<p style="text-align: center;"><em>A blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara</em></p>
While checking the chickens this week, I noticed one silkie hen squished between the coop and the fence.  I gently unsquished her and set her down.

<a href="http://judythewriter.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/chick-in-basket.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-6882" src="http://judythewriter.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/chick-in-basket-300x169.jpg" alt="chick in basket" width="300" height="169" /></a>She was very unsteady on her feet and it looked like a wing was broken.  I consulted chicken doctor Rachel who put her in a laundry basket in the bathroom while she did some research.

When my piano student arrived the next day and needed to use the restroom, I found myself saying “There is a chicken in my bathroom,” which reminded me of a song (which is a pretty standard occurrence around here).

<a href="http://judythewriter.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/book-about-hole.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-6883" src="http://judythewriter.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/book-about-hole.jpg" alt="book about hole" width="180" height="150" /></a>The song is entitled “There’s a Hole in the Bucket.”  I have a couple of different books illustrating this song which is basically a conversation between Henry and Liza revolving about how to fix the hole in the bucket.

As I went about my day, I thought of many verses to “There’s a chicken in my bathroom.”  I would write it all out but I’m quite sure no one would understand.

It turns out that this particular breed of chicken has a soft spot in its skull much like a newborn baby.  This soft spot does not close so if the hen gets pecked on the head, it can cause minor damage – like a concussion. This would cause her to be unsteady and want to hide from the others.

Our injured hen seems to be doing better now that she is separated from the danger of pecking hens. She is eating and drinking and can move around more securely. She even talks to us when we are in the room.   We’ll try to incorporate her back into the flock later this week.

The bathroom will be lonely.