Helping Another Mother

Today being Mother's Day, I had to offer a helping hand to another mother. I feel she could handle things on her own, but Pop didn't think so. With him having a weak stomach,and I mean 'really weak', I was elected to help.The Mother Hen already had 4 healthy chicks, and another peeking through the shell. Well, you would think, with Pop growing up on a farm, as he did, he wouldn't have thought a thing about that.But he was worried, the newest chick might be having trouble getting out of the shell.The Mother Hen is a really vicious hen, anytime she is disturbed.Whether it be sitting on the nest, while laying an egg each day, or setting on eggs to be hatched. She is bad. I had to adorn myself with a pair of heavy leather gloves to move her to the coup she's in now, away from the other chickens. Nevertheless, I took the partially hatched chick out of the coup and to the house to work with it.Both grandchildren watching my every move and popping every imaginable question during the process. I slowly picked the shell off the chick, leaving a small portion for it to continue feeding on, just in case.We gathered some dried fresh cut grass from yesterday's mowing, and put it in a little wooden box, and turned a lamp on over the chick.We'd cup it in our hands occasionally, and rub it's down with the grass, trying to be gentle, but yet drying it's down to a fluff.It was beginning to look more like a new chick. I hope we did it no harm, by doing this. We chose to put it back with it's mother, hoping she could handle it from there.There is no guarantee it will make it,but we tried.I'll try to post an update on the new baby chicks.I have 2 batches now. Five from the flea market, and so far five from our hen, if all goes well.The grandchildren are loving every minute of it.But then, that why we do these kinds of things.For them to enjoy and be exposed to the farm life just a bit.