I actually have a card to share with you today, but first I must write this post. It's just too fun!
A little background: Crazy Dark Brown Hen went missing about a month or more ago. We were sad. Then one day, Alan saw her milling around with the other chickens. All was good. Then she went missing again...
We figured she'd made herself a little nest somewhere hidden from view and was sitting on who KNOWS how many eggs! Did you know it only takes 21 days for an egg to develop into a full-sized, ready to hatch chick?
One day, Alan saw her go into the TALL weeded area near our drain field, so at least we knew where she was. We just couldn't find her nest. It rained and rained and RAINED for several days and nights. I was sure that she would get rained out of her little hidden nest, or if she managed to stay on her nest, that the eggs would take in too much water and wouldn't hatch.
Then one day, Alan saw her out on the sidewalk all fluffed out like she was guarding baby chicks under her wings! Sure enough! She not only managed to survive her time sitting, but she also managed to hatch some babies even though we received several inches of rain during that time!
To keep her and her babies safe, we've been keeping them in a brooder until they were a bit bigger and could better tolerate being around the larger chickens. I started letting them out during the day so they can run around and be busy little chickens, but still keeping them in the brooder at night for safety.
Yesterday evening while I was out and about taking photos on the farm, I found Crazy Dark Brown Hen next to the garage getting her and her babies ready for bed. How they managed to get on top of a double stack of hay bales is beyond me. They're just so little, they must have really given it their all.
These photos aren't the greatest ... the sun was almost set, I was in the shadow of the garage, I had the camera set to allow as much light as possible for the shot, but that meant I had to have a really shallow depth of focus. So as much as it pains me, the photos are not as good as they could be. But they capture a moment in time here on the farm that was just too cute NOT to photograph. So please excuse the soft focus of the photos. It was the best I could do with the light and camera gear I had with me.
Can you guess how many chicks she has in this photo?
Crazy Dark Brown Hen, with HOW MANY babies?
Are you sure there's just one?
Do you think there are only two babies?
If you guessed THREE, you're RIGHT! Three little cuties! I'm pretty sure the one on the right and the black one are boys... *troublemakers* But jeez, they're cute!
The day that we saw her with her chicks for the first time, we also found her nest. She had been sitting on 14 eggs. She hatched three. Just in case there were others about ready to hatch, we gathered the eggs and put them under another hen who'd just started sitting in the chicken yard but didn't have any eggs to sit on. We don't like to let the hens in the chicken yard sit because the other hens are a danger to the babies if and when they hatch. But she was a good, immediately "warm" spot for the eggs.
A couple of days passed and I decided that since there weren't any other hatches, that I would toss out the eggs. I didn't want them to be a mess for the sitting hen. I lifted the sitting hen off the eggs and saw that three of them were in the process of hatching! Not wanting the babies to hatch with all the other hens around (it would be disasterous), I gathered up the eggs and took them in the house and put them in the incubator. Three chicks hatched that day, and three more hatched in the two days to follow. They're being raised by me in a brooder with a couple other specialty breed chicks I hatched in the incubator the week prior. *grin*
Unbelievable!! Can I come stay on your farm??
Posted by: connie | May 27, 2009 at 07:15 PM
What a warm and fuzzy story - with a little mystery and the perfect ending! Crazy Brown Hen's plummage is just so gorgeous and those chicks are just the cutest :) I know all this stuff is work for you but you sure do make it sound like fun. You are quite a wonderful storyteller! I love visiting your blog!
Posted by: Cindy H. | May 21, 2009 at 06:38 PM
The chicks are absolutely adorable! Congrats to Crazy Brown Hen for having so many little babies!
Posted by: Anne | May 21, 2009 at 02:32 PM
What cuties!!! I just love baby chicks. Crazy Dark Brown Hen did good! :)
Posted by: Jeanne | May 20, 2009 at 07:44 PM
Been enjoying all the farm stories-keep sharing. I think the pictures look just fine-love the momma's color. tfs
Posted by: Bev J. (Maxell on SCS) | May 20, 2009 at 07:11 PM
Anna ~~ They are so beyond adorable :0) I can't believe all those baby chicks were hiding under the feathers and wings of their Mom!
BTW, what is a "brooder"? And doesn't it bother the hen if you move her while she's sitting on her nest or take the eggs away?
Posted by: Robb_eeie | May 20, 2009 at 06:03 PM
Great story Anna, and LOVE the pictures! Those chicks are so so so cute! Thanks so much for always sharing your stories with us, and please continue to do so! I love your animal stories (and pictures) just as much as your cards!
Posted by: Debby W. | May 20, 2009 at 03:49 PM
I love broody hens, I so identify with their needs!
Posted by: Carla Mayfield | May 20, 2009 at 03:16 PM
Crazy Brown Hen must be a good Mamma. Love the photos of her and babies. Looking forward to meeting the rest of the brood.
Posted by: Carol Dee | May 20, 2009 at 02:14 PM
What a sweet story and a good ending to it! She's a very pretty mama!
Posted by: Viv (VivLyn) | May 20, 2009 at 12:52 PM
Never a dull moment on the farm! I'm glad the story had a happy ending. Maybe she's not Crazy after all!
Posted by: Linda C. | May 20, 2009 at 12:24 PM
This is just amazing! Incredible story - incredible farmer lady!
Posted by: Gabriela (Gabi With An Eye) | May 20, 2009 at 10:52 AM
Crazy Momma chicken is very pretty! Wow.......wish my hair color was as pretty as her feather color! Glad you found her nest and took a chance that there were more babies to come!!! Ok, show us those chicks in a few days :)
Posted by: Carla | May 20, 2009 at 10:32 AM
Anna, Momma chicken is a beauty, and wow, thats a lot of lucky babies.
BTW, our chicks will be picked up this afternoon, so excited!!
Posted by: Sally | May 20, 2009 at 10:25 AM
First of all Crazy Dark Brown Hen is absolutely gorgeous!! Sure sounds like her name fits her too!! LOL!! I can't believe she had 9 babies! Is that the most you've ever hatched from one hen? I don't remember reading anything about more than 9. I would also love to see her nest out in the "wild". I've never seen a hen's nest. Yes, I'm a city girl. Can't wait to see the other babies. Thanks for our story!
Posted by: Lorraine Castellon-Rowe | May 20, 2009 at 10:05 AM
I just so look forward to your posts about life on the farm, your chickens, Houdini and all the other animals. I'm going through a really tough time family and health-wise at the moment and these posts and photos are a little ray of sunshine in my life and make me realise that, no matter what is going on in my life, there are good and beautiful things going on elsewhere in the world. I look forward to the next little story and stunning photographs ....
Posted by: Pam (PeeJay) | May 20, 2009 at 10:02 AM
Such a cute tale...silly Crazy Dark Brown Hen. Hope you'll be taking photos of the new babies you hatched in the incubator. Hey, did you forget to attach the card you mentioned? ;)
Posted by: gailanne | May 20, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Wow! So Crazy Dark Brown Hen had 9 babies! Very industrious mamma. Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: LisaC | May 20, 2009 at 09:49 AM
Miracles take place all the time. What darling babies. Glad you didn't throw out the other eggs. I love every single story you tell and am so glad you have pictures to go with it.
Just a quick story from Spokane, WA. We were on national news two nights in a row because of a mama duck who hatched babies on a roof top and a banker from the same building stood to the side of the roof and caught the babies as they each jumped from the roof to be with their mama. The mama flew down to the ground, but the babies were to young to fly yet. It was the cutest thing ever and this is the same mama duck who had babies in the same place last year. Same story both times.
Posted by: Sandy Hill | May 20, 2009 at 09:38 AM
Those babies sure are cute!!! I can see why you wanted to photograph that adorable moment in time. That's so neat that more of the babies hatched later, too. How fun!
Posted by: Marie | May 20, 2009 at 09:37 AM
OMGosh, AMAZING story! I was spellbound! That is TOO AWESOME, that you rescued the "extra" eggs, and that so many of them hatched! TOO COOL! (can you tell I'm excited?!) You are SUCH a good Mommy! (and the crazy hen and her babies are BEAUTIFUL!!!) You have me wanting chickens SO badly, but with my knees keeping me from moving about well, I'll have to wait...but maybe someday! (after knee replacements)...For the time being, I'll live thru you, the ultimate fantastic CHICKEN MOMMA!!! :D
(have a great day!)
Posted by: diane mcvey | May 20, 2009 at 09:14 AM
I think your photo's are great and aren't they just the cutest little chicklit's!! I don't know how you do it, I'd want to be carrying them around with me all day! Love Crazy Dark Brown Hen's coloring ~ she's very pretty.
Posted by: Dotty | May 20, 2009 at 08:48 AM