I have been fortunate to share our baby chickens with young family and friends who come to visit. They want to know if they can pet the baby chickens. “If you can catch them”, I tell them. Hen-raised chicks are wary of humans (they have yet to learn that we are the ultimate source of their food) so the best time to socialize them is when they have gone to bed. I seat the human, then extract a chick from under Calamity Jane where she sleeps with them in the nest boxes. I tell the human “Put one hand against your chest, palm up, and the other hand on top of the chick to keep it calm and warm.” And I tell the chick, “It’s OK, sweet baby chicken. Shhhhhh……”

Jewel was a model chick-holder

Leila was not entirely sure how best to hold her chick

My nieces Kinsey, Evy, and Clara, each with her own chick

Enzo was a natural