
Loretta’s been playing hard to get.
Literally.
Every time I reach in to pick her up, she runs screaming. Once I have her securely in my hands, she frantically wiggles her wings free and beats them until I put her down. I was convinced she hated me.
Until tonight.
I managed to pick her up, then allowed her to steady herself on my arm. She took to the new perch, and settled. I softly ran my fingers over her back feathers and her tail. Amazingly, she let me.
After a few minutes of this, I gently placed her back in the brooder. Then the unthinkable happened. She let me pet her. I rubbed her chest, and smoothed her black feathers.
Is her wall beginning to crumble?

Bare spots
When I got home tonight, I noticed a bare spot beneath Gigi’s ear. I checked, and she had a matching spot on the other side, as well.
One by one, I looked at each bird, and they all had these small patches beneath their ears.
Of course I worried.
I saw no blood, so I didn’t think they were caused by pecking. And since they all had them, it had to be normal, right?
So I went to BackYardChickens.com, and found nothing in a search. I tried Google. Nothing but balding babies. Then I decided to start my own thread on BYC.
After explaining the situation, and posting a photo of Nellie, I got a quick response.
“That’s completely normal. It will develop into their earlobe as they get older. :)”
And with that, this mama hen promises to stop worrying.
At least for tonight.
That’s great is she is starting to like you! 😀
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Thanks so much! I know it’s going to be a long road, but I think tonight was a huge step in the right direction. 🙂
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