Chicks Are Alright

I climbed the hay mow ladder to look for my mother hen and chicks after work today. I am always worried about what I will find. Yesterday I went up there and, to my horror, she had taken her brood to the end of the hay mow, away from the sheltered area. I had put a crate there for her to run into with the chicks to get away from the cats. That way she could do her dive bombing in one direction instead of the cats coming in from all around. But now she was out in the wide open, too far away to make a run for the crate. I was out the door to work and didn't have any time to chase them around. You've never seen anything scatter in all directions like chicks you are trying to catch. I had also put her food and water in a corner nearby the crate. The tiniest chicks drink water all the time, unlike kittens, puppies, lambs and kids who get their liquid from mom. I found mom in her corner heating up the chicks, which she does periodically, and filled up the dry-as-a-bone water dish. Suddenly the little fluff balls came running out from under her to drink water. I counted seven! Mom and all the peepers drank and drank. I watched them for a while and all my worries floated away. What heaven. All creatures should have a loving and talented mother hen like this one. I poured a lot of cat food in the hay mow kitties bowl to thank them for not eating the chicks and leaving the mother alone. I wish I had stock in the cat food company...