We stick together …

Hello! May I introduce myself? My name is Emma and I’m the little chick that busily makes its rounds at Zittrauerhof. At first glance, some might think I’m a completely ordinary chick, but appearances can be deceiving, because apart from my parents, there’s nothing really normal about me—or rather about my surroundings :-)

I started thinking about it shortly after I hatched from the egg. That’s when I noticed that I somehow look totally different from my three siblings. As if I didn’t really belong to the family at all. But when my mum explained to me that I hatched from a chicken egg and the other three from runner duck eggs, I understood why my appearance was so different. At first I was very sad. But Mum immediately found the right words to cheer me up again. She told me that what matters isn’t what someone looks like—it’s what’s inside that counts. And that’s how it was.

A few weeks passed and my siblings and I grew bigger and stronger. One day the time had come: We were finally allowed outside! At first, we could only be outside in a cage built by the farmer. My three siblings always snuggled up to me and I felt so comfortable with them, even though I was the smallest. That way we were protected from cats, crows and dogs, and could still explore the area.

Days and weeks went by, and then came the big day of freedom. We were allowed out of the cage to explore the world. At first the farmer’s wife put me with the chickens, but she quickly noticed that I felt much more at home with the runner ducks and that this was my family. And so my siblings waddle around the meadow with me, hunting for tasty worms, beetles, snails and breadcrumbs. Oops, there’s another big worm right in front of my beak again. I can’t say no to that!

So, take care, and maybe we’ll see each other sometime at Zittrauerhof!