Our 2nd generation of Silkies have started to hatch! Our mama hen has been sitting on ten eggs for several weeks--all throughout this drastic heat wave. I have made sure to hose down their outdoor coop several times throughout the day and everytime I do the chickens run out from their covered "home" just the same as kids would do at the first sign of a refreshing sprinkler being turned on in the backyard! But Mama Hen...she would sweat it out...she hesitated to leave her nest. Every now and then she would come out...see what all the fuss was about (she has three older chicks) and then would rush back inside to brood. It is truly a marvel to watch things like this...to note the maternal instincts...the sacrifices...the dedication. In the end it pays off...out pops a cute and fluffy chick! The hard part is certainly not over...there are still more eggs to hatch...and of those that are left not all will survive. Mama Hen is overly alert now as she tries to keep her new and curious charge close by. She has older chicks who still try to wedge their way beneath her even though they are almost as big as she is...but she makes room. Her clucking is different now...it is gravelly and lower-pitched...she means business.
My son has been keeping an interval camera on Mama and chick all day long for the past two days. It has been fun to watch a full day's worth of activity in seven minutes. We've witnessed the fact that Mama and baby are never apart from each other. We've noticed that the older chicks are more adventurous now that Mama is otherwise occupied (and the one we've dubbed "Carrot Top" is a camera hog!). We've also realized that no matter what they are a family...one that has grown and is continuing to grow; a family of chickens who makes room for each other despite the tight quarters. Yes, there is a lot more chicken poop to put up with, but there is also a whole new brood to marvel at.
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