The mothering skills of these chickens amazes me. If you look at this picture you will see a wee chick poking out from under mama's left wing. The chicks scurry up under their mom, crawling through the feathers right up to the hens back. It is funny to see a little head peeking out from on top of the hens neck.
The mothers don't exactly feed the chicks, but they do show them how to find food. If the hen gets a treat, she calls the chicks with a soft, distinctive clucking. Next she breaks the treat up into tiny bits, then models how to peck at what she has found for them.
When a shadow from a passing crow, hawk or eagle crosses the yard, the mama again calls the chicks to her, covering them with her body and flattening out on the grass until danger has passed.
At the end of the day, while the hens without chicks are still scratching about, the mama hens are tucked in the coop at 5 pm on the dot, chicks tucked beneath her warm, feathered skirts. She is so drowsy from watching out for her babes all the long day, she seems unable to keep her eyes open another moment.
I wonder at how they know to do what they do, and I treasure the sweetness of it.
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