Our little farm has one less this week.
Kiki was a tiny mille fleur d'uccle that hatched
from some eggs given to my dear chicken-lovin daughter this summer. This very
observant child of mine noticed right away that something was up with the
itty-bitty bird's beak. Kiki, as she came to be called, was born with
cross-beak, a genetic deformity with no cure. This sweet little thing would
trill when you talked to her, like she was just tickled to be having a chat with
you... she would happily scamper after the kids, and put up with the costumes
the children made for her.
Sigh.
Some survive, some... don't. We did all we could
for the tiny, fiesty creature. We made sure she could eat, undisturbed, with a
deep dish that she could get her whole face into. With a cross-beak, a bird
can't peck or preen the way "normal" birds can, so they need special attention.
Unfortunately, with a severe case (like Kiki), try as they (and we) might, they
just can't get enough food to sustain them.
Kiki passed away quietly, early Saturday morning.
We will miss her vibrant spirit. It gives us peace to know that, somewhere, she
is finally eating her fill.
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