Mother hen

Well, there are only two chicks out of a possible six but she couldn't be prouder of them - and she's only a young mother.

I find them irresistible to watch. Chicks are mobile and vocal as soon as they are hatched. Just like baby mammals they tuck themselves under their mother to keep warm and  she fluffs out her feathers to conceal them. Unlike baby mammals they have no readily available food supply there. However  they have 36 hours nourishment on board when they hatch so don't need to feed straight away. When they do, they wait and watch the hen peck before they try anything and even take fragments from around her beak just to make sure they are eating safe stuff. It's amusing to see them, when still so new, instinctively run off with a tiny  morsel in order to avoid it being snatched away.