Chickens!

Paul reaching for Lady Birdie Johnson.

Paul with Lady Birdie Johnson on his shoulder and Wendy C. Nugget on his arm.
Lady Birdie Johnson and Wendy C. Nugget last week.
Put your bird on my shoulder! Claire and Birdie.

When Adam was a kid, his parents bought he and his sisters chickens for Easter. Recently his mom called to tell us the feed store down the street had chickens for sale. She was calling because the newspaper ran an article about a cat that mothers all the baby chicks, ducks, and bunnies at the store. Apparently they all live together happily in a washtub.
Adam decided our kids had to have some, so when I came home from church that afternoon, there was a cardboard box with two chickens in our kitchen. The box obviously wasn't fancy enough for any chickens the Boyettes might raise, so Adam got to work building a coop.
This was only three weeks ago. In the meantime, the chickens have not stopped eating and are growing and maturing at a rapid pace. We've named them Wendy C. Nugget and Lady Birdie Johnson.
Birdie, Claire's chicken, is the larger of the two and is getting in her mature feathers and waddles. She started out as a pretty yellow chick but is turning brown. Nugget, Paul's chicken, has survived well despite predictions that his loving on her would end in death. Nugget started out dark brown and his mature feathers seem to be about the same color.
Before we got the chickens, Adam made an agreement with a coworker that she would take the chickens when they were mature. She lives on a farm and has access to chickeny stuff.
Our dog, Wesley, has not grown tired of the new additions to the family. He whines and barks at them all day and I've caught him licking the coop a few times.
I am growing weary of cleaning the coop, which we keep in the kitchen. I pointed out to Adam yesterday that Birdie's poop is now the same size as Paul's. I'm not very comfortable touching bird poop that is as big as a small human's.
The chickens are a pain and they stink, but it's all worth it for the laughs that we get and the happiness they bring the children. Paul and Claire both love hugging their chickens, petting them, and chasing them around the kitchen when Wesley is outside. (An introduction to Wesley ended in an attempt on Nugget's life.)
Last week Claire re-named her chicken Weenie and loves to have "Weenie-holding time." (Her words, not mine.) I keep encouraging Claire to return to Birdie as a name.
The chickens have about three weeks left at our house and it's sure to be full of poop and laughs.

When Adam posed for this shot, he made sure that Paul wasn't looking so Paul wouldn't repeat this action. He forgot about Claire.