It's hard to pin down when she started. But our Silkie chicken has been broody for over a month. We have no roosters so the eggs she lays are not viable chicks. But she sat faithfully anyway. It is incredibly touching to see her dedication, such that when we take her outside to get a bit of fresh air she runs around for a few minutes, than
waits impatiently at the door to be let back in.
Two weeks ago a friend offered to give us fertile eggs to reward her maternal efforts. They arrived today in a box with a hand warmer, care of her sister. We gently slid them under the little white mother, who nudged them safely into her downy breast with her beak. Incredible. She sits for twenty three and a half hours a day. Something inside of her says that these precious lives are worth
protecting.
Our blessings were doubled when another friend offered us fertilized chicks as well, and handed four eggs in a shoe box to the twins at the end of school last week. Hence there are currently six little orbs of different colors in her box. Two could hatch tomorrow, the rest not for another eighteen days. We are delighted.
Will our Silkie know how to care for them? What will happen if they hatch at different times? There
are no guarantees when it comes to chicks, hence the warning not to count them prematurely. But her faithfulness astounds me.
The eggs offer zero feedback as measured by sound, movement or changes in color. It is possible that the chicks inside the two shells that came today may cheep quietly tomorrow in anticipation of tapping through the shell. How sweet is that? I may camp out in the dining room all day.
I wonder at my own
diligence in caring for the potential life God has put in my care. How have I done? Some of the relationships I try to nurture give little feedback. Do I shrug my shoulders and quit? I think the image of this small bird will linger for a long time in my heart. May I be as constant.
