Milestones in the Lives of Chickens

May 8, 2012

All babies start from seeds.  Like gardening, those seeds are raised up with lots of tender loving care.  Most survive and some perish along the way.  It is the nature of life.  Sometimes, we never understand why some things live and some things are not given the chance to grow and thrive in their environments.  I have learned that it takes a great deal of patience, understanding, love and appreciation for each living thing that we encounter in our time on the Earth.

As with children, baby chicks need us too and certainly my heart always fills with a great sense of joy when these little day old chicks learn and reach their developmental milestones.  I think for many the first milestone is reached when they arrive at their new home.  Either through the mail or at the feed store, their journey through the US mail system is amazing.  Sometimes taking as long as three days, these little ones are held in many hands to arrive at their destination.  Their lives depend on the care and compassion of the postal workers; complete strangers.  They are precious cargo.  When they finally arrive at our homes, we open the peeping package to discover the ones that safely made the journey are ready to imprint on us as their parent and in our hearts.

As we lift them from the box, another milestone will soon be reached as we dip their beaks into the water.  One at a time, we anxiously watch on as they tilt their heads back ever so slightly to feel their first sensation of drinking water.  Some need reinforcement with another dipping of their beaks and others return for another sip just from hearing the gentle tap of our finger on the rim of the waterer.  Our finger serves the same purpose of mother hen’s beak.  Next we dip them into the feed and watch as their lives begin before our very eyes.

Soon enough they are tired and need to realize that they can lay down to sleep.  I remember watching on after they had their first meal.  The little ones were so sleepy and drowsy after their long adventure, that theywere falling asleep standing up.  One by one, they would become sleepy and topple over.  It didn’t take long to realize that their legs did in fact bend and the shavings were much more comfortable.  This milestone did not take long to reach as they formed a fuzzy pile of new sleeping little chicks.

Over time, more milestones were reached in the flock including learning to roost, learning to return to the coop for sleep, figuring out that you should not fear treats, how to avoid hawks, how to lay their first eggs, where to lay their eggs, sorting out the pecking order and surviving through the first Winter.  Each time they reach a milestone, my heart smiles.  I feel a sense of parental pride.  The pride is not the same sense of pride that a parent feels putting their child on the school bus, seeing their child be kind to others or watching them learn to read.  However, it’s a pride in knowing that these little things are the big things in the lives of my chickens.  As with any children, we have dreams for them.  My dream is that one day, my flock will eventually meet the milestone of crossing over our stony driveway and venturing off to see what is on the other side.


Photo Credit:  Tilly’s Nest

Melissa

Author/Blogger/Freelancer-Sharing adventures with backyard chickens, beekeeping, gardening, crafting, cooking and more.

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10 thoughts on “Milestones in the Lives of Chickens”

  1. We're getting our very first chicks in about 3 weeks. I'm looking forward to all of this. And let's hope I don't make too many mistakes. I'm a nervous expectant mom.

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  2. Made me cry as I still am trying to recover from losing 2 of my sweet little 6 week old Sussex chicks this past Sunday. A storm blew down some fencing and they either flew or got blown into the duck pond. Peace be with you, little Dorcas and Smudge.

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  3. We've only had chickens for 2 years now. I had to laugh about them aflling asleep standing up and then falling over. The first time I observed this I though they were falling over sick and 2 fell over and never moved a muscle so I thought they had died. I had to call a friend who is much more experienced in these matters and she assured me they were fine.

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  4. I'm experiencing the first few days of having baby chicks and it's an experience I could never have imagined. They know when I'm bringing some little goodie, always watching, waiting, knowing. I cannot believe how drawn I am to their every move. The curiosity factor alone of baby chicks is enough to entertain my family for hours. What marvelous creatures they are.

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  5. Thank you everyone! I am so glad that you enjoyed reading this post. I thank you all too for sharing your stories about your chickens here too. I am so glad that we can all connect, understand, support and care about each other. Have a beautiful weekend friends!

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  6. Great post! We just moved our newly built coop to the backyard and after a few more finishing touches, will move the maturing chickens out there. Talk about a milestone for all of us!

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Sharing an inspired life from the New England seaside. Chickens, Bees, Gardens, Art and Yummy Goodness.