Special Needs

These are Xena's feet.

Because her toes are curled, she has special needs as far as a perch is concerned. She's not able to wrap her toes around and therefore has difficulty getting a grip. Ella and Ginger aren't show-offs but they have no problem perching and choose to do so any chance they get. Xena, well, she has a bit of complex about this and we're trying to work through it together. She feels tremendously insecure about her disability and it causes a bit of stress for all of us. When Ella and Ginger perch, Xena will pace rapidly beneath them. Back and forth. Back and forth. Her comb, wattle and ears turn tomato red as her frustration grows. Back and forth. Back and forth. She gives the perch the ol' one eye and calculates the jumping distance and questions her ability to leap with a sound landing. Back and forth. She is positive she can't do it so Ella and Ginger get pecked to the point of losing a tail feather or being pulled down. If she can't do it, neither can they. She's the Big Chicken and what she says goes.

*click Little Ella's picture to get a better view of how pretty she's become...oh, and her one white toenail*