Our summer chicks raised by a real mum

We had some very special additions to our family this summer!  After trying to tell us many times that she wanted to sit on some of her OWN eggs, we finally let our broody hen sit on come eggs. It was all so cute, I wanted to share some pictures with you.

We call this one Bessie.  She is a Dominique hen and is a little over a year old.  She's been getting broody off and on since she was about 7 months old.  'Getting broody' means a hen just hunkers down on her nest and refuses to get off.  She shifts into sitting mode, and stops laying eggs.  

I got so tired of this, that early in our summer, I decided to just let her do it.  Above and below you can see where.  We have a bottomless chicken tractor we use for some of our chickens.  We put a plastic tub in there w/ some straw for her nest.  She had her own food and water.  Then I put 3 eggs which were from her sister, presumably fertilized by our New Hampshire Red rooster, Barry. 

She did great!!  She got up once per day when I opened her pen.  She did her business, bossed around all the other chickens for a few minutes while she stretched her legs and had a dust bath.  Broodie hens are always very fluffed up, vocal and bitchy. Then back on her eggs she went.  She did this for almost 3 weeks!!  After 10 days, we candled the eggs (with a flashlight in the dark) to see if they were developing into chicks or just rotten eggs.  Turns out, we were 3 for 3.

Then, on my daughter Amelia's birthday, they hatched!!  I totally did not plan this, but how cool did that turn out?  See above me lifting a really annoyed Bessie off her chicks so we could see?  

 And here you can see all 3 of them and some leftover shell.  They're so cute!!!!!  They just sat under her and embedded themselves in and under her wings for a few days.  But by the time they were a week old, they were running around outside, jumping up on a perch and sleeping on their mom's back.

 Every night I saw this and it was so cute I think I have about 50 pictures of it.  

Striking a pose on the back deck.  Because I didn't really NEED these 3 new chickens, I decided to just let their mom raise them free-range, but in the back yard where they had more cover.  They all did great.  I never did get out to get them chick-starter after I ran out when they were 2 weeks old.  So they grew up on their mom's whole grain feed, our left-overs and whatever they could forage over the summer (which is substantial, really).  After about 6 weeks, the chicks got fairly independent and Bessie got tired of looking after them and having them sleep on her, so she re-joined the flock and started laying again.

At the time I write this, we are down to 2 chicks.  I think a hawk got one during the day... it happens sometimes, unfortunately.  And Bessie has gone broody again.  Not this time, sister.  However, if she does it again in late Feb/March, I think I'll buy some fertilized eggs of a breed I want and let her raise them.  I think she does a much better job than I do.