A few weeks ago I gave my sister a pot of pansies. She has had it on her porch on a table between the chairs that she and her husband sit in to enjoy the outdoors. Last weekend she sent a picture of the nest a robin had built in the pot of pansies. I told her “If I were a robin I would build my nest there.” She wasn’t sure if the robin would lay eggs and raise babies there because she and her husband sit there often. Apparently, the robin is undeterred. 🙂 When I last talked to her there were two eggs in the nest.

If I were a bird I would not want to be a kildeer. On Thursday my husband and I witnessed a pair of kildeer with their three young babies. If you are not familiar with kildeer you can learn more about them here. I didn’t have my camera with me, but I doubt if I would have gotten any good photos as they were always in motion. The babies, which are up and running around within hours of hatching, are so cute, but boy do those parents have their wings full keeping track of the babies. It’s a good thing that both parents raise the young together as they usually have 3-5 babies (running every which way) and while the babies feed themselves, they are unable to fly until they are about 25 days old, thus they need protection from predators.

If I were a bird, I would likely be a chicken – in fact I’m sure I was called a mother hen more than once when my ‘chicks’ were young. 🙂 Much like kildeer, baby chickens are up and out of the nest very quickly. They also eat and drink on their own but rely on their mother (or humans) for warmth and protection. The rooster does not help raise chicks, but mother hens are generally very attentive and protective of their chicks.

We currently have several hens that are broody. If Buff Orpingtons have any fault, it’s their tendency to go broody. About two weeks ago we gave 10 eggs to one of the hens, the Buff Orpington in the corner of the picture below. Since then one of our Jersey Giants (the black hen pictured below) decided to share the parenting responsibilities.

Most of the time when the buff was on the nest the jersey would nestle up beside her. Sometimes the jersey would sneak a couple of the eggs and put them under herself. If the buff would leave the nest the jersey would take over. We did mark the original 10 eggs because sometimes we find an extra egg or two in the nest. Saturday my husband split the eggs giving each hen 5 eggs and so far the hens seem content that they each have their own clutch. We don’t know how long that will last.

We have about a week to wait until the babies are due to hatch. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. I would love to have some little chicks running around and watch momma(s) raising them. I’ll keep you posted.

If you were a bird what kind of bird would you be? What kind of bird would you not want to be?