Today was an exciting day. Hootie, my broody pullet (do I call her a hen now that she has hatched chicks, even though she's barely 10 months old?), took her babies out into the run for the first time. She's doing a fantastic job with her chicks; hopefully I can get pictures of them out an about tomorrow.
Unfortunately, Reba, one of my almost 5 week old chicks, did not have a great day. I found her stuck in the electric net fencing this evening. Luckily, there is so much vegetation right now that the fence isn't very hot, but she was still pretty traumatized by her experience. I had a work event all day and was gone from 6 am to 7 pm, so I don't know how long she was stuck. I'm 90% sure that Hootie was the one who chased her into the fence, because my other chickens are fairly laid back, but Hootie (even before she had chicks to "defend") has always been an aggressive leader for the flock. Except for being terrified, Reba doesn't seem to be any worse for wear. She was happy to be saved and returned to her panic room when I found her. The rest of the littles had no interest in leaving the panic room this evening, and I don't blame them! I'm crossing my fingers that Hootie will settle down a little as her chicks grow and allow me to get these girls fully integrated in the next couple of weeks.
LOL!!!
beautiful babies. I love the pics of them perching. 
