Update!

 Wow! A whole month has gotten past since I last updated Alex's blog!  Alex is so busy, don-cha-know!  Thanksgiving was wonderful and among the many things I gave thanks for, my dear dear Alex was right at the top. He brings such joy to my life. Everywhere I take him, people absolutely light up. They can't believe they are seeing a real live chicken, and for just a moment, they completely forget their worries and troubles.  He has made friends everywhere.
 In December, we took a trip to Redding California. Alex was the perfect little traveler and never once pooped on my lap. He'd 'let me know he had to go' buy getting restless, so we'd pull over and take him for a little walk. He'd take care of business right away and we'd be back on our way.
 It was funny having a rooster in the hotel room. But the Oxford suites in Redding is pet friendly and was very kind to Alex. Alex is very accepted in Atascadero, but we weren't sure how he'd be accepted in Redding. So when we went to the mall, we sneaked him in under my coat.  Within minutes he was playing with toys at the toy store and greeting folks as they did their Christmas shopping. You just can't keep a good man down!  He even got his picture taken with Santa Claus! I guess Redding is 'pet friendly' too!
  We had a great time, and one of the highlights was a trip to the famous Sundial Bridge. This is a 24 million dollar GLASS bridge that spans the Sacramento river. It was beautiful and exhilerating and scary at the same time being up there but we had a ball and made still more new friends. Alot of people were walking their dogs over the bridge, but no one could believe I was carrying a little rooster over the bridge. Alex stayed safe and warm, tucked in my jacket next to my heart the whole time.

Spending The Day With Alex

  Carrying this little chicken around with me has been such an adventure.  Everywhere we go people are absolutely blown away to see a real live chicken being carried around like an everyday pet. Most the time they can't believe he's a real chicken! "Is that a real chicken"? they ask, over and over. Sometimes I tease them and I say "no...this is my little dog. He just looks like a chicken"! They are taken aback and sometimes I don't know if they know I'm kidding!  But the most fun comes when they get to hold him. Alex is so good about being handed around to strangers...he just relaxes while they get over their anxiety about holding a real live chicken...it's sad when I realize how many people have never been anywhere near something as commom as a chicken. They are afraid, delighted, overwhelmed with love and amusement.  Other times, they tell me stories of chickens they themselves had as pets when they were kids. Of course, they are amazed that Alex is a house chicken. "What about the poop"? they always ask.  And I always tell them Alex is a Bantam and he doesn't make very much to begin with. I am quick with the paper towels and the Windex should there be an "accident" on the floor and he doesn't go into the carpeted areas of the house. He's SO much easier to deal with then a new puppy!
  This last week, Alex went voting with us. He even got his "I voted" sticker!  So many people take pictures of Alex with their cell phones, I will bet there are 100 by now.   He is truly "The Man About Town".

Bad Chicken Mom!

I love Autumn.  All the Fall colors, Thanksgiving...and Halloween!  I love dressing myself and my poor pets up in silly costumes. Fortunately, none of them seem to mind. So the other day, we thought it would be fun to take Alex to the new Halloween store and see if we could find something to make him a costume out of.  We were strolling down the isle with Alex in the cart and he was busy looking at everything. We started down the isle that had alot of horrific, ghoulish masks....I mean, the artistry and creativity of these terrible masks were amazing. I have never seen masks look this realistic! Suddenly Alex let out a screech!  He looked at those ugly faces and got very upset!  I was so shocked. I couldn't believe he was frightened by these things that I know he has never seen....WE think they are scary, but why should HE?  I felt terrible. I turned him away from them immediately and distracted him with some feathery boas.  I still feel so bad. Alex is very visual and very picky about the stuffed toys he likes. Why WOULDN'T he be upset by those awful faces?  We came away with a whole new respect for our little feathered friend. As we strolled around looking at more 'appropriate' things, I noticed parents taking little kids past those masks.  We assume our children understand these things are not real, but still those ugly images can stick in their minds for future nightmares!  I will be much more careful and protective over  what Alex sees.  I don't want him to have nightmares!

Alex's first Birthday and painting!

On October 9th, Alex turned one year old. Precious, precious little birdie!  He got a new pilow for his bed and some strawberries and a real birthday cake! Alex really LOVES cake and frosting, but I don't think that much sugar is good for him so we distracted him with the starwberries. That was OK with him! His best friends, Taz the Minpin puppy and Jackie Chan the deaf kitty shared the special moment with him. 
 We also did something REALLY fun! I laid out a big piece of white painting paper with several blobs of different colors of acrylic paint. Then I 'encouraged' Alex to walk through the blobs and onto the paper with the paint all over his feet. It was so incredibly funny!  He just talked and walked around and around. It took quite a while and I'm not sure the finished product is really what we want. He might have to work on it some more. But it's SO special. Who else has pictures of their chicken's fiinger painting framed on the wall?!  Afterward, we washed his little feet in the sink....can't have chicken prints all over the kitchen!

And More about Alex

People always ask me if Alex is house broken. Well.....not really!  But Alex is exceedingly clean. He isn't allowed on the carpeted areas of the house, and if he DOES have an 'accident', it's just a little drop. Not a big deal and I am ever-ready with the paper towels and Windex to clean it up fast.  He's easier to deal with then a puppy, that's for sure! And Alex isn't really all that big. He has these long skinny legs, but his body is pretty small.  When we have him with us on errends, he will "hold it" for 2 hours! We have to remember to "potty" him in the parking lot planters from time to time. I always bring along a clean-up kit just in case, but I've never had to use it. There ARE people who make diapers and clothing for chickens. One is Chickensaddles.com
  Alex loves to sit on a pillow on the couch with us and watch TV. He isn't bothered by the noise and he loves just hanging with us. Sometimes he falls asleep and he sprawls out and falls off the pillow!  Poor birdie!  He gets so embarrressed. He has a full range of emotions. It's pretty amazing.

Back again!

 I'm still learning how to do this blog, so please be patient!  Here's a little more info about Alex. Alex will be one year old this October 9th.  We have a ball taking him with us everywhere he's accepted. Miners Ace Hardware and Michaels are among our frequent 'haunts' and they all love him there. Target has been VERY nice, but K-Mart kicked us out! Ah well, 'can't win them all!
 People just freak out when they see a little rooster going around in the cart. They often want to hold him or at least pet him and they OFTEN want their pictures taken with him. They are just in awe of him. And Alex is such a good sport. He allows all kinds of people to hold him and he is kind and patient. I believe Alex is a bit of a healer...Folks respond so amazingly....sometimes they will get a little misty-eyed and they hold him close and the next thing I know, they will spill out something that's been bothering them for a while.  Alex is a rooster, and yes, he does crow. Not very much...just a few times every morning at 8A.M. We're already awake, so it's no bother. But the thing about his crowing is that he can't control it. It wells up inside him and he HAS to let it out. He'll even belt out a cock-a-doodle-do when I'm carrying him if it's within his crowing time.  This is what I believe Alex 'brings out' of people. Something that's been welling up inside and they need to release it and let it go. Somehow Alex helps people release things that need to get out. I know people are deeply 'touched' after they have had a few moments with Alex. I'd like to believe he has helped them "move on" in what ever way they need to.  It's a VERY special experiance sharing him like this.

Hello!  Meet Alex. Alex is a Lemon Blue Modern Game Bantam rooster that we raised from an egg. Literally! We have several chickens and at one point, 2 hens were sitting on the same nest together. When they'd get off, other chickens would lay egges in their nest, so the eggs were all different ages. Finally, the two hens gave up on trying to hatch the eggs and left the nest. We didn't know what to do, not knowing how old each egg was...so we decided to just toss all the eggs out since they were cold and any chicks inside were probably dead. N-O-T!   Not ALL of them, at least!  One egg had 'pipped' and there was a tiny hole with a live chickie inside!  Our daughter kept the egg warm and carefully peeled the shell off (NOT a recomended thing to do since you can kill a chick this way, but it worked out...obviously!) and out popped Alex. We raised Alex completely in the house from then on. He doesn't know he's a chicken and doesn't relate to the other chickens when they come up to his atrium. He spends his evenings in the kitchen and dining area, and his days are outside in a safe, fenced atrium that he shares with the house cats that want to go outside from time to time.  He is the love of our life and goes on all our errends with us. We are constantly amazed at his ability to figure things out and understand human affection. He has been the most charming and interesting pet we have ever owned.