I have heard of people referring to an overprotective mother being like a “mother hen”. Now that we actually have a real life mother hen, I know exactly where that reference comes from! It has been an amazing experience watching our Brown Town care for her little chick. Hubby and I have spent hours out at the coup intrigued by the natural mothering instincts that our hen possesses.
The other egg never hatched so Brown Town focuses her full attention on this little chick. And what a lucky chick it is! Brown Town has gently shown the baby how to eat and drink. She will take a piece of food and crack it with her beak in small pieces for the baby to eat. We have also seen her hold a piece of grass in her mouth for the baby chick to grab.
The chick does not wonder far from mother hen. She is usually right under her feet! As the days go by mother hen teaches the baby chick new skills, like scratching at the grass for bugs. When the chick is cold, she nestles right under her mama. Brown Town actually lays right on top of the chick and you would never know the chick was there!
If baby chick ever needs a second “mother hen”, our dog Sydney is back at her post as chicken guard dog. She spends most of her day laying out by Brown Town and the chick keeping a protective eye on them.
If you have chickens and have a broody hen, I would highly recommend letting your hen hatch the eggs. We can’t wait to try more eggs in the spring since this has been such a neat experience!
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