Momma Turkey Hen Hatches Baby Chicken

Momma Turkey Hen Hatches Baby Chicken and many lessons are learned. I am sitting on my front porch watching my turkey (hen) venture onto the porch with us (her family) and her baby (a baby chick that she hatched!).  

“Momma” has been so protective of her baby since she hatched the chicken. We had been taking eggs that she had been laying and replacing them with chicken eggs. We sure didn’t know the eggs had been fertilized, but sure enough a baby chick was hatched and born to a momma turkey! Our family has been watching them meticulously. The love the turkey and chick have for one another is genuine and just plain adorable.

Turkey and Baby Chick Playing in the Azalea Garden
Turkey and Baby Chick Playing in the Azalea Garden

The momma turkey takes such pride in her baby and parades her around the yard, yet she is very careful not to allow us venture too close to them. Just yesterday I was looking for the chick and I knew she had to be somewhere near the hen. I couldn’t find the baby and began to wonder if  a predator had gotten the chick. I didn’t even hear it.

Well, “Momma” let me know by fanning out her wings and treating me a little like a common criminal that her baby must be somewhere close. The baby then stepped out of the bushes. This reminded me of the way you get in between your child and strangers at the store that look a little shady or something.

The momma turkey takes such pride in her baby as she parades her baby around the yard, yet she is very careful not to allow us venture too close to them. Just yesterday I was looking for the chick and I knew she had to be somewhere near the hen. I couldn’t find the baby and began to wonder if  a predator had gotten the chick. I didn’t even hear it. “Momma” let me know by fanning out her wings a little and treating me a little like a common criminal that her baby must be somewhere close. The baby then stepped out of the bushes. This reminded me of the way you get in between your child and strangers at the store that look a little shady or something.

Turkey Mom and Baby Chick
Turkey Mom and Baby Chick

The baby chick mimics everything that the “Momma” does. The hen has taught the chick to find bugs and eat, to stay very close by, and to follow her every move. I need to make sure that I am the example I need to be to my own baby chicks. They will mimic my good and my bad!

Baby Chick Taking a Ride on Momma Turkey
Baby Chick Taking a Ride on Momma Turkey

One Sunday morning before church, my daughter was watching the hen and chick and came in frantically to get the camera. We went to see what was going on. A beautiful sight greeted us.

We had a fenced-in area around the place in which the turkey had chosen to lay and “hatch” all her eggs. We had not opened the fence yet, and the sun was blazing onto the area. The “momma” had her wing spread out over the baby protecting the chick from the harsh sun. I would have thought it was from a hawk or some other predator, but to my knowledge, there was none around. She cared about the comfort of her chick, just as we moms care for our children’s comfort.

I am always comforted to know that just as this “momma” knows the chick’s needs before the chick does, God knows our needs before we know them. Psalm 91: 1-2 says, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.”

I am reminded every time I see the sweet turkey “momma” and the baby chick how much our Father God takes care of us and how I can trust in Him. “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your cares upon him, for he careth for you.” Peter 5: 6-7.

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4 Comments

  1. Kate Wilson says:

    Awe, I love that you have a momma turkey and baby chick! So funny! And what a beautiful picture of love and family that God created! 🙂

    1. Stacy Harris says:

      Thanks Kate! Isn’t it neat how God portrays families in all of life from plants to animals to us. God is good to allow us to see Himself and His ideas all about us.

  2. Roger Harkins says:

    Why didn’t you let her raise her own babies?

    1. Stacy Harris says:

      Hi Roger! Good to hear from you. We don’t have a gobbler to fertilize her eggs. That is our next project though. I will keep you posted on that.

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