Happy Father's Day to our proud new PaPa, Gentleman Jim the rooster.
My mother let three hens set, in an admittedly haphazard and disorganised sort of way, and now she has chicks coming out her ears. They started hatching Friday morning and they're still going. Mom was shocked to see two little yellow peeps peaking out from under Hen #1. I'm not sure exactly what she thought would happen. 
You see, the problem is, she had three broody hens. Now she not only has to deal with one family of chicks, she has to find a spot for three families. So far she has been putting them in with Hen #1 as they hatch, but that's not completely fair. After all, Hen #2 and #3 did the work too. After enjoying the peeps for a bit, we went to check on Hen #2 and #3. She looked under this one, and groaned... "Oh no, there's another chick". When I reported this to step dad his reply was "pretty sure that's not my fault... I'm blaming the rooster."
When I left, she and her husband had rallied and were setting up more hen homes. This should be interesting. Mom was marching around lecturing herself... "I've had three weeks to think about this and I didn't think... well, I did think, but I didn't act..."
It's been a very long time since we raised chicks under a hen. Chicks are always fun, but they're even more fun when you get to watch them interact with a hen. Mom and I never tire of chicks. My husband got tired with the last batch. It seems he did not enjoy using the computer when the office was kept at a steady 90 degrees... in the summer. I have since been forbidden to raise chicks in the house. They will have to go in the chicken coop. Not a big sacrifice. I have one of the nicest chicken coops around and it will be just perfect for raising chicks. Unfortunately, since we've moved the coop, the chicken run is still in the planning stage. Mom's on her own on this one.
It's been a very long time since we raised chicks under a hen. Chicks are always fun, but they're even more fun when you get to watch them interact with a hen. Mom and I never tire of chicks. My husband got tired with the last batch. It seems he did not enjoy using the computer when the office was kept at a steady 90 degrees... in the summer. I have since been forbidden to raise chicks in the house. They will have to go in the chicken coop. Not a big sacrifice. I have one of the nicest chicken coops around and it will be just perfect for raising chicks. Unfortunately, since we've moved the coop, the chicken run is still in the planning stage. Mom's on her own on this one.
But she'll do just fine now that the initial shock is over. So, here's some footage so you can enjoy watching chicks too. I love it when the hen gets something good and she calls all the little ones to come see, and they stand around looking excited but still have no idea what to do. They're so innocent and new.
We keep a varying number of yard hens around the barn for fly control plus eggs (when we know WHEN they were layed). I've been surprised at how well the chicks do even when born any old place and not really fussed over very much (except when they kamikaze themselves from the hayloft...see Melissa's post). Of course, the ambient temperature outside is over 90 degrees much of the time from June 1 through Sept 15...actually I wish it'd cool DOWN to 90 !
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