Our Story Part 2

Buffington, our Buff Orpington was determined to be a mother. In chicken terms, she became broody. In kitchen terms, she stopped laying eggs. Utterly consumed, she hardly ate or drank, so intent on hatching non-fertile eggs was she. Something had to be done. I read that ice packs help to break this behavior. Not Buffington the dedicated. Soooo, I asked a friend if I could have some of her fertile eggs. I didn't really think the whole endeavor would work. However, 21 days later I looked in the coop and there were 3 little baby chicks tottering around. I passed out cigars and we oohed and awed.  

Chicken mothers are a pretty amazing and dedicated fowl. As the mother sits on her eggs she turns them frequently to help the baby develop correctly. After the chicks hatch, the iconic image of shelter under a mothers wings becomes personified as Buffington lifts her chest and lets the babies run under her feathers. She walks around puffed up as if she is in the Macy's Day Parade. She has different calls for her little brood: food, danger, and bedtime. She would show the chicks where good food was and call them close to her if there was reason for alarm. Three little chicks would run under her wings. It was amazing to see this instinctual behavior so finely tuned. It's hard not to love a fluffy yellow chick, or be inspired by this dedicated chicken mama!