• Home
  • About Penny
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Gallery
  • Press
  • Subscribe
  • Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar

McCormick Interiors

Penelope Bianchi

Header Right

Contact McCormick Interiors: 805*969*1110

  • Home
  • About Penny
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Gallery
  • Press
  • Subscribe
You are here: Home / Blog / Hatched in the wild!!

Hatched in the wild!!

August 4, 2011 By //  by Penelope Bianchi 11 Comments


Three weeks ago,  a hen of ours went missing!  I was afraid a coyote or hawk had taken her;  but I couldn’t  find feathers anywhere!

About  ten days later, I found her outside the coop in the morning, and I knew she must have made a nest outside of the coop!

Our chickens lay one egg a day and when they want to hatch chicks (which is called  “broody”). They want to accumulate at least 8 or 9 ;  then they start sitting on them so they all hatch on the same day.  We didn’t know she wanted to be “broody”;  so we were collecting her eggs!  She decided to take matters into her own feet, and hid her eggs outside in the tall grass.  I had to hide and watch where she went to find where her eggs were!  She was so well-camouflaged, it was hard to see her at all!!!

Well, I was so afraid a predator would get her, I asked the “Backyard Chicken Forum”  what to do!  They recommended I try to move her at night.

 

Well, I tried to do that.  She would have none of it, and was flinging herself at the coop  door in the morning  and she went right back to where her eggs had been outside and squawked and squawked ; so I had to put them back where they  were.  I didn’t know how long she had been off her eggs; so I wasn’t sure they would hatch!  This was ten days ago!

I was worried every night, and checked her every morning , and  yesterday morning I heard cheeping;  and this brave little hen hatched eight chicks!

I moved them into their beautiful own coop built and designed by Radisha!

Happy and safe!  This was right after they hatched!

Count them!  There are eight!

 

Isn’t she lovely??

 

Her beautiful coop designed Balinese style and built by Radisha!
A predator-proof coop inside of a predator-proof coop!
Mommies with chicks like to be separate from the other chickens.
I love happy endings!!  Don’t you???
We have had 14 new chicks this summer!

Filed Under: Blog, Design, Gardens, Home, Landscapes Tagged With: baby chicks, Backyard chicken forum, Balinese chicken coop, chicken coop, chickens, gardens, millefleur bantam chickens, predators, Radisha

Previous Post: « Dive into Summer, my favorite pools!
Next Post: Thank you Tara Dillard, Velvet and Linen and Callie Grayson! »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Bette

    August 5, 2011 at 5:45 am

    Penelope,

    What a wonderful event to share. You’re right those chick are so cute and Mama is beautiful too. Have a great weekend!

    Reply
  2. Kathy Avakian

    August 5, 2011 at 9:40 pm

    That hen is so smart! I’m so glad she was able to get her point across – what an adorable brood, and such a doting mother!
    Thank you for sharing Penny!

    Reply
  3. Karen

    August 5, 2011 at 9:52 pm

    I love this story…the chicks are darling and what a clever momma! If you move will you live where you can take your chickens?
    Karen

    Reply
    • penelopebi

      August 6, 2011 at 11:02 pm

      Absolutely!! I even had them at our house in Pasadena!!!

      Reply
  4. Cathy Tyner

    August 6, 2011 at 1:56 pm

    A real life fairy tale! Mother Nature & you!
    Too wonderful for words.
    Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  5. Dovecote Decor

    August 6, 2011 at 2:17 pm

    I agree, she is one brave and beautiful chicken!
    Best,
    Liz

    Reply
  6. Tracey Jackson

    August 6, 2011 at 8:47 pm

    I love the color of the coops they look like India!

    Reply
  7. velvet and linen

    August 7, 2011 at 5:46 pm

    Our chickens do become part of our families, don’t they?
    I worry about them all, as if they were my children, so I completely understand how you must have felt!

    I’m so glad your story had such a happy ending. Mom and her chicks are adorable and so lucky to have you.

    Meanwhile…Henrietta produced her first egg today. It’s the same color as the walls of your home! I think she’s one of us 🙂

    xo
    Brooke

    Reply
  8. Heather

    August 9, 2011 at 9:42 am

    Oh, I loved this story! We all need a true happy ending now and again. My goodness, you must have been worried. I love that they are safe inside their very zen Balinese home now. 🙂

    Reply
  9. Marina @ YummyMummyKitchen.com

    November 3, 2011 at 4:24 am

    Hi Penelope!
    I just stumbled upon your lovely blog via Velvet and Linen. I’m a fellow Santa Barbara blogger and chicken lover.
    This is just the sweetest post! We only have 4 hens (no roosters) and unfortunately when we have been late getting them into the coop raccoons have gotten several. Your coop and chickens are beautiful.
    Happy new reader,
    Marina @ http://www.yummymummykitchen.com

    Reply
    • penelopebi

      November 3, 2011 at 7:01 am

      Buy some mealworms from grubco.com! just shake that sack….call: chick, chick, chicks! and they will come running! throw the worms toward that back of the coop! (it has to be predator proof or it is cruel to have them….(.sorry) and then shut it! Don’t have chickens if you don;t care deeply about their safety!
      They are so fun to have and to watch; they do depend on us to protect them from predators! Our chickens have instincts………believe me I would like to send some high school students to watch how the mommy chickens teach their babies from the second they hatch……..how to survive! They teach them to rush under the bushes….they teach them how to dig for worms…..they teach them to survive. The Mommy chickens teach their babies to survive, within 3 months; chickens can survive on their own……(although they stuff themselves under their mother………so adorable)

      There is a lesson here!

      This makes me really sad. Call me. 805 969-1110 If you would like help! I have had chickens now for 26 years! 12 years in Pasadena…….14 in Montecito! I can help you!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Search

Let’s Connect!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Subscribe To Get The Latest Post By Email

Penny On Pinterest!

Penny On Instagram!

penelopebianchi

penelopebianchi
I’m sure it’s coming! #blame #wearamask #socia I’m sure it’s coming! #blame #wearamask #socialdistancing #science
Please! #vote #hope #wearamask #lovequotes #hope # Please!
#vote #hope #wearamask #lovequotes #hope #courage #grace #best
New branches! Last ones too “Brobdignagian”!! New branches! Last ones too “Brobdignagian”!! Charlie thinks “cat toy!” #catsofinstagram #branches #quarantine #kitty #grateful #change
Brand new coop! Flock more than doubled! Frizzle f Brand new coop! Flock more than doubled! Frizzle fathered some!!
16 to32!! #quarantine #backyard #backyardchickens #nature #quarantine #return #wearmasks😷  VOTE!!!!!
Oh!!! We are so thrilled!! Back a few times a week Oh!!! We are so thrilled!! Back a few times a week!! Nesting soon??? Hoping!!!
#grateful #nature #barnowls  #habitat #wildlife #pandemic #nurture #wearamask
Animals rule!! Dogs, cats, chickens, wild ducks, o Animals rule!! Dogs, cats, chickens, wild ducks, owls! They help us through!!!
Duck showed up this morning!! Said”hello welcome!!” Cats, dogs treasures along with each other! #wildlife #grateful #nature #quarantine #love #montecito
Follow on Instagram

The Latest Posts by Penny

A Look Back! Living The Dream In 1996

Look what I found! I was on a delightful television program in 1996! It was called “Dream Living”; and it was about people who live in their Dreamhouses. I had seen our house in Pasadena when I was 13 and was determined to live in it someday. And I DID!! It is kind of blurry, …

Montecito Gardens: Our house featured in Santa Barbara Seasons magazine!!!

GLORIOUS GARDENS: FRENCH COUNTRY STYLE MEETS CALIFORNIA COOL Penny Bianchi Interior Decorator and photos by Amy Barnard When Penny and Adam Bianchi bought a modest slice of undeveloped land off of East Valley Road 20 years ago, they had a golden opportunity to build a custom home in the heart of Montecito. The property sits at …

Radisha

This post was originally written in May of 2011, but it has been revised just for you! I have often said that my ideas are really unfulfillable without my treasured “team”.  One of my favorite team members has and will always be my dear friend and talented artist Radisha. He has been creating sensational works …

  • About
  • Contact Penny
  • Gallery
  • Press
  • Subscribe

Site Footer

Search

Copyright © 2021 · McCormick Interiors ·: Designed & Maintained By: The Blogging 911