Well Tallulah hatched a chick last week! Clever girl. Tallulah is a black Shetland hen that I got last year. So this is her very first chick and she is VERY proud. Though I do get a bit alarmed when she rushes into the henny house for breakfast leaving the chick rather vulnerable to predation from the crows. I have to stand guard till she reappears. Sigh..... She also chose to take her chick BACK to the henny house only hours after it hatched. Not usually what hens do, they prefer to keep them apart from the flock, who can turn on chicks, or trample them. Anyway the chick seems to be surviving despite her rather novel parenting methods!
It's a bit chaotic at breakfast time so the photos are the best I can do when lots of hens are milling about!
Here is Tallulah taking her chick to somewhere more sheltered among the pile of stones here. She has a small "cave" she and the wee chick can nestle into.
This was a few days earlier when the chick was REALLY fluffy!
Meanwhile the Broon (brown) hen has been looking after her chick well and it (no idea whether it's a he or she!) now has quite a few feathers. Um...looks a bit moth eaten at the moment but I'm sure it will look fine when older!
And yes each hen has just one chick. It's my "one child" policy. Ha! Population control to stop getting over- run with chooks. I take all the eggs away but leave one, which I mark with crosses. If a hen chooses to brood that one, it can. All the rest are put to much better use! Hee hee.
Charlie is always ready to greet me at breakfast time too. He stays well away from nasty pecky clucky hens! So far (fingers crossed) neither he nor Button have got one of the chicks. The hens are VERY protective of their chicks and aggressive to both cats.
He's happier a safe distance from pecky beaks!
He enjoys a roll in the sunshine too!
Charlie is the dominant cat as far as Button is concerned. He tends to chase her, and I think he is possibly responsible for one or two injuries she's received. Usually she keeps her distance if she see Charlie around. Or tries to hide or runs away!
Meanwhile the girls are sunbathing!
Oh and Miss Button is snoozing on the windowsill in the sun till everything calms down again.
And the young heifers in the field also enjoy the sun on their backs!
Super pictures. The wee chicks are so cute. I had forgotten about Charlie. Nice to see him. Hope he will treat Buttons with a little more respect. I really enjoy your photos. When I get a bit behind in my blog reading, I get a wonderful treat a many photos from you.
ReplyDeleteYes Charlie is a very shy boy so I don't get many photos of him. I think he's beaten Button up once or twice but usually she trie to keep out of his way!
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