DAVENPORT, Iowa — As people flocked to the fairgrounds Sunday for the last day of the Mississippi Valley Fair, a baby chick less than 48 hours old was learning to walk on its own two feet — or should we say four?!
A rare, four-legged chicken was born Saturday morning at the fair. It truly lives up to its farm's name: Anything's Kaasable, a play on words for "anything's possible." Gary and Melody Kaasa own the Scott County farm located east of Eldridge. Gary says in his 30 years of raising chickens, he's never seen anything like it.
"We've hatched thousands and thousands of chicks — we've never seen this," Gary said. "The word is that it's about one in 10 million that this happens," Gary said the last four-legged chick they could find on record was born in 1995 in Nebraska.
The chick has yet to be named because they won't know whether it's male or female for a few more weeks. But Gary says the chick won't be in the regular flock with the rest of his chickens.
"We've already established one friend for him, and they'll be lifelong buddies," Gary said. "No matter where we go, they will be together." He added that the chick appeared to be in perfect health as well.
The Kaasas do classroom presentations and visit county fairs across the Quad Cities region to educate people about chickens and how to raise them. Gary said the rare chicken will be socialized so it's comfortable around people at these events. He added that eventually, they would like to do something for kids with disabilities.