Chicky picie................

[Snadger]

You wouldn't believe how much bother this chook and her two chicks have caused me lately. I have literally spent hours trying to get them back into captivity in case the fox or rats got them.
I've had to cut holes in my run to allow them back in from a wdged position.They were left out one night because I was sick of chasing them

Alls well that ends well though as they now safe along with this chooks sister and her eight chicks!

PS I have started feeding the chick crumb wet and moulded into balls, which is what is on the coop floor.

[Ms-T]

Wonderful photos and a good story.

[Nannysally99]

Lovely pic, where's the others Snadger?

[Snadger]

Lovely pic, where's the others Snadger?

They are big girls and boys now compared to these two. Mother is still looking after them though. I'll try and get a piccie of her and her brood when I can.

I've hatched chickens in an incubator before and looked after them under heat lamps for ages. This is a whole new ball game though and is deffo the recommended natural way to breed chooks, with there own Ma looking after them!

[muddled]

A good broody is worth her weight in gold!
I find naturally reared chickens eat more bugs, preen more and just seem to do more 'chickeny' stuff without help from me.

Lovely picture...they'll look moth eaten and gangly in a couple of weeks before their beautiful sleek grown up feathers come in so this 'fluffy' time is precious

[Snadger]

A good broody is worth her weight in gold!
I find naturally reared chickens eat more bugs, preen more and just seem to do more 'chickeny' stuff without help from me.

Lovely picture...they'll look moth eaten and gangly in a couple of weeks before their beautiful sleek grown up feathers come in so this 'fluffy' time is precious

Yep, tuther older ones look like rag,tag and bobtail!

[Scarlet]

How are the doing Snadge?

How many boys have you got .....

[veggiechicken]

I keep reading the title as Chicky pies

C'mon Snadge, tell us they're not in pies yet

[Snoop Puss]

Yes, VGC. I had the same thought as you at first. Four and twenty chicky birds baked in a pie.

[Snadger]

Mother nature can be quite cruel sometimes.The mum who had the two chicks, now has none. The black chick vanished first followed a few days later by the white one. Mum was calling for her chicks but I can only assume a cat or fox had got them as thay used to slip outside then in through the wire run all the time.
The eight chicks are now teenagers but I'm still not sure which are boys and girls, If i had to guess I would say there are at least three cockerels? There mum was attacked by the other chooks when she was integrated and I thought she had lost an eye.This wasn't the case, their pecking had caused the eye surround to swell but now the swelling has went down she deffo has two working eyes.
She is still chased by the rest and I have to feed her seperately. The chicks are fine as they are to fast for the older birds and can hold there own.
My favourite was the little white one and i was gutted when it went missing!

[muddled]

oh! how sad!

Mother nature is indeed cruel and chickens more like little dinosaurs than nostalgia would have us believe.

[Scarlet]

Oh, wish I hadn't asked now .....

[Snadger]

Oh, wish I hadn't asked now .....

No problem Scarlet. After you have kept chooks for a while you have to get used to these setbacks.They sometimes just pop there clogs for no reason. Not looking forward to disposing of the cockerels but I new it would happen so have prepared myself for it.
I don't name my chooks like some do,and try not to get too attached to them, but its never nice to take a life.

[Ms-T]

sorry to hear about the little ones