a man and his hoe

every day is a good day

Category: Raising Chicks

  • Up You Go

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    There’s always something new for the chicks to learn. Today it’s about roosting. Their mother has hopped to the top of a roost and three of her little ones are mimicking her behavior. The fourth one is off doing her own thing on the other side of the fencing. At this age, they can still squeeze through the fence wire. In another month, they will have grown too large to slip through. The first time they realize they can’t squeeze through anymore can be a traumatic experience. But they get over it and learn to go through the gate like all the adult chickens.

    The chicks below are learning to socialize. When their mother stops to chat with company, they wait patiently for her. Having a mother provides so many rich experiences for growing chicks. Too bad we can’t put chickens on a couch and have an in-depth conversation with them. It would be fascinating to compare the life stories of those raised by mothers and those raised without mothers.

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  • Mother for a Month

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    A month ago she was looking out for eight tiny chicks. Now the eight chicks are a month old and getting more independent by the day. By now, they are too big to all fit under her when they sleep at night, but they still snuggle around her when they go to bed at night. She takes them out to forage before the sun is up, though I’m not sure if it’s her idea to get them up so early, or if it’s the chicks who wake her up.

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  • What a Happy Chicken Looks Like

    Hmm, so what does a happy chicken look like? What does a happy chicken do?

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    One thing chickens love doing is being outdoors. They love to meander through thick brush. And they’re not afraid to do it on their own. Chickens are communal birds in that they like to roost together, share a dirt bath, and gossip. At the same time, they need time to themselves. Watching these chickens behave, it makes me wonder how frustrated chickens must be which live in crowded conditions.

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    Even when they are still very small, chicks will venture a long ways from their mothers and siblings. At times it can be a lot of work for the mother hen to keep track of her brood. This freedom is what chickens crave. They need all this room to roam in order to lay exquisite eggs like these.

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  • It’s a Jungle Out There

    Everything is wet after steady rains through the night and morning. Behind the chicken yard, it’s a jungle of comfrey, burdock and tall grass.

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    It’s a perfect place for a mother hen to scratch for food with her chicks. They huddle around her beak, eager to snatch up any bugs or worms she finds. This is where chicks belong, outdoors with a mother, exploring a jungle full of exciting things to see and do.

    An interesting fact about mother hens is that they don’t care at all whose chicks they are raising. They are communal birds and will sit on anyone’s eggs. The chicks they hatch may be those of other hens, but they love them all.

  • 27 Days and Getting Big

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    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?

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    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