As we wrote about a few weeks ago, one of our hens "went broody" and decided to sit on some eggs. We helped by slipping in some extra eggs from other hens. After three weeks, chicks started hatching. At first we thought we had only three or four chicks, but mother hen was hiding some more chickies underneath her. (You can see how she spreads out her body to keep eggs and babies warm.) We ended up with nine chicks! We have several different breeds of hens and three different roosters, yielding an adorable hodgepodge of chicks: one all black, four black with some white markings, one yellow-white, two reddish, and one reddish with brown markings. We can't wait to see what their "adult" feathering will be. On the other hand, the babies are so cute that we don't want them to grow up yet.
Now the chicks are scampering all over the place, and the mother makes a special clucking noise to alert them when she's found food. She'll repeatedly pick up a berry or seed, and then drop it to tell the chicks it is something good to eat. If she feels threatened (like when we're cleaning out their coop), she calls the chicks. They run over and hide underneath her for safety. During nap time, the chicks sleep in the hay, sometimes cuddled up next to each other or against mama. One chick likes to climb up and sleep on the mother's back. (This only occurs when I don't have my camera.)
As we wrote about a few weeks ago, one of our hens "went broody" and decided to sit on some eggs. We helped by slipping in some extra eggs from other hens. After three weeks, chicks started hatching. At first we thought we had only three or four chicks, but mother hen was hiding some more chickies underneath her. (You can see how she spreads out her body to keep eggs and babies warm.) We ended up with nine chicks! We have several different breeds of hens and three different roosters, yielding an adorable hodgepodge of chicks: one all black, four black with some white markings, one yellow-white, two reddish, and one reddish with brown markings. We can't wait to see what their "adult" feathering will be. On the other hand, the babies are so cute that we don't want them to grow up yet. 
Now the chicks are scampering all over the place, and the mother makes a special clucking noise to alert them when she's found food. She'll repeatedly pick up a berry or seed, and then drop it to tell the chicks it is something good to eat. If she feels threatened (like when we're cleaning out their coop), she calls the chicks. They run over and hide underneath her for safety. During nap time, the chicks sleep in the hay, sometimes cuddled up next to each other or against mama. One chick likes to climb up and sleep on the mother's back. (This only occurs when I don't have my camera.)
No comments:
Post a Comment