After forty days, the chicks are too big to all sleep under their mother. In the evening they crowd around her, but not for too much longer. She’s done a great job raising them. Another two to three weeks and they will be on their own. It’s fun looking back to see how they grew up.
Category: About My Chickens
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40 Days of Love and Care
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A Herd of Chickens
Late afternoon, evenings are grazing times for the chickens. There is a distinct ripping sound they make as they tear grass with their beaks. Sit quietly on the grass and they will come over to see what you’re doing. It’s impossible to be sad or upset when they are milling about.
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Peaceful Evening
So what is life like for chicks being raised by a mother? It’s nothing like growing up without one. Chicks this small would never be safe darting about in the evening. But with a mother looking out for them, they are free to run about without a worry. Watch the video and you’ll get a good idea how important mother hens are for chicks.
[wpvideo IvhZtuBY]
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Free Food
For many years we had a clear pond. Then last summer some ducks, at least that is who we think were the culprits, flew in with some duckweed attached to their feet. In a short time it quickly spread and covered the pond with green from shore to shore, making the pond look more like a putting green than a pond.In the winter time it died back significantly and during windy days, the remaining duckweed was blown to the edges and all but disappeared. It is growing again, but now it has turned into treasure. I scoop it out with a net, and remove ten to twenty pounds of it at a time, piling it into a wheelbarrow. Along with the duckweed come pond bugs and tadpoles. It’s like I have my own feed store which doesn’t charge anything no matter how much feed I take.
I wheel the load and dump it for the chickens to devour. It doesn’t take long for them to snatch up all the bugs and tadpoles and feast on the duckweed, which is very high in protein. If I could only teach the chickens to swim, they could snack on duckweed anytime they wanted.
Duckweed – a potential high-protein feed resource for domestic animals and fish
Eat the Weeds – Duckweed
Duckweed nutritional composition -
Taking Her Chicks Home
The dogwood is getting closer and closer to blooming. On this beautiful evening, a mother hen with eight chicks is leading her chicks home for a good night’s sleep. She’s had her chicks on the move much of the day, taking them into the woods, through the garden, around the pond, and a long evening walk by the dogwood. Maybe she enjoys looking at the dogwood as much as I do.
