Well, after laughing at him for a good bit, I finally rescued Duke from the chicken brooder.  He was SO interested and then, well, fell in just as I was going to shoot some pics of the new little 4 week old banty chicks I got from a lady online.  Not Craigslist, but a Facebook list/group for our area that is very active.  Duke was a good boy, especially when he began to realize that most of the chickens were bigger then he was.  And the little banty chicks are feisty as all get go and stood right up to him like he was nothing.

Goofy little kitty.

But Duke is trying hard to become a real farm kitty like his Uncle Jack.  Last night as we were putting away the sheep, all the sudden, from the darkness comes this black little streak with a huge fluffy tail!  At first I thought it was a squirrel!!!  And then I realized it was Maggie’s kitten, Duke.  He raced right up to her all excited and tail twitching!  It’s the furthest we’ve ever seen any of the kittens come out and he was just so excited and quite proud of himself.  Maggie showed him to the sheep and he ran around in the paddock a bit.  When we got done laughing at him, and headed back to the house, calling him… the little doodle ripped by us and ran all the way home like greased lightening!  What a little goof.

Don’t worry, all the kittens are locked up at night when we go in, we do a head count and no one is left outside but Jack.  He refuses to come in and instead takes his nighttime place as guardian of the brooder chickens.  He sits on the little rug towards the back of the brooder and stays warm from the heat lamps.  He likes it best that way.

I won’t be surprised when we find little Duke sitting with his Uncle Jack, protecting the chickens.  He’s learning that you don’t hurt the chickens, you protect them.

Besides, most the hens have at least a few pounds on Jack and Duke.  And they are ornery if you cross them.  You can ask Jack.  He knows.