Momma Hen and her 3 little Biddies

Yesterday we talked about a broody hen that we're letting her sit on her eggs in order to hatch them.  I thought it would be good today to check on the Momma hen and her 3 little biddies that are out in the pasture.  This Black Star hen hatched out four baby chicks exactly 3 weeks ago.  She had a secret nest up in the hay loft that she sat on until four of them hatched.  One of the chicks subsequently died in a driving rainstorm.

We found the secret nest about a week after they hatched when Tricia smelled something rotten.  She got a ladder and found a nest full of unhatched rotten eggs. As she carefully tried to remove them, a couple popped and she she told me that they emitted a sulfurous cloud of odor!  She persisted and got them all removed. I'm assuming that when a few of her chicks hatched, she stopped setting and started tending to the babies.  Perhaps some weren't fertilized, too.

The Mother Hen and her brood

The hen is such a good mother to them.  She's constantly watching over them, protecting them, and caring for them.  She takes them to water and we've seen the chicks imitate her as she scratches.  The chicks seem to be growing fine.  We aren't even giving them any chick starter.  They are finding plenty to eat just foraging around in the pasture and the edge of the woods.  It is much cheaper to have hens hatch out chicks rather than purchase them.

The chicks are very skittish and won't let you get anywhere near them.  The momma hen clucks and the little ones come running as she leads them away to safety.

"Come, come, little ones"

We usually keep the lid to the molasses tub full of water so that the chicks can drink.  The bigger chickens drink the water, too, so we have to constantly fill it. You'll see it is empty below.  Chickens require a lot of water in the hot weather. Sometimes they will hop up on the edge of the water troughs that the cows drink from and they'll drink out of it too.  Unfortunately, last month two hens (both Aracaunas) fell into the trough and died of hypothermia, I'm guessing.  We keep close watch now to ensure the troughs stay full.

As I followed the chicks trying to get a good photo, momma hen led them around one of the troughs and next to the fence.

That is their little trick.  When they get next to the fence, the chicks pop through the 2 x 4 holes and go to safety on the other side.  Pretty soon, though, they are going to be too big to fit through the holes in the perimeter fence.  I originally had just a hogwire perimeter fence that had 4 x 4 holes.  I had to overlay some 2 x 4 welded wire fencing over it when a neighboring dog got into the pasture through the 4 x 4 holes (he was a little, devious dog) and killed 17 of our hens!  It was tragic indeed, but the 2 x 4 welded wire fencing ended the carnage from the canine.

Speaking of the fence, some of the older chickens' feathers have grown back and they have been flying over the fence.  It is time that I get the clippers and net and catch them all and give one of their wings a clip.  I've done this to a few already.  All you need to do is clip one of them as she'll be unbalanced and won't be able to fly very high off the ground.  I've already caught some of the Aracaunas that were roosting up in the rafters of the barn and given their wings a clip.  No more chickens on the rafters after that!  And no more secret nests in the loft.