Those darned chickens

Really, everyone ought to have a few chickens. Books have been written and films made about what amazing and interesting creatures they are.

Our latest chicken surprise came yesterday when we discovered that one of the "escapees" hatched 10 chicks. We keep the chickens in a large fenced yard to decrease the chance that a predator will get them or they will get to my vegetables (last year, they ate every last bit of my beautiful collard crop.)

Anyway, the rooster can escape and when he does, he always tries to lure a few hens out. We don't really need a rooster, but he's very beautiful and doesn't attack (unlike his father) and is actually a good protector of the flock* so we tolerate him.

So, the rooster had a few hens following him around - mostly the "wild" grandchildren of Mini, our black turken (pictured here). And apparently, one of the hens has been sitting on a nest right in front of our noses for three weeks and yesterday was the big day. Ten little black chicks have now joined our motley crew.

I hope to post a few pictures soon. For now, we need to be sure that the chicken-raised kittens we found last summer do not get to the chicks.

* Last year, George came home one night to a great commotion coming from the hen house. Apparently, the door had been left open and a great horned owl had taken it for a buffet. We lost one of our roosters as he tried to defend the roosting sleeping hens from this fiend. I know it's all in their "animal nature," but you can't help but admire the fight in these guys when their hens are at risk. (Of course, when they are strutting about the yard mounting every hen in sight, they don't seem so noble.)