Lonely chick seeks companionship

This little guy/gal was hatched by our Silkie Bantam. She was broody for quite some time, then we heard peeping and found this little one wandering around in the pen on his own. Little Sis attempted to put him back in with mom, and mom immediately tried to peck his eyes out.

None of the other eggs hatched. There wasn't much sense in setting up the brooder for one lonely chick, so he's happily peeping away in a smaller version in the kitchen.

It's a bit odd: he doesn't sound at all like the peeps we've had before. There's none of that insane peeping at earsplitting decibels. He just chirps contentedly and actually sounds a bit more like a canary or finch than a chicken.

We can't be sure of the gender until the little peep gets a bit older. Little Sis named her Saphira, after the dragon in Brisingr. I call him Linus, after the Peanuts character. The reason I call him that is that he has a little blue blanket that we used to warm him when we first found him, and it's been in his mini-brooder ever since. When Little Sis changed his bedding last time, she forgot to put it back in, and he peeped the loudest ever until she brought it back. Too cute.

Now we just have to figure out where to house a pet chicken (we have meat and egg chickens, but this is the only pet chicken) once he's fully grown. I don't think he'll be able to sleep in the kitchen forever, especially once the crowing starts. On the other hand, if he is a she, it would be convenient to have the egg dispenser right there by the stove. lol Tiny eggs, though.

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Tonight, we are supposed to have our first frost. Seems a bit early to me. I'm notating it here so that I'll be able to look it up next year.

I spent part of the afternoon picking the last of the peppers and other tender things. Ok, not the last of the peppers. The plants are still blooming and covered with teensy baby peppers. If the frost misses the plants, we may have another gallon or two to put away.