"Feather" Has Two Mommies - Round II

About three weeks back, I must have been very busy.  Though animals were watered, fed and cared for by other family members, the eggs were not collected for four days.  Four eggs a day by four days made 16 eggs.  Aunt Mary saw this and settled down to hatch them out.  By the time I found them, two more eggs were added.  We marked all of them with an X to make sure if new ones were donated by other hens, I could pick them out.

About a week and a half later, Aunt Rita elbowed her way into Mary's nest and stole it.  Mary didn't give up and stayed nearby, stealing eggs when she got a chance.  She finally got five to sit on.  I wondered if Mary and Rita would be kind to all the chicks or only their own?  Today, they began hatching.  Five so far.  One little black one, one of the first to hatch, has chosen Mary as his mother.  The yellow ones all stay with Rita.  The eggs seem to be getting passed back and forth.  I can tell due to size and color.   Some are bantam, some are not.  Some are green, some are brown.

It appears that Mary and Rita are possessive but sharing.  I am hoping they will mother the chicks together and that cooperative education will work with these two.  It isn't the first time they've done this.  I think it worked out okay last time.  Photos tomorrow.  I didn't want to disturb them much today as they are still hatching.  Oh, and by the way, not all the eggs were laid by Aunt Rita and Aunt Mary.  The other chickens lay their eggs and walk away, not interested in hatching them at all.