Right now it’s like Old McDonald’s Farm around here, on the verse:
“with a chick, chick here, and a chick, chick there,
here a chick, there a chick, everywhere a chick, chick!
Yep, if you look outside, it’s a pretty good bet you’re going to see at least one chick. The first chick that hatched out is getting pretty big, half-grown at least. Here he (or she) is stretching his wings.
This little guy wanders around on his own these days, until evening comes and he roosts with the chickens in the sheep shed (one of the three main roosting places for chickens here).
You can sort of get a feel for his size in comparison to the chickens in the background, which from left to right are a Buff Orpington hen (probably his mom), the Silver Laced Polish Rooster, and the Sicilian Buttercup hen.
Peepers was next to have a chick. It looks just like she did when she was little. This picture was taken May 12th, 2009.
And this picture was taken about 2 and 1/2 weeks later.
As you can see, these little chicks sure grow fast!
One of the white hens was the next to have chicks. She started out with 5 chicks, but lost one somewhere along the way, so now only has 4. (Are you impressed with my great math skills?) Here she is showing one how to peck at cracked corn.
It doesn’t take those little chicks long to get the hang of pecking around for food. They already come running when they see me go outside, figuring I’ll throw out some cracked corn. And of course I do, because I woudn’t want to disappoint them after all.
Here she is with her chicks about 2 1/2 weeks ago:
And here they are more recently:
They have also grown quickly!
I discovered another hen had been sitting on a nest I didn’t know about. She was hidden just inside the quonset hut where we store hay. She found a little opening she could scoot into and be well hidden, so we never saw her.
She ended up with 6 chicks, and she still has all 6 chicks. Go Mama!
These weren’t the last of the chicks to hatch, however. Not knowing we were going to have so many hatch “naturally”, I put a few chicken eggs in with the peafowl eggs in one of the incubators. The first one hatched out May 24th.
You can see the chicken eggs are much smaller than the peafowl eggs, so I can squeeze them in-between.
It didn’t take long for the little one to get out.
They’re a little bedraggled looking when they first hatch! But it doesn’t take long for them to dry up and fluff out, as you can see with the three here in the incubator I use as a brooder box for the first few days after they’ve hatched.
3 Hot Chicks!
A chick, chick here!
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Awww, they all are wonderful to see. I think it’s the best way to raise chickens, just let mama do what comes natural to her. It’s the way it’s meant to be. It’s amazing what lengths birds will go to to conceal their nests. It took me about a week to find my ducks’ nests! It’s surprising how they can squeeze through the smallest cracks.
It’s sure a whole lot easier letting the mama hen raise the chicks! They generally do a good job, seem to enjoy it, and sure is a lot less work than putting eggs in an incubator.
It’s a constant game around here trying to find nests. Gathering eggs in the evening is like an Easter egg hunt… and the chickens are too good at hiding them sometimes!
What wonderful pictures! I can’t believe all the little chickies you have running around. Peepers is absolutely gorgeous.
Those chicks that hatched out in the incubator, will you have to raise them in a brooder box now or will one of your hens be willing to take them on?
I love that close-up shot of one of your mama’s teaching the chick to find food off the ground.
Hi Farmgirl Danni!
Thanks, I rather liked that closeup of the little chick and mama hen too.
I have never had any luck trying to get a mama hen to take chicks that weren’t hers. You can slip other eggs under them, like peafowl eggs, and when they hatch the hen will mother the babies then. But every time I try to put extra chicks with theirs the hens peck at the newcomers, even when the chicks are the same age. It sure would simplify things if I could do that sometimes, but so far, no such luck.
I missed so many good posts! What will you do with the new chicks? Are you going to brood them until they’re big enough to be on their own?
Love the spider web pics and the story about the boat. A day of enjoyment turned into a day of stress for the boat owners, huh?