Clucker, a hen on the Dinkel farm in northern McPherson County near Assaria, Kan., keeps on eye on visitors to the chicken house Thursday morning, May 15, 2008. Clucker has been sitting on four kittens for the past three weeks. The mother of the 4-week old kittens was born in the chicken house and grew up around the chickens. When it's time for the kittens to nurse she will climb in with Clucker and the kittens. Kathy Dinkel said Clucker, who rules the roost in the chicken house, is following her mothering instincts and sitting on the kittens to keep them warm. (AP Photo/Salina Journal, Tom Dorsey) Looking for Salina Journal photos? Click here! 
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Print this story Salina Journal Some presidential candidates may think it takes a village to raise a child, but most animal moms do just fine solo. Then there's Sunny, who grew up in the chicken house on Kathy Dinkel's farm southeast of Assaria, and gave birth to four kittens about four weeks ago.
About a week ago, Dinkel said, family members found 2-year-old Clucker, a Black Astrolorp hen, sitting on the kittens while Sunny was off doing something else. "She (Clucker) was brooding and found the kittens to sit on," Dinkel said. "Now most of the time, she's sitting on the kittens." While sometimes Sunny is off eating or doing secret cat stuff, Dinkel said, sometimes she sees Clucker sitting on the kittens, "and Sunny's just lying there in front of the nest purring." Dinkel said Sunny hasn't abandoned the kittens, and still feeds them, but she seems perfectly happy to share the nest and her babies with the hen: "They just take turns taking care of the kittens." "Sometimes, both Sunny and Clucker are in the nest, and they're all just curled up very contented," she said. "We've moved them, and the kittens are all underneath, nice and warm." Still, she said, "I'm sure they know the difference -- they can't get anything to eat from Clucker -- but when I take her off the nest, they're all curled up and very contented." While it might seem an odd arrangement, Dinkel said Sunny and Clucker grew up together; Sunny's a little more than a year old. "Sunny grew up in the chicken house, so for her, that's home."
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Reporter Mike Strand can be reached at 822-1418 or by e-mail at mstrand@salina.com.