Baby chicks are used to living in clutches, so it was recommended that we keep our orphaned peep, Merlin, company by placing a mirror in his living quarters.

After observing him for days with his mirror, I couldn’t help but sense that he knew he was looking at himself. And that the experience was rather profound, this gazing upon himself in all of his chickenhood. A rare opportunity in the lifetime of a rooster.

We’ll never know for sure if he was fooled into thinking he was with other kin. One thing’s for sure, Merlin was no ordinary bird.