Life With a Mother Hen: Watching a Hen Raise Chicks

I wanted to share a little glimpse into life with Little Carl and her brood, and what they’ve been up to this past week.

If you’ve been following along, this story comes after our real-life chick adoption adventure, where things went very wrong before they finally went right.

If you’ve been following along, this story comes after our real-life chick adoption adventure, where things went very wrong before they finally went right.

Now that the chaos has settled, this is what motherhood looks like.

Little Carl, Intensified

It’s fascinating to watch Little Carl care for her chicks. She’s the same ferocious, insane, LOUD bird she’s always been, except now all of those qualities have been dialed way up thanks to motherhood.

She is straight-up crazy pants.

I even caught her snapping at our older chicks for daring to get too close to her precious babies. What kind of monster bites baby chicks?!

But I suppose that’s just what it takes to be a chicken mom.

Lessons in Dirt: Teaching the Dust Bath

Last week, Little Carl taught her chicks how scratch and take a dust bath.

I’m not entirely sure why someone would need to be taught how to shake and shimmy in a pile of dirt, but, you know… chickens.

Every time I see her chicks imitating something she’s doing, my heart just melts. They’re like four tiny Little Carls, perfect little mini-mes.

I even managed to capture them dust bathing together on video and tried very hard not to giggle all the way through it.

Cold, Tired, and Ready for Mom

After shimmying around in the dirt, the babies decided they were cold and tired. Their mom obligingly squatted down so they could scurry between her scaly legs and tuck themselves underneath her.

Little Carl practically doubled in size with the mass of four chicks gathered beneath her.

They only allowed me to snap a few photos before becoming seriously offended by all the movement and clicking, and promptly relocated their fluffy butts to a quieter spot.

The chicks are getting so very big…far too fast, if you ask me.

Final Thoughts from the Coop

Watching a broody hen raise chicks is one of the most rewarding parts of keeping chickens. There’s something grounding about seeing instinct take over, including the protection, the teaching, the quiet moments of warmth after a busy day.

If you’re here for the practical side of things, you may want to read our step-by-step guide to introducing chicks to a broody hen.

But if you’re here for the heart of it, the small moments, the personalities, and the way motherhood changes everything, then this little glimpse into Little Carl’s world is for you.