Good Mama Hen

It has been a couple of weeks since the latest round of chicks hatched and I am happy to report that the mama hen has happily adopted the chicks and is dutifully protecting them and showing them the ways of the world.  They will all get to stay in my broody pen together for several more weeks while the chicks grow.  It has been nice to let her do the work of keeping them warm and out of trouble, but I do miss the peeping from the back room where I usually raise the babies.  At least I can get my fill of baby chicken antics whenever I step outside.

The broody pen is right next to the chicken yard that houses the rest of the adult chickens, so they are getting used to each other from a safe distance.  Once the hen stops mothering them, she will go back in with the adult flock.  The babies will stay in the broody pen until they are about 16 weeks old.  At that point they will be close enough to laying eggs that they can be integrated into the adult flock and start eating adult food which contains extra calcium for the laying hens.  In the meantime I will enjoy watching their feathers change as they grow into awkward adolescents and then into fluffy adults.  It amazes me how fast they grow up every time I get new babies.  They certainly don't stay little balls of fluff for very long.