I was on my tractor working in the hay field today and saw two separate hens with poults. I had mowed the perimeter of a 10 acre field and when I made the third pass I came upon a hen and 11 poults. Some flew up into small trees at the field edge and some stayed with the hen who slowly walked into the hardwoods. I left them alone for a while so they could re-assemble. They were all headed the same direction indicating they would likely be able to get back together without any problems.
Later on, after I had finished mowing the entire field, I started down a farm road on the opposite end of the farm and ran into another hen with 8 poults. A few of these young took flight as well . I stopped and throttled down for about 5 minutes allowing them opportunity to hear one another and re-assemble.
The first flock appeared to be about 3 weeks old and the second were perhaps just a bit smaller. I'm glad they all were big enough to fly.
I was glad to see such numerous broods given the constant wet spring we've been having in WV.
Two different hens with large broods and a day in the hay without hitting any fawns is a good day indeed.
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