Henpecked chicken gets a fur coat

Daisy the chicken is one lucky hen. She's discovered that survival at the bottom of the pecking order is possible when someone looks out for you. In Daisy's case, that someone was her 11-year-old owner Hannah Sharp and the caring members of Hannah's family.

Hannah's parents, Greg and Becky Sharp, bought a dozen chicks to raise so the family can enjoy fresh eggs and the children, Hannah and Samuel, nine, would have animals to care for. Becky had grown up on a farm where meat chickens were raised, so she was comfortable with the project.

Each family member named three chicks, and the dozen soon grew up into a productive egg-laying flock, complete with a rooster who does what roosters are supposed to do: Namely, crow at odd hours and choose hens to flirt with.

In Daisy's case, the flirting went a bit far, and the rooster began to peck at her back. Soon the other hens followed suit, and Daisy's feathers were stripped away, leaving her back exposed and bleeding. Cold weather was moving in, and the Sharps knew they'd have to do something soon. Putting Daisy in the stew pot wasn't an option; not only was she Hannah's beloved pet, she also was the best egg producer.

One night in early December, the family brought Daisy into the garage to assess the situation. It soon became clear that housing a chicken anywhere but the henhouse was too messy to consider. Meanwhile, Daisy was shivering and bleeding, and the family knew they'd have to do something soon, or she'd die.

"I stood there looking around at the shelves in the garage," said Becky. "I spied a piece of rabbit fur that had been used for some decoration and got an idea."

The idea was to fashion a covering for the bald spot on Daisy's back, cutting it to shape and attaching it to her using soft elastic around the neck and under the wings. About an hour later, Daisy, now dubbed the "bicken" because of her bunny-skin covering, was back outside with her pals.

Becky said that it took Daisy a few minutes in the garage to accept the strange garment. But soon she stopped shivering, discovered she could still flap her un-pecked wings, gave a little chicken-wiggle and walked happily away.

In an odd quirk of animal behavior, the other hens now ignore Daisy, leaving her to lay eggs and scratch in the dirt on nice days. She perches on what is the top spot in the henhouse. Daisy preens her fur coat, keeping it white and soft. And her feathers are growing back underneath, an example of nature and nurture working together.