Musings about Chicks

I’ve had my chicks for only 24 hours now and already find them so interesting.  Nature is amazing to me, providing new and interesting every day.

Some of my chicks hatched Tuesday, some Wednesday and some Thursday.  They are mostly all acting the same, even though some are a bit older then others.  It’s amazing to me that with no mother to teach them how things work they already know.  They scratch the ground and peck at it for food.  They well regulate how hot or cold they are by moving toward or away from the heat lamp.  They drink, automatically like birds. 

I’m not sure why I find all this quite as amazing as I do.  The instinct on these little creatures is amazing to behold.  They hold such great interest and intelligence in their eyes that it just astonishes me. 

I’ve been around other peoples chickens before, seen how they act and interact, heard watching them called chicken tv.  I never exactly got it, but I truly do now.  Watching chickens be chickens is a lot of fun.   They run away if you make sudden movements, but come right back to inspect what you are doing.  They let me pick them up and magically bed down and fall asleep if you cover them in your hand.  They like to be scratched. 

I fully intend on making pets out of these guys, they are my future egg layers.  Even the roosters will find a productive place in life, some in the freezer and some breeding a future line of chicks.  I want them to have the best life possible, no matter what their future destiny. 

I already have plans for future plantings into the yard and garden beds and boxes for them.   I am hoping to improve the “grass” in my yard with great diversity so that these guys have plenty to eat while they free range.  I am hoping to grow several different kinds of crops to both supplement their foraging and store for winter. 

I have big plans for these tiny chicks.

-Fin

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