Cute Chick Pics

Cute Chicks, Angry Bird Mom

While old Uncle Milton was traveling on business,  el numero uno son Junior has been doing the animal chores.  And even though old Uncle Milton is not now traveling, he is involved in a machine start-up, and now supporting the new machine as it begins its productive life in the manufacturing process, so Junior is continuing in his role as *Chief Animal Steward*.

So a couple days ago, Junior casually mentions at supper that the one Black Giant Hen that has been flying the coop regularly has a brood of cute chicks following her around, outside the chicken pen.

Black Giant Chicken with freshly hatched brood

Now I can just imagine as you, dear reader, are looking at that photo above, you are thinking what cute little baby Black Giant hatchlings?  Where are they?  But you were not there to hear the sound those cute little chicks were making.  And brother, were they ever making a sound.  A racket.  No, they were making a symphony of little cute chick sounds.  And they were in the tall pasture outside the chicken pen.

And if you are from the Greater Bippus Area, then you know that noisy, cute little meat products do not last long in the tall pasture.  They need protection.  So the cute little chicks needed to be rounded up and moved to a high security area.

Angry Bird, Safety for her Brood

Here is one way to catch a runaway chicken

Wow, did little blackie ever get upset when we treated her to capture in a big salmon landing net.  Talk about Angry Birds.  She sounded the alarm, and the chicks scattered.  So we used her to bait our trap.

Mama Hen in a dog kennel

We put mama hen in this dog kennel, and backed away from her.  This allowed her to settle down a little.  As she lost her angry bird attitude, her voice changed, it calmed, and she began to cluck gently.  And the cute little Black Giant/Barred Rock chicks returned.  Several slipped right through the bars, to join their mama in the dog kennel.  And the others were easily rounded up, and placed in baskets,…

Aren't they just little darlings?

Note the Barred Rock markings on their cute little heads and sides

Then we moved the proud mama and her babies into the barn, where we have a higher degree of safety in the form of our indoor chicken pen.

Now Mom and her babies are safe in the barn

Now the astute observers will have noticed that there are nine baby chicks in the photo above, but only eight shown captured in the baskets previous to that.  VERY GOOD!!!  After we got mama and the eight basket babies settled in to their new home, we went back to the area of capture, and one lone voice was crying out in the wilderness.  And as that last baby chick went in the pen, and the sun began to set on Bippus, the mama hen opened her wings, and her babies all nestled themselves in under her.  And all was well.