House Mommy chicken and her 8 babies - lots of pics!

I have posted before and told ya'll about my house chicken, Frack. She was seriously injured by a roo a earlier this year and recuperated in the kitchen in a dog kennel. She would go out to the front yard during the day but always came in to lay her eggs and at bedtime. She since rejoined the flock after we re-homed that roo, but still pecks at the front door every day to be let in to lay her eggs.

Well, about 3 weeks ago she decided to be a broody house chicken. She layed one egg and I gave her a couple more from the incubator. She has been faithfuly sitting on them. I let her out for every day. She runs around like a crazy chicken, eats, drinks, poops, sometimes dust bathes and then runs back to the front door. Today is day 18, so I've locked down the incubator, but I took four more eggs out and put them next to her. She looked at me like I was crazy, but then lovingly tucked each one underneath, so now she has seven eggs due to hatch any day.

I'm gonna have seven little house chicks! I think it's time to build another coop/run.

 

I can hear the chicks peeping under Frack as they are hatching. She answers their little cries with soft clucking. Its so touching, I have tears in my eyes! No signs of any chicks yet. This is the best experience!

 

We have a chick! Whenever she hears chirping, mama Frack softly clucks and raises her body just a little. Here's the first -



By the way, these are black copper Marans eggs, so they are foster chicks.

I have had hundreds of hatchings, both by 'bator and by broody, but this is the first natural hatching I have ever been able to watch (and hear). It's so exciting!

 

We're up to 4 chicks - mama and babies are doing fine. This is #3. Chick #4 is all silver, so I don't know what he is - I bought all black copper Marans. He hasn't come out for a picture yet.