Pine Chicken

Poor Grace, she can just smell the chicken!

Sean and I built a chicken nest with cardboard, but the chicken didn't like it.

Sean loves to spend time with the chicken.  He was watching the chicken for nearly 45 minutes.

She sort of looks like she is going to a carnival.  She is a Polish Hen and bred for the show in Europe rather than for their eggs.

About a week ago, a trio of junior high kids alerted me that there is a chicken in my front yard.  I walked over and sure enough, there was an unusual looking chicken doing chicken walk.  I was on our way to pick Sean up with the girls, so I had to leave and thought the chicken would be gone by the time we got back.  Well, I was wrong.  He or she did not leave our yard and here we are with a chicken one week later.  Sean named her Pine Chicken because she (or he) has feathers on her head looking like a top of a pineapple.  We call her Pine-chan or Pine Chick for short.  I posted on our neighborhood website to see if anyone is missing a chicken, but I have not received any response yet.  Hmmm...  I called the local Humane Society, but they wouldn't pick her up.  What to do?!  In the meantime, she found a makeshift home in our front yard somewhere and greets us every morning for food.  Pine Chick does not crow and it has no large wattles, so we think she is a hen.  The city of Bellevue does not permit the ownership of roosters, so it would be a bad news if it is a rooster.  The chicken is very friendly and she might think she is a human because she always tries to get into our house.  Grace and Pine Chick would stare at each other over the patio window and Grace has the most exciting time in recent years chicken hunting over the window.  Poor old Grace!  She is starting to grow on me.  The first thing to do would be to determine if Pine Chick is a female or male.  If she is a girl, maybe we may build her a nice chicken coop and raise her in our yard??  Who knows.  Four kids, a cat and a chicken?  That does sound interesting!  Stay tuned for the fate of the lost chicken...