How could anyone look at day old chicks and not say ahhh! I find it pretty hard to resist doing just that myself, but as most of these are destined to be 'table birds' I think it's a good idea not to let myself get sentimental about it.
These chicks were the first we've ever hatched out ourselves, although we have had chickens before. For the uninitiated (and I was one of those only a couple of months ago) the theory goes; you put fertile eggs in the incubator and 21 days later chicks hatch out, and in their case 18 weeks after that they will be selected as layers, or not! So, you can imagine on Friday morning when I came down and looked into the incubator and saw that one of the shells had a tell-tale crack in it, I was all of a flutter.
It seemed like a good idea to watch the process from start to finish. What better way to learn than to watch. So I gathered around me the essentials for the process - ashtray, tobacco, note book, pencil, glasses, torch (it's pretty gloomily lit, that incubator) large bean bag cushion to sit on - and told Graham that I would be there until it was done.
I have to say that it was a fascinating process to watch, but the whole event took considerably longer than I expected. First pip (that is when a crack appears in the shell) to last viable chick out was a total of 36 hours. I did manage to grab a couple of hours sleep and missed two of the 10 hatchees hatching, but other than that I spent the time watching, writing things down in my normal OCD way and chomping on the occasional sandwich supplied by Graham.
Now here's the thing. Whilst watching the whole process unravel what struck me was how different each of the chicks was, one compared to the other. I've always been really fascinated by the nature / nurture question.
How much personality can a chick have? Well, in my opinion, not much in the real sense of 'personality' but their behaviour and perhaps even intelligence would seem to vary between individuals. Since all of the eggs went into the incubator on the same day, at the same time and have been turned (as eggs are by the hen) automatically for the duration I think we could say that the environment before they hatched was pretty much the same. Not so the way they hatched. Some pipped and then unzipped the egg in a matter of minutes and others took ages - as much as 27 hours - in between.
One particular chick - for the purposes of this blog it shall be known as speedy - found, within a hour or two of hatching that you could peck at drops of condensation in the incubator and drink it. The first time it did it it could have been an accident, but I don't think so. Chicks are left in the incubator for a while after they hatch - say 6 hours or so - while they dry out and fluff up. While waiting for his 'do' to dry, speedy repeatedly visited the corner of the incubator with what look like purpose and pecked at the droplets. I think that would be described as learning.
So, on Saturday evening all 10 of the chicks went into a brooder - basically a cardboard box with a big, warm light over it - and got their first crack at food and water. There are not prizes for guessing which chick got the hang of the feeders first. Yes, speedy.
Another surprise to me was that at a day old the chicks are establishing a pecking order. Despite being 'cute', the main, or perhaps even the only purpose a chick's behaviour serves is to ensure it's survival. Already there are jostles at the feeding station. Some back down and others peck at their rivals until they secure a place at the feeder. They are not quite cuckoos pushing their nest-mates out to certain death, but they are obviously quite prepared to dole out a sharp jab at any sib who gets in the way. Of course to ensure relative peace later on, a pecking order is essential, otherwise there would be constant, energy wasting battles. In other words some chicks just have to know their place from the outset in order that relative harmony can reign.
You see, in nature not all animals would seem to be born equal. Although we like to attribute human feelings and behaviours to animals something tells me that we are missing some valuable lessons from animals - even those as simple as chickens - by muddying the observational waters with sentiment.
We know that humans are not equal, although of course, every person should have the same opportunities as a human right. It's more complex issue for us than which of us gets to the ground cornmeal first, but perhaps there needs to be a stable hierarchy in order for any group of social animals to prosper. Those of us who grew up in the 60's and 70's will remember a lot of social change, and for sure, lots of great changes did happen at that time. Being gay stopped being illegal, being a woman, in the main, stopped meaning you were automatically a second class citizen. Although more could be done a lot a happened in the last 50 years to improve the opportunities people have in life to be well fed, educated, and respected for what they are. However, I do wonder if we've thrown that proverbial baby out with the bath water.
Don't misunderstand. I'm not suggesting that we go back to feudal times when the top guy got to live in luxury while the masses lived in hovels, doffing and forelock tugging to keep a livelihood. I think I'm talking about mentors. And by mentors I am not talking about WAGS, dubious celebrities and people famous only for being famous. So not the girl or boy next door. I think I would like to see authority figures that actually can be respected because they don't treat their jobs simply as a means to get their noses in the trough. If the people at the top are those who can be truly respected I think that might lend more stability to society as a whole.
Speedy(perhaps a politician in another life), just goes for jabbing before getting his cute beak in the trough.
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