CHICK-CHICK-CHICKENS

In the space of three days our chicken population went from four to eight to six.

It turns out that the fuzzy colourful chicks don't last long. I wonder if they're intended as toys rather than proper chickens. For reasons unknown, the yellow one went from healthy Saturday evening to dead by Sunday morning. The pink one was next – she was resting by herself in the cage on Sunday and then died with no identifiable cause. As of today we have neon green Fifi and bright orange Jenga (named after an orange flower). A few tears were shed and Alex dealt with the remains.

Unknown to me, Chloe had continued negotiations with Nuadi to find a mother hen with baby chicks even after we got the kooky four. He asked around and found his neighbour was willing to part with a hen and her three chicks. Chloe paid him $12 from her allowance and Nuadi brought them over on Saturday (the pinnacle of our chicken population).

The “Bali Chickens,” a robust black hen and her three scrappy chicks are like a different species of animal from the little chicks. Neoman and Nuadi tell us that Bali chickens are much more strong than the other ones and will survive a long time. For now it's a rather ridiculous scene in the yard; two bird cages one holding the teeny tiny comical chicks and the other with an indignant hen and her serious looking chicks. During the day all five chicks run around the yard and mother hen stays in the cage (otherwise she'll run off with chicks in tow) and scolds us and her chicks all day.

The interesting thing is just how into the chickens the girls are. Chloe wants to start a veggie patch at home and has arranged for some space to do this. So far we haven't been able to figure out where to purchase seeds from so nothing's in the ground yet. But even if we don't get to that in time, the girls are planting peanuts and corn in the rice field at school and okra, herbs, spices, cucumbers and watermelons outside their classrooms so the farmer instinct them should be satisfied.