a man and his hoe

every day is a good day

Category: Raising Chicks

  • A Job Well Done

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    Lucky set her chicks free today. Just yesterday, they were all together, but this morning she was by herself, and her chicks off on their own. All I can say is, “Job well done, Lucky!”

    What does a mother hen feel when her chicks leave home to fend for themselves? What about the chicks? Are they finally glad to be out from under their mother’s feet? Or is it a non-event for them?

    Below is a series of photos from when she hatched them on September 15, 2014 through November 17, 2014. They’ll give you and idea as to how hard a mother works, raising her brood.

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    And as dusk settles, Lucky is back roosting with the rest of the hens for the first time in 12 weeks, while her chicks are bedding down where she used to spend the nights with them. Well done, Lucky. You were a superb mother. Your chicks were lucky to have you hatch and raise them.

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  • A Mother’s Feathers

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    Little chicks need to feel safe and secure. Of the billions of chickens raised each year just in the USA, just a tiny handful get to snuggle inside their mother’s feathers. For little chicks, there is nothing more important than having the security of a caring mother.

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  • Mom Digs, We Eat

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    “Mom digs, we eat” it’s a basic rule little chicks live by. And whatever she digs up, they will gobble down. I’ve seen chicks swallow earthworms as long as they are. Imagine a baby slurping down a two foot long snake. The entire time they are pecking through the dirt Mom digs up, the little ones are chirping away. The need to say something isn’t unique to humans. Keep your ears open and you’ll hear all kinds of animals speaking their mind. If they all had Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and Snapchat accounts, would they crash the internet?

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    With their heads poking around in the dirt much of the time, what you see of little chicks most of the time are their fuzzy little butts. It’s a good opportunity to see if any have pasty butt. It can be a problem with chicks from hatcheries. Occasionally a dropping will get stuck on their vent holes and clog them up; chicken constipation if you will. It can be fatal on a little chick. I’ve only seen it a few times on the chicks hatched by hens. Fortunately, it’s very easy to treat with a little warm water and gentle washing.

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  • I Won’t Grow Up

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    Sometimes around here, it is a laugh a minute. One of Lucky’s two month old chicks still wants to take a nap under her wings. About the only thing he can fit under her, is his head and neck. The rest of his body sticks out. He doesn’t want to grow up. Perhaps she misses having her chicks snuggling underneath her. When he wakes up, it’s clear that he had a great nap.

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    Lucky and her chicks are quite the family. I’ve never had mother and chicks who are such a close-knit family for this long. Each day I expect her to be on her own, but each day she surprises me. Usually by now, either the chicks are off doing their own thing with a mother frantically trying to catch up to them, or she’s had enough child rearing and will chase them off if they approach her. Not Lucky and her chicks. They stick close together all day long, and roost together at night.

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  • Frosty Mornings Are No Problem

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    A cold, frosty morning doesn’t stop Miasa from taking her chicks out hunting. At the crack of dawn, she has the little buggers whipped into shape and ready for adventure. With their downy jackets, the cold doesn’t faze the five day old chicks. That’s right, these chicks are just five days old.

    You never hear people say, “Be as resolute as a chicken,” but that’s because almost no one knows how determined these mighty birds are. And they do all of this with bare feet to boot. No shoes or socks for these intrepid birds. Many people are so delicate, they even wear socks and shoes indoors. Can you imagine that?

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    The warm, midday sun provides a break from the cold. It’s time to rest and preen and enjoy some down time.

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    After a short break, basking in the warm midday sun, it’s time to go hunting again.

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