy and healthy life for these little fellas and girls (hopefully not too many fellas) I do feel a twang of hypocrite with a frozen Marion Bay variety in the freezer.  Sometimes disassociation just works.