A baby chick with fluffy downy gray feathers, held by an adult hand outdoors in a grassy area on what appears to be a warm day. 4:20
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Tiny chick found under a truck picks her mom

The gray chick was small enough to fit in the palm of Claudia's hand. She had been found under a truck on a 100-degree day, and Claudia took her home and named her Sweet Dee. more

It took only a few days for Sweet Dee to decide who her mother was. The two were "attached to the hip," in Claudia's words, and spent nearly every waking moment together. When Claudia worked out, the chick rode on her shoulder. When she sat down at her laptop, Sweet Dee perched on the back of her chair.

A small chick with gray and white feathers rests in a person's cupped hands. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Sweet Dee as a tiny chick, back when she went everywhere with Claudia.

Then came the park, and her first look at grass. Sweet Dee wasn't sure about it. She was so small that the blades stood taller than she did, and she would only wander a little way before noticing how far she was from Claudia and running straight back.

A small gray and white chick sits on green grass, her head turned slightly to one side. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
At the park, Sweet Dee learns that grass isn't so scary after all.

By week six or seven she still stuck close. If Claudia walked two feet away, Sweet Dee was right behind her. A few more steps, though, and a worm or a fly would catch her eye, and off she went after it. That's how she started getting used to being a chicken.

It took some coaxing, and a couple of weeks before she felt brave enough to go off on her own, but she soon decided that outside was her favorite place. Claudia started eating lunch with her at the park every day. Sweet Dee had her own way of spending lunch. She would flop onto her side, stretch one wing up and soak up the sun.

A baby chick with fluffy downy gray feathers, held by an adult hand outdoors in a grassy area on what appears to be a warm day. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
The gray chick was small enough to fit in the palm of Claudia's hand.

She grew into a bird with opinions. She was always messing with things, even following the mouse as Claudia moved it across the screen. She made friends with Claudia's cat and wanted to be part of whatever was going on. "She really is so sassy," Claudia says. "She has so much personality."

A grown chicken still needed a flock, though. "We can't have a chicken in our apartment," Claudia explains, and she knew it was time for Sweet Dee to meet her herd. She took her to a sanctuary, where Sweet Dee now lives with other chickens and loves their company.

Claudia volunteers there and visits at least once a week. She lifts Sweet Dee out of the enclosure for a little break, and the hen hops into her lap and hangs out for a while. She's thriving, still a queen bee who gets her way. "We're just best friends," Claudia says.

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