June 11, 2026

The Mama Team (Chicken Edition)

Sometime last month, this hen . . . 


 . . . went broody. A few weeks into it, she went out for food and water, and this hen . . . 


. . . took over the nest and wouldn't give it back. 

Not be be deterred, the first hen (Mama Buff) just hunkered down and waited. A day or so ago the eggs started to hatch. As the chicks popped out of the nest, she simply claimed them. 


As of this writing, we've got three chicks so far, all yellow like Buff Orpingtons. 

Meanwhile, our lone Speckled Sussex continues setting on those eggs, so we may have more soon. Her next door neighbor is Mama Muscovy, so we may have ducklings soon too!


My parting shot is of the daddy.


This is our grown-up First Baby Buff who was hatched last November. He's integrated into the rest of the flock now, and actually gets along with our senior rooster, Schooster. Centex asked about him, so here he is!

16 comments:

Nina said...

That’s a win-win situation for sure. The first broody gets her babies and the rest of the eggs still have a chance too

Rosalea said...

Great chicken pics. Post more!

SmartAlex said...

Schooster! What a great name.

Dicky Bird said...

Funny little hens!

daisy g said...

You've got some real beauties there! Glad everyone gets what they want!

Leigh said...

Nina, very true. Chickens are very bad about laying in someone else's nest, so we may have a variety of developmental stages going on.

Leigh said...

Rosalea, I'll keep everyone updated!

Leigh said...

Alex, Dan came up with that. He's the one for critter nicknames. He started calling him Rooster Shooster and it stuck. :)

Leigh said...

Dicky Bird, chickens never fail to amaze and entertain. :)

Leigh said...

Daisy, I especially liked the Speckled Sussex, but we've found them to be too insistent with brooding and mothering. The Buffs are great at both. It's nice this situation is working out so nicely.

Toirdhealbheach Beucail said...

Thanks for posting Leigh. Chickens always make me happy.

Leigh said...

TB, it's nice to have something new to post about. :)

Michelle said...

Nice to raise your own replacements! I'm down to eight and one is ailing, so I might be looking for a few pullets later this year.

Leigh said...

Michelle, that's right, you don't have a rooster, do you? They do come in handy!

Anonymous said...

That’s a good looking rooster! Imagine being born with such a terrific outfit 😄

Leigh said...

Anonymous, he's certainly a happy guy!