Celia Hart's blog about what's going on in and around her studio.
Art, printmaking, inspirations, gardening, vegetables, hens, landscapes, wild flowers, East Anglia, adventure, travel.

Tuesday, 5 July 2011

Breakfast time in the coop

The Black Cochin hen is totally engrossed in teaching her new brood of nine chicks to peck their food – yes, the little weak chick is up and about with the others. I don't think any more words are necessary . . . I'll let you watch while I get down to work (a digital artwork commission for some rather diverse maps - I may be quiet for some time!)



In case you're wondering why there is a pretty blue gingham tablecloth in the coop – it's not just to make it look cute; tiny chicks' legs are very delicate and if their feet can't grip on the floor they skid and do the splits resulting in the bones setting at the wrong angle and a crippled chick; so a rough textured tea-towel makes a perfect floor covering for little feet.

Celia
x
Posted by Celia Hart on Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Labels:

22 comments:

  1. Anonymous5 July 2011 at 10:10

    Oh, they are so gorgeous! Nine, you say? What a great job the hen did.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Martin and Amy5 July 2011 at 10:18

    Nine!

    Are they all cochins?

    Martin :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Celia Hart5 July 2011 at 10:27

    None are Cochins Martin, they are a mixed bunch of pure breeds:
    the dark chicks are Wheaten Marans (we hope! but they may be something else!); the plain grey ones are Lavener Araucana (like my cockerel Tarragon - pleeeeeease let them me girlies!); the little auburn stripy ones are golden silkies; and the tiny grey blond stripy ones are silver partridge Pekin bantams.
    Now we have to guess which are the boys!

    Celia

    ReplyDelete
  4. jamjar5 July 2011 at 10:47

    nine chicks! so pleased you got chicks in the end, they are so sweet to watch, well done to the black Cochin mum : )

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wendy5 July 2011 at 11:06

    What great news! I love the bossiness of broodies; come here, eat this, now have a nap, have a drink, get in the house, come for a walk, another nap. Constant repetition to help them learn.
    I love it at about day ten when they start 'surfing' on mum's back.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous5 July 2011 at 11:16

    That's made my day. Adorable.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Claire5 July 2011 at 11:42

    Oh Celia, they are just gooorgeous, so sweet..........

    I love how they instinctively know what to do, peck and scratch around. What a proud mama, she's done a wonderful job hatching 9 bubs.

    It will be interesting to see how many are hens or roosters........

    Claire :}

    ReplyDelete
  8. Frances5 July 2011 at 13:32

    Another fine film, Celia!

    I love watching this pecking lesson. Looks as if one of the chicks needed quite a lot of encouraging to finally find its place at the table.

    The teatowel is a great idea.

    Best wishes on your map making. xo

    ReplyDelete
  9. petoskystone5 July 2011 at 13:34

    how lovely! glad the weakly chick is up & about, hope it stays that way. i hadn't realized how delicate chicks were. the only chicks i've ever been around were my grandmothers' meat chickens, & they didn't live long enough for an incorrect bone set to matter.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous5 July 2011 at 16:35

    love the one with the white bum but they are all gorgeous !!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ocean Breezes and Country Sneezes5 July 2011 at 22:16

    Just delightful and fun to watch!

    ReplyDelete
  12. do you mind if i knit6 July 2011 at 17:25

    I like the little chick with the black body and the white bottom who takes a fancy to pecking the tea towel. Congratulations Celia! I'm so pleased they hatched, I had thought nothing was going to happen, so what a wonderful surprise! Nine chicks seems like a very healthy brood, she's going to have her work cut out keeping them in order. Just imagine how adorable they're going to look when they're following her around, too cute. You must be so excited!!!!!!!! Love Vanessa xxx

    ReplyDelete
  13. do you mind if i knit7 July 2011 at 09:50

    I've just returned for the second time to have a look at the Chicks and their Mum. I don't know if I've ever said I love her, she is so beautiful. Would it be possible to see her next to a human to get an idea of her scale, because she always seems like the most enormous fluffiest hen I've ever seen! Love Vanessa xxx

    ReplyDelete
  14. suburban veg gardener8 July 2011 at 19:02

    So so cute! Posts like this make me tempted to hatch my own chicks but I can't bear the idea of what I'd do with the boys...

    ReplyDelete
  15. Jan8 July 2011 at 19:42

    Good gravy! I'm a city girl, I guess. I had no idea that chicks or hens ate hard boiled eggs....I learned something new today, which is always a good sign.

    They are adorable, and the Mom is so beautiful and attentive. A wonderful beginning for these little ones.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Penny9 July 2011 at 10:28

    Oh my what beautiful little chicks and such a glorious proud mama hen xox

    ReplyDelete
  17. Matron9 July 2011 at 23:11

    Delightful!

    ReplyDelete
  18. millefeuilles10 July 2011 at 10:33

    Congratulations on the happy arrivals! Higgledy, Piggledy My Black Hen was be a very proud mother indeed.

    I simply wanted to say I love your work and I shall be making a purchase soon....

    ReplyDelete
  19. LES VIGNETTES11 July 2011 at 14:52

    wonderful !

    ReplyDelete
  20. mycuriousteaparty11 July 2011 at 15:20

    SO CUTE! What a great little film. Thankyou.

    ReplyDelete
  21. PotterJotter12 July 2011 at 11:40

    Glad I double-checked as I thought you had taken to having breakfast at the Co-Op!! They are sooooo cute!

    ReplyDelete
  22. littlekarstar27 July 2011 at 12:16

    Adorable!!!!!!! Hoping you get lots of girls!

    ReplyDelete

I love reading all the comments (except for spam and advertising which I will delete) and I'll reply here in the comments under each blog post, it may take a few days if I'm busy.
You don't need to have a blog to leave a comment, you can select the name/URL option and fill in just your name instead of a blog link.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)