Meet Miss Poppy

Poppy “Nitrogen” the Speckled Sussex 

Hatched 25February 2019

Poppy joined our brooder as a replacement for Chickie 7. Poppy stepped right in filling the role of local gossip, chirping at lengths about what she’d seen in her full 5 days outside the shell. 

She’s a ringleader in her tiny group of 3, affectionately referee to as the Stooges, and loves to dart around the brooder. Her yellow fuzzy belly is beginning to give way to speckled feathers that will cover her body in whites, blacks, and browns as she matured. Her Chickie Daddy picked the name Poppy for her because when grown she’ll appear to  have a poppy seed like pattern. As for Chickie Momma? I’m going to have to plant all flowers out of her reach so she doesn’t munch them all summer because Poppy sure loves to eat! Her crop is always noticeably full and although caused a little concern, she is just fueling her body to grow big!

If her speckled belly isn’t a good indicator, her right “pinky” toe is curled is her unique characteristic. After researching (asking for info on Facebook) this apparently is common among the breed and won’t be an issue; what we already figured given her ability to zoom past hands trying to rangle her back into the brooder or hop up on a lap when her stretched neck can’t quite give her the view she wants.