Life on a ranch is never easy, but it seems it may be at its hardest when a new batch of chicks are welcomed into the fold.
At least, that’s how a recent video from TikTok user Laurel Ysebaert (@laurelysebaert) makes it seem, after the “ranch boss” nearly lost several little lives to the suicidal nature of chickens.
The video itself is both educational and hilarious, with just enough charm tossed it in to make it an instant winner. It shows as Ysebaert and a mama hen welcome a smattering of little ones into the fold, before quickly devolving into chaos when Ysebaert realizes how much danger her little chickies are in.
See, Ysebaert loaded up the space with rat traps, to keep the pesky vermin at bay, but didn’t realize she’d booby-trapped the area until too late. As a result, she was left in a blind panic as the brand-new babies went scuttling around the hay, several times flirting with death as they danced around loaded traps.
Thankfully, none of the chicks lost their lives by rat trap, but their attempts to unalive themselves didn’t end with the pest control measures. Once they were freed from the hen house and directed to “go find mom,” the chicks immediately made their way straight to the dog. Birdie is a hard worker, to be sure, but who can blame her for taking an immediate interest in a couple of bite-sized snacks, particularly when they waltz right up to her?
It seems even Birdie’s killer instinct wasn’t enough to end the fresh additions to the Ysebaert family, based on the clear relief Ysebaert displays at the tail end of her video. She was able to get between her eager pup and the suicidal chicks, allowing them to live another day.
The tendency to unsubscribe from life is apparently a common one among chickens and their young, something commenters quickly confirmed in response to the video. Quite a few fellow poultrymen chimed into explain that the hardest part of the job is simply keeping the little bastards alive, and that’s a sentiment backed up by numerous experts.
The reason behind that suicidal nature is far less clear, however. While its an agreed-upon constant that chickens seek death with a truly Millennial zeal, it’s far less known why they thirst for the sweet release of the other side. There are a million things that can kill a chicken, of course, from swallowing something too large and choking to being pecked to death by their fellows, but their own recklessness is just as a frequent a cause.
As such, its generally agreed upon that you should always be prepared to lose a few chickens. Whether it be to dogs, worms, becoming egg bound, or a hangry Birdie, there’s a fair chance that anyone who tries their hand at chicken farming will experience a loss or three. Its all part of the reality of raising chickens, but if you want to see your chicks reach adulthood, here’s a pro tip: Keep them far from any rogue rat traps, and farther from hungry dogs.