Six weeks old seems big enough for their first field trip.
I probably should have tried doing this sooner. But digging deep into the interwebs trying to learn all you can about potential chicken-predators will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.
And keep your baby chickens under lock and key.
So I waited until what seemed like a safe age and determined a safe place (fenced in, that is)
and chose several helpers (only requirement being that they were bigger than a hawk) and off we went.
Down to the garden.
It was a beautiful day and the chicks, after a bit of an anxious start, got busy with all the pecking and digging and scratching that chickens are so fond of.
Oh, and running around. There was lots and lots of running around.
The kids got busy, too – happily digging up worms and catching unsuspecting grasshoppers to try to feed to the chicks.
But the recipients were not so sure. One poor grasshopper made several successful escapes from the semi-uninterested chicks but continued to be recaptured by Tallula (who is surprisingly good at bug-catching). Finally he was pecked at enough that his legs came off and all he could do was wait to be consumed by the only chick brave enough to eat him.
Chickens can be brutal.
They can also be adorable.
And funny. 
And surprisingly huggable.
Because much of the garden was past its prime, we didn’t have to worry about the chickens getting into anything and could let them roam and scratch and peck wherever their hearts desired..
Honestly, I needn’t have worried anyway. They were all curious and busy… but not nearly as destructive as I feared they’d be. Seems that chicks raised without a mama hen to show them what to eat (and not eat) tend to err on the side of caution when trying new foods.
And our chicks seem to be doing this very thing.
So, to the kids’ disappointment, significantly fewer worms and bugs were consumed than they’d expected.
But, even better than bug-eating, the afternoon provided a fun opportunity to watch our little chickens be little chickens.
Which resulted in a lot more chicken-hugging because, well… they’re pretty darn cute.
Especially with flowers in their hair.
Er, feathers.
Which is a really good thing, because catching these little ladies turned out to be ridiculously more tiresome than turning them loose.