In just a bit, I get to leave one chick who had some teeth pulled yesterday (and who is doing fine although he passed on the Shepard’s pie for dinner last night – gasp – and instead had soup and a smoothie) in order to get another chick in Vermont so he can be home with us for the holidays.
That’s one aspect of what a mama hen does all the time. Send and retrieve. It’s her job. Have you ever seen a new group of chicks introduced into an existing flock? They hang around and explore together as a group, all under the watchful eye of the mama. The chicks will constantly test boundaries, the neighbor’s yard, the street, all in an effort to see where their mama’s world ends and where theirs begins.
When the mama hen has decided that enough is enough, she corrals them back into the safety of the coop (often with the assistance of the flock’s rooster) with a –
“Just what were you thinking?” and sometimes a simple,
“Really?”
But the mama also rejoices when she see the chicks applying the lessons they’ve been taught –
“My class ends at 12, how about picking me up at 2 when I’ll be all packed?”
Instead of, “Be here at 12 and I’ll come down when I’m ready.”
Or “I had to take something in the night for pain, I wrote when I took it down on the meds paper.”
Teach and teach, push and pull – the constant jobs of the mama.
The reward? A mama who can *begin* to relax by trusting her chicks will continue to make the right choices. Along with a houseful of flock members all truly looking forward to spending time with the family during this season of togetherness and being grateful.
Home for the Holidays
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Wendy Thomas writes about the lessons learned while raising children and chickens in New Hampshire. Contact her at [email protected]
Also, join me on Facebook to find out more about the flock (children and chickens) and see some pretty funny chicken jokes, photos of tiny houses, and even a recipe or two.
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