Late Summer Surprise – Out of the Woods

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This afternoon, when I went out to collect eggs and check on the chickens, I spotted a hen with chicks taking an afternoon break in the shade of a mimosa tree. The chicks were just a few days old and it wasn’t one of the hens sitting on eggs in the coop. It was a hen who had hatched her chicks in the brush somewhere and was bringing her chicks around for food and water for the first time.

Recently, there had been a hen who acted very broody when she came into the chicken yard to feed, but I never did see her sitting on eggs. Now I know why. She had a clutch of eggs in the brush or woods somewhere. It makes me wonder how many other hens will come popping out of the woods with chicks in tow.

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A Mother’s Love

These chicks, hatched yesterday, are getting a lesson about drinking from their attentive mother. Little chicks are very curious. They look at everything with wide eyes, but they stay close to their mother.

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Iris, Wysteria, and Babies

It’s Iris and Wysteria season, a terrific time of the year to be outdoors.

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It’s an auspicious day to be born. These chicks are just hours old, safe and snug with their mother. The clutch is due tomorrow so these two are on the early side.

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It’s a day for making a fuss. Hazel is making a fuss, but so many hens do after they’ve laid an egg. I guess if we had something as large as an egg coming out of our butt, we’d want to talk about it too.

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It’s a day for temporary art. The alcove in the entry way is a handy place to display eggs gathered this afternoon.

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Easter Chicks

There is a new clutch of hatched chicks today at a man and his hoe®. It looks like there are four or five altogether. The mother is feisty, and we’ll need to wait until it is dark to move her and her chicks into their nursery. This is how chicks should come into the world.

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