Big Mama and her Babies

I went to check on Big Mama hen and her two chicks that hatched on Sunday. She got mad because I had to reach under her to get them: 

You see she's aggravated with me. She pecks HARD, in case you wondered. But not bad enough to draw blood so, I reached under and got them anyway. 

The yellow one hatched from a blue egg and it could have been Big Mama's own egg. The gray one hatched from a brown egg and that had to be Niquie's egg, because Sassafrass was too busy raising her brood to lay eggs until just this week. Niquie decided she'd go broody, too, but not until Big Mama was already setting on that brown egg. The hens don't care-the babies they hatch are theirs. 

When I put the chicks down, one went straight back to Big Mama.

The other decided to go a-visiting:

Niquie says hi. The babe took that as an invite in.

Chick raising can be a communal effort. Niquie didn't mind at all when the little one climbed on her.

You can barely tell, because the chick blends, but she's burrowing into Niquie's feathers.

And that's one reason why raising chickens is so fun. Happy Tuesday!