New babies

Lilac's chicks were due to hatch on Sunday.

Saturday we went to The Big City for the day, but before we left I let the chickens out as usual. While I was in the coop I peeked at Lilac sitting there in her corner, as she had been for the past twenty days. I thought, "Girl, your life is about to change and you don't have a clue what is about to hit you".

Her beady eyes met mine and she put her all her feathers up on end. Uh oh. She did already know.

They were early!

All you moms out there know that babies never hatch on their due dates. Then why would I expect chicks to?

And I wasn't the only one doing some peeking.



Their dad, by the way, is learning.

He saw me coming with my bamboo pole today and ran straight into the tall grass and sat down. It was just that easy.

I took these photos on Sunday, when the babies were only a day old.

One day old, and they were already starting to explore.



Mama Lilac was showing them how to peck at spots on the wall, so they tried it too.

She didn't mind my handling, so I actually picked her up off the nest to assess the situation and remove the empty shells. All eight were fully developed. It looked like Mama Lilac had shifted her weight at a bad moment and crushed one as it was hatching. So we have seven babies as new as they come, three yellow and four a beautiful soft brown.



The yellow chicks are Buff Orpington just like their adoptive mom. By the time a hen is determined enough that I realize she is broody, she has already stopped laying eggs. Lilac laid exactly zero of the eggs she kept warm for all those days.



The pretty brown babies are mixed breed, Buff Orpington and Barred Rock.

So soft and warm in my hand.

But things will be different this fall. The chicks that are unfortunate enough to be boys will be so obnoxious they'll practically beg me to get my new axe out. And the truth is, I don't want to keep mixed breed chickens in my laying flock of heritage breed birds.

Do you eat chicken (or beef)? Then don't look away. Even if you prefer someone else wield that axe, I believe it's important to understand where your food comes from, and to actually think about it once in awhile.

I have said it before, these lives are not a gift to take lightly.

This is where it starts.