We have little peepers!

One of our little grey Cochin hens disappeared about a month ago.  I had noticed that she was missing at feeding time and hoped that a predator hadn't gotten her during the night.  A few days later, I was weedeating a spot near the house in the backyard when a grey flash of wings suddenly flew out of the grass.  Ella Mae had decided to set on a clutch of eggs!  After weeks of waiting, we have nine amazingly cute chicks following their momma around the chicken tractor.  No two are alike - all are different colors!  The last to hatch out is the little white chick.  Liam has already chosen that one as the 'pet' - he's been lucky enough to hold her a couple of times.  We're thinking of naming it 'Snowflake'.  Yes, we're thinking about snow in August because it's 103 degrees right now!
 

Ella Mae with her chicks

Ella Mae is already teaching her chicks to hunt grasshoppers - good momma!  Every time I pass the grasshopper trap (Liam's wading pool), I grab a couple of swimming hoppers and take them to the chicken tractor.  Ella immediately starts calling the chicks when she sees me coming with the bugs.  Imagine a little hen chasing and tearing into a grasshopper with nine chickies following - everyone peeping loudly.  Soon there's nine excited chicks running around the cage with pieces of the unlucky grasshoppers in their beaks!

Bella on her nest

All the other chickens have visited Ella and her brood.  My little silver Cochin, Bella, was evidently so enamored with the babies, that she decided to hatch some out herself!  So, hopefully, in a couple of weeks, we'll have even more chicks to eat the all the grasshoppers around here.