The Straggler

I noticed him when he was a few days old.

He was smaller than the other chicks. A late hatch, I thought. In a few days, I'd know if he'd live or die.

He lived through that first week, and I gave him no more thought until a week or so later.

While the other chicks developed tail and wing feathers, he remained a fuzzy chick.

The tail and wing feathers eventually came, but the others now are feathered over most of their bodies. They're also twice his size.

I wonder if he has some heart or other developmental ailment. I expect to find him dead one day.

But the other chicks don't think that. He is one of them, to eat with, to huddle with at night, to gather around when the world gets scary.

PHOTO: Shows the chicks at five and a half weeks old. They are enjoying the space in the hen house.