You Can Not Snuff The Ruppster!

A few weeks ago, just when I had given up hope, divinity stepped in.  

One of our hens abandoned her clutch of eggs after two chicks hatched, so we had put the remaining eggs under another broody hen.  Within a day, eight of the eggs this hen was tending turned into fluffball-cheepers and she also abandoned the remaining eggs.  Between the two hens, there were 10 chicks and six cold eggs.

I always feel a little sad when there are unhatched eggs - the lost potential - and something  Biology 101/creepy in me usually has to crack the eggs to see if the chick just hadn’t made it full term or if it was an unfertilized egg.  This time, though, I decided to just toss the eggs. I had had enough farm-reality that week with Dolly to last me a while.  However, as I was putting them in the garbage can, I thought I heard a “CHEEEEEP!!!”  I shrugged it off as wishful thinking.  

Then, as I was placing the last egg in the can, I heard it again.  “CHEEEEEP!!!”  I quickly pulled all the eggs out and put my ear to each one.  Sure enough, there was a destinct “CHEEEEEP!” eminating from the discarded egg.  I carefully cracked the egg, with a tiny rock, and I saw movement inside.  HOOORAY!!  I went through each egg and only found one with a live chick, but now what the heck was I going to do?  

I brought the egg to the house and put it under a bunch of warm, moist towels and a heating pad.  After several hours of deminished chirping, I became paranoid that the chick was trapped inside and needed my help getting out.  So I slowly cracked away a bigger piece of the shell. The poor little chick was weak, but still moving, so we kept it bundled and went to bed.  

The next day, it appeared still very weak, and I wasn't sure it was going to make it.  We left on a pre-planned trip to Central Oregon and asked Katie and Patrick if they could tend to the little one as best they could.

When we returned three days later, we found that the chick was alive and well!  Katie and Patrick taught it to eat and drink and it was strong as ever!  HOORAY!!  In honor of their surrogate mother hen efforts, we asked them to name the chick.  So, after their namesake (Ruppel), The Ruppster was crowned “most lucky farm animal ever.”  We snuck it under one of the hens that night and she took it back without a peep.  

Moral?  Never give up.  There’s always hope.