New to farm life. One morning I was screaming “OUT OUT” to all the animals that had taken over my stoep. Ducks, chickens, dogs, cats. That’s when I noticed a new visitor, a pea hen. Standing in my doorway waiting in line for her share of food. “But wait a minute, what are those hiding under her?” They looked like two tiny yellow almost day old chicks and they don’t look like little pea hens. Not that I’d ever seen pea hen babies before. But I’d certainly seen enough baby chickens to see they were “baby chicken’s. I was confused.

Later that afternoon my confusion was cleared up by my neighbor. The story goes: Mommy pea hen had been a resident in the village for quite sometime. Her calls had drawn the attention of moms and grans far and wide.  It was discovered on investigation that she was the only pea hen in the entire village. No other pea hens or pea cocks in site. Her loneliness drove her to a life of crime, she was constantly poaching hen’s eggs or their babies. A plan had be made.

So one day while she was out grabbing a bit to eat, a helpful human gran (my neighbor) popped a few fertile egg into her nest. A few weeks later out popped her two new surrogate babies. Pea hen was in her element and those babies were the safest little chickens in the village.

It might have been a little confusing to her when it was time for them to fly over fences and they simple couldn’t, but she always made a plan.  Over time the little chickens grew up and slowly started scratching with the other chickens who apprehensively allowed them into their circle with large mother in tow.

On the farms its not uncommon to see hens with guineafowl babies, ducks with hen mothers or peahens with chicken babies. Where ever there is a human heart involved no boundary is to great to cross when it comes to helping a mom out.