Our Broody Did It!

I thought I heard chirping and some slight movement under the Buff Orpington broody yesterday, but couldn't be certain. Today I KNEW I heard something, so I opened the cage, gently moved aside one protective wing (although she growled a little, she allowed me to take the liberty), and -- she did it! Nestled underneath her was a precious tiny baby! I saw the flattened, empty eggshell first and thought oh no, maybe she broke it, but she has been such a good and careful mama -- no way would she have simply stepped on her eggs.

Here is a really bad photo of the baby, a tiny black chick. She probably hatched an Australorp egg! I didn't want to disturb her; I'll try to get better pictures later.

She did great! Here she is, tucking her little one back under her. You can see the empty eggshell right in front of her.

More later!

Much better photo of the new addition (any guesses? Australorp cross? Wyandotte? Barred Rock?).

ETA: A second chick hatched sometime during the afternoon. This one has some buff coloring on her face and is extremely tiny - I hope she makes it. As of this evening, the broody was sitting tight on two babies and one unhatched egg.