A Chicken Combo |
We moved them down from the hay loft and into the goat milking stall. Although they are little fluff balls, a 10 foot drop down to the barnyard floor might not be good for them. Momma hen pretty much stays in the center nesting box with a chick tucked under each wing. When we come into the barn, the babies pop out from beneath the mother as you see in the photo above. The mother hen is really protective of her babies. She clucks loudly and ruffles her feathers when we get near. We throw her and the babies some crushed up rice to eat each day. It is neat to watch the momma hen scratch and peck at the rice on the ground and then see the chicks imitate her.
They have lost most of their 'fuzz' and have little feathers on their wings. They are active little creatures for sure. The momma has not brought them out of the barn and instead keeps a close eye on them within the confines of the barn. This is probably a smart move since we've had so much rain. I'm sure she'll venture out with them pretty soon.
"I got your back, Momma!" |
Then there's predators. Perhaps some of you picked up on the fact that momma hen hatched out four chicks and the photos only show two. One morning we came out to the barn and two of the little boogers were missing. We put out a barnyard amber alert, but no missing chicks were found. Sad! So what happened to them? I know how they met their tragic end. They punched their ticket in a particularly brutal and macabre fashion and I'll tell you about it tomorrow if the Good Lord's willing and the creek don't rise.
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