Hanna & Annie
This past week I experienced another amazing act of kindness by a sweet hand-raised, jump in your lap for love hen named Hanna. She’s been diligently sitting on eggs for the past 3 weeks, and that task paid off with a new little black baby chick recently hatched, I named Annie.They have a separate chicken coop, which I call the baby pen, away from the big coop where the large chickens and turkeys live. This pen is perfect for those brooding chickens and babies, they are completely isolated from the rest of the world.
This particular evening it was feeding time, and Hanna always makes sure her baby gets fed first. This became evident when feeding peas and corn. Hanna, realizing that Annie’s beak was too little to eat these tasty little morsels, began breaking them up into little pieces so that Annie could eat. I watched in awe as that “mother hen” shared food with her chick. What really astonished me was that Hanna didn’t take a single bite of those tasty tidbits which she loves so much – until after Annie got her share and was full.
This particular evening it was feeding time, and Hanna always makes sure her baby gets fed first. This became evident when feeding peas and corn. Hanna, realizing that Annie’s beak was too little to eat these tasty little morsels, began breaking them up into little pieces so that Annie could eat. I watched in awe as that “mother hen” shared food with her chick. What really astonished me was that Hanna didn’t take a single bite of those tasty tidbits which she loves so much – until after Annie got her share and was full.
I’ve always known how incredibly loving hens are and what exceptional mothers they become, but this seemed above and beyond, to me. This was truly heartwarming…
FARM ANIMAL HAVEN SANCTUARY 