Today they went on a little trip to what we call the summer house. It’s actually just some old tomato stakes bound together boy scout-style with electrical tape then covered in what was once the trampoline safety net.
On this occasion the summer house lived up to its rather grand name as Lady Pippa came to visit.
It forms a tent-shaped shady area for the mother hen to begin an important lesson.
She scratches the ground, methodically, with her feet; starting in the corner and sweeping her way across the grass.
The chicks watch their mother very intently. It will be a few more days before they begin to mimic her scratching actions.
For now they take the tiny insects from her beak.
Mostly they take turns but a ‘pecking order’ is emerging and some of the more forthright chicks receive more than is strictly their share.
This is normal chook behaviour. What chicks need to learn is to know where they fit into the order and to accept it.
Trouble only starts if one decides to challenge the order. You may read tips elsewhere about introducing new hens to flocks and how it can result in bloody confrontations – this isn’t normal.
In nature hens grow up living with the sisters they hatch alongside. In nature there would be no battle.
The pecking order would be established when the chicks are only a few days old when the potential for inflicting physical damage on one another (under the ever vigilant mother hen) is nil.
And if any of them ever overstep the boundaries Simon will remind them of where they really fit. That reminds me – you still haven't met the fabulous Simon. Tomorrow I'll introduce you.
No comments:
Post a Comment