Back at the house in Kruengmane, there’s a story about these five little champions.
They haven't all been named yet—just "Brownie" at the very front, the dashing "Blackie" on the right, and "Ashy" in the corner, whose feathers are still patchy and sparse.
During the rainy season like now, the sky turns gloomy by 3 PM. The rain pours down hard, and their ground-level coop turns into a muddy mess, just like in this photo of yours.
The chicks really make a scene of it:
"Brownie"—the orange-hued one—is the biggest panic-stricken mess. He runs back and forth, his feet slipping in the mud, his back feathers soaked through to the point where you can see his skin. He keeps chirping—cheep, cheep—calling for his mother, even though she’s safely inside.
"Blackie" on the right—the black-and-white one—acts like the tough guy. Despite the conditions, he stands tall against the wire mesh, staring right at you as if to say, "Relax, boss, we're tough." All the while, his little legs are shivering from the cold.
The one in the middle—the tiny light-brown fellow—looks the most pitiful. He sits quietly in the mud, his curly down wet, waiting for the rain to let up. If you look closely, the mud is actually caked onto his feet.
Whenever the rain falls, the routine at home is always the same. You grab an old cardboard box, set up a 5-watt yellow bulb for warmth, and scatter some rice husks so they don't have to keep their feet off the cold ground. Then, you give them water mixed with a little ginger and some relatively dry chick feed.
And miraculously, the moment the light turns on, all five chicks huddle close together underneath it. They go from shivering and chirping to falling silent and closing their eyes, keeping each other warm. Their messy, wet feathers slowly dry out again.
That’s the rainy season from a pet chick’s perspective—muddy, noisy, and a bit of a hassle—but seeing them make it to morning with their feathers dry again brings a quiet sense of happiness.
Do you usually get sick when it rains this hard? Should it be moved inside the house, or kept in the outdoor cage with a tarp?