It's been an Easter tradition here at Maplewood Farm to hatch our own eggs in an incubator. This year we opted for a smaller hatch which ended up to be fourteen little chicks this year. For those of you that don't know what an incubator is, it is a machine that provides heat, humidity and a turning apparatus to simulate what a setting or brooding hen would provide. It takes 21 days to hatch chicken eggs. They have just hatched so come on down and see them as they grow very fast.
Chickens are getting quite alot of publicity these days as many municpalities have new bylaws to allow them in backyards but what do you really know about them? Well they are very entertaining little critters.. Ever see a chicken run? It will deffinately make you laugh! Need any pest removal or excavation? A chickens natural behaviour of scratching and digging for insects, grubs, and bugs churns and rotates the earth. It is also interesting to watch chickens in a group interact. It would seem the particular breeds stick together. Silkies with silkies, little bantam duck wings with each other and so forth. Our Silkie rooster is particularly gentlemanly to his hens when he finds a good collection of bugs he calls his cluster of hens over to endulge while he patiently stands guard!
If they're not eating , running or scratching around you will find them sunning themselves or having a dust bath in the nearest pile of dirt.
So enough about chickens! There are many other critters to see and lots of fun to be had right now at Maplewood Farm!
Farmer Nadine
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