- Every chick deserves a mother: one man’s crazy dream for how chickens deserve to be raised.
Follow "A Man and His Hoe" via Email
Sections
- About My Chickens (550)
- Cooking-Roasting Tips (18)
- Happiness (127)
- How Things Grow (506)
- Purchasing Chickens (5)
- Raising Chicks (138)
- Recipes (19)
- Reflections (410)
-
Recent Posts
- The End of May May 31, 2020
- Newer, Bigger, Better May 22, 2020
- Summer in May May 13, 2020
- Apple Blossoms and Magical Shoots May 2, 2020
- Where is Kaku 隠? April 27, 2020
- How Does a Bee Pick a Flower? April 21, 2020
- Dog or Bear? April 18, 2020
- What Sunshine and Warm Air Brings April 5, 2020
- Where Everyone Gathers March 29, 2020
- Enjoy Them Today March 21, 2020
- The Snow Geese Migration Is On March 18, 2020
- The World is Curvy March 7, 2020
- Little Known Connections – Japanese Curry and Vermont March 4, 2020
- Hello Again March 1, 2020
- Edison Chicken Parade 2020 February 24, 2020
- Apple Aged February 15, 2020
- Swan Heaven February 8, 2020
- Winter’s Last Day February 3, 2020
- Take a Shower for Six Months February 2, 2020
- How Does a Trumpeter Swan Wash Its Face? January 26, 2020
- Mystery Solved January 19, 2020
- One Last Wintery Dawn January 18, 2020
- Winter Interlude January 14, 2020
- Worries Away January 11, 2020
- A Mystery Rose January 3, 2020
- An Auspicious Start January 2, 2020
- December Blue and Green December 29, 2019
- Frosty December 28, 2019
- Too Wet for the Ducks December 22, 2019
- For Mid-December It May as Well Be a Sunny Day December 17, 2019
- OK, Boomer December 15, 2019
- Know Your Body – Know Your Feathers December 8, 2019
- Chaos Must Work December 1, 2019
- Not Ready to Grow Up November 26, 2019
- All Together Now November 16, 2019
- (no title) November 15, 2019
- All the Leaves are Gone November 5, 2019
- Indigo Fall October 29, 2019
- Snow Geese and the Last Dandelion October 23, 2019
- Autumn is Just as Colorful as Spring October 18, 2019
- First Frost October 9, 2019
- How Did I Get So Lucky? October 8, 2019
- Who Eats Apples? October 6, 2019
- October Sky October 1, 2019
- Still Alive September 27, 2019
- One of the Best! Or Not September 26, 2019
- What You Don’t Know May Kill You September 25, 2019
- Change Is Coming September 23, 2019
- Learning to Share September 21, 2019
- Barefoot Gardening September 15, 2019
Recent Comments
Haveela Kunche on Apple Blossoms and Magical Sho… amanandhishoe on Dog or Bear? James Hays on Dog or Bear? Cindy Dowdell on Enjoy Them Today Ingrid Hinton on The Snow Geese Migration Is On Archives
- May 2020 (4)
- April 2020 (4)
- March 2020 (6)
- February 2020 (5)
- January 2020 (7)
- December 2019 (7)
- November 2019 (4)
- October 2019 (7)
- September 2019 (8)
- August 2019 (6)
- July 2019 (6)
- June 2019 (7)
- May 2019 (5)
- April 2019 (9)
- March 2019 (8)
- February 2019 (13)
- January 2019 (15)
- December 2018 (10)
- November 2018 (9)
- October 2018 (13)
- September 2018 (8)
- August 2018 (9)
- July 2018 (8)
- June 2018 (8)
- May 2018 (8)
- April 2018 (10)
- March 2018 (9)
- February 2018 (8)
- January 2018 (9)
- December 2017 (10)
- November 2017 (10)
- October 2017 (17)
- September 2017 (12)
- August 2017 (11)
- July 2017 (8)
- June 2017 (11)
- May 2017 (10)
- April 2017 (12)
- March 2017 (11)
- February 2017 (11)
- January 2017 (15)
- December 2016 (20)
- November 2016 (15)
- October 2016 (14)
- September 2016 (17)
- August 2016 (20)
- July 2016 (20)
- June 2016 (23)
- May 2016 (19)
- April 2016 (19)
- March 2016 (24)
- February 2016 (22)
- January 2016 (24)
- December 2015 (19)
- November 2015 (19)
- October 2015 (24)
- September 2015 (22)
- August 2015 (26)
- July 2015 (26)
- June 2015 (23)
- May 2015 (30)
- April 2015 (35)
- March 2015 (36)
- February 2015 (31)
- January 2015 (35)
- December 2014 (31)
- November 2014 (34)
- October 2014 (37)
- September 2014 (35)
- August 2014 (52)
- July 2014 (54)
- June 2014 (50)
- May 2014 (67)
- April 2014 (55)
- March 2014 (34)
- February 2014 (23)
- January 2014 (33)
- December 2013 (20)
- November 2013 (3)
Tag Archives: Raising chickens
Transitions
The gang of 5 chicks born March 25 are nearly a month old and spending more time away from their mother. This afternoon I found them resting together, their mother happily feeding by herself. While these one day chicks, born … Continue reading
First Post Child Rearing Egg
Hens lay special eggs at times. There is the very first egg they lay, which is a tiny egg. There is the first egg they lay after their winter lull. These eggs also tend to be smaller. And then there … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens, Raising Chicks
Tagged Agriculture, Chicken, Humanely raised chicken, Raising chickens
Leave a comment
The Importance of Siblings
Next to a mother, siblings are the most important relationships young chickens have. When you go shopping for chicken and eggs, the fact that chickens develop such relationships probably doesn’t cross your mind. But chicks which are raised by their … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens, Raising Chicks
Tagged Humanely raised chicken, Raising chickens
4 Comments
Chicken Love – Blink and It’s Over
Ten seconds. That’s usually all it takes. When there is no chase, knock off five seconds. But the rooster doesn’t get the hen every time. Sometimes she out runs him. Sometimes another rooster steps in the way. Sometimes another rooster … Continue reading
Chick Adventure in the Wild
What a morning for these five day old chicks. When their mother tries to lure them through a stream, they panic. The water is too deep for them. Separated from her, the chicks chirp loudly, begging her to come back. … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens, Raising Chicks
Tagged Humanely raised chicken, Raising chickens
Leave a comment
Why Chicks Deserve a Mother – Reason #2
Another reason chicks deserve a mother is that with a mother, they get to go outside at a very early age. These chicks are just four days old and they are having the time of their lives scratching around outdoors … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens, Raising Chicks
Tagged Humanely raised chicken, Raising chickens
1 Comment
Why Chicks Deserve a Mother – Reason #1
Imelda is curious about the new chicks. The last few days, she’s spent a fair amount of time hanging out with the new mom and her chicks. Is she wanting to hatch eggs of her own? Does she think the … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens, Raising Chicks
Tagged Agriculture, Humanely raised chicken, Raising chickens
Leave a comment
A Very Safe Place
The wonderful thing about letting mothers raise chicks is that you don’t need to keep the chicks under heat lamps. Whenever the chicks need to warm up, they can duck under their mother’s warm feathers for a rest. The other … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens, Raising Chicks
Tagged Humanely raised chicken, Raising chickens
Leave a comment
The Lucky Ones
This is a sure sign of spring, the first chicks of the year. They hatched yesterday, and this is their very first morning. These are the lucky ones. The tiny, nearly infinitesimal percentage of chicks born each year which develop … Continue reading
Five Blossoms
Five open blossoms is what it takes for the meteorologists in Japan to proclaim that the cherry blossoms have bloomed in a city. In each city, there is one tree which is declared the reference tree, and when five blossoms … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens
Tagged Agriculture, Birds, Humanely raised chicken, Raising chickens
Leave a comment
Counting Eggs and More
Tomorrow is egg delivery day. Most of the eggs are used by Tweets Cafe, but some are destined for retail sale. Those cartons get special treatment so that when customers purchase them and open them, they get a nice surprise … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens
Tagged Agriculture, Humanely raised chicken, Raising chickens
Leave a comment
Hazel
Hazel is nine months old. Here are some pictures of her from June of 2013, July of 2013, December 2013, and March of 2014. She has stunning patterns on her feathers, and with her naked neck, she cuts quite the … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens
Tagged Agriculture, Humanely raised chicken, Raising chickens
Leave a comment
Working Mother To Be
So what is life like for a mother-to-be hen? Most of the time, day and night, it is sitting quietly on her eggs. She is also gently turning the eggs many times a day. This keeps the embryo centered in … Continue reading
Maple or Ina?
It’s easy to tell chickens apart when they are as different as Ina and Maple. But how does one tell chickens apart when they look very similar? Chickens of the same breed have slight variations in their color, shape, size, … Continue reading
Mother and Daughter
The relationships mother hens have with their chicks can be rich. Watch hens interact with their chicks, and it’s clear that chicks need their mothers.
Chicken Love
Five year old Billy and one of the hens who like him. Hens have their favorite roosters, and Billy is well liked for being a kind rooster. The oldest rooster at a man and his hoe®, he has the longest … Continue reading
Snow Day
We woke up to five inches of fluffy snow. Not the chickens favorite weather. Fortunately, the forecast is for much warmer weather tomorrow and the rest of the week, so the snow will be gone soon. When it’s cold and … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens
Tagged Agriculture, Birds, Humanely raised chicken, Raising chickens
Leave a comment
Growing Up Is Hard
Life is full of challenges. Things are always changing. Nothing stays the same. And it’s as true for chicks as it is for us. The Milky Way galaxy we live in is moving at some 1,350,000 miles an hour through … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens, Raising Chicks
Tagged Agriculture, Birds, Humanely raised chicken, Raising chickens
Leave a comment
Surprises Every Day
When you let your chickens run free, you never know what they will do or where they will go. A few days ago I heard a rattling in the shed we use to store hay and straw, and where our … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens, Raising Chicks
Tagged Agriculture, Birds, Humanely raised chicken, Raising chickens
Leave a comment
A Chick Grows Up
Words lack the capability to describe the love and care a mother hen showers on her chicks. You have to see it to understand how important mother hens are to chicks. Born at the end of November, the chick at … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens, Happiness, Raising Chicks
Tagged Agriculture, Birds, Humanely raised chicken, Raising chickens
Leave a comment
