The eight chicks which hatched on April 28 are now 27 days old. They are too big now to all fit under their mother at once. They are probably halfway on their way to being independent. Their mother is a Buff Orpington, and generally they raise their chicks for two months. We will see as each mother is different.

When raising chicks in open pasture, a mother is imperative. Just like human children, chicks are quite oblivious to danger. They are so caught up in their own little worlds that they don’t see the hawk flying high above. Their mother and other grown chickens will, and she will scurry them off to safety, just like a human mother will grab a child who wanders off the sidewalk into the street.

Just like a group of human children, these eight chicks jabber nonstop all day long. I wonder if it drives their mother crazy. Or does she just tune it out like human mothers do?





Buff Orpington, our favorite backyard chicken ~ The Tangled Nest
Orpington Chicken ~ the Livestock Conservancy
Buff Orpington ~ Pinterest
Breeding Exhibition Tips ~ United Orpington Club
Buff Orpington ~ City Girl Chickens
Orpington Chickens ~ Poultry Keeper