Two Thursdays ago, we had a very rare happening…  Maggie’s little black star hen, Mary, successfully hatched 10 of her 14 eggs in her broody clutch!  We were so excited!  We thought it was 12 at first but it’s 10…  and they are all so darn cute!

We’ve only had two other hens successfully hatch eggs and they each only hatched out two.  Mary has certainly surpassed them in spades!  Her ten little chicks are living in the lil’ coop with their mom.

Maggie was worried that the nest box was too high off the ground, since it was about 3 feet up the wall.  So she had me help her to lower it without disturbing Mary and her brood.

That’s Winnifred, a very friendly hen sitting on Maggie’s back, watching the new family.   Winnifred came to live at the farm when her mom couldn’t keep her and five of her sister hens.  They are very nice birds and have found Maggie to be good friends.

But then, all the animals here at the homestead like Maggie.  She has a special way with them all.  

It’s funny.  If I approached Mary in her nest box while she was setting on her eggs, it was like I had wondered into the realm of a demon possessed chicken.   She would puff up and start making this evil, evil sound and I was afraid to even be 2 feet near her!!!

But Maggie?  Shesh… that dopey hen would let her feel underneath and check for hatching eggs, and acted like, hey, no big deal, hi, how ya doing?  Maggie brought her feed and water every day.  Mary never wanted for anything those long 21 days!  She would hop out for a quick stretch and a poop, and then hop right back up and sit, sit, sit.  Dedication, let me tell you.

Jessy took a video of the little peeps to show Maggie in the house and she asks about them all the time.  I hope that sometime in the coming week with her new boot and crutches, she can make it out to at least sit and watch them play in the yard.  I think she would really like that.  A lot.