the miracle chick

I have a hen that has been determined to hatch out some chicks this summer. She is a lovely Blue Splash Maran which is a French breed.  She is big,white, fluffy, with pretty grey blue flecks throughout her feathers. We call her Blanche.  She started sitting this spring and ended up with two chicks that quickly dissapeared. What happened to them is a mystery, but it seems something got into the hen house and carried them off or ate them :(

Next morning, Blanche was back on some new eggs, seeminly more determined. It takes 21 days from egg to chick... well after the 25th or 26th day and still nothing happening, we took the eggs out from under her so she would at least get up and eat something.
Undeterred, she was back on her "nest" the following morning!  ... determined to hatch out a little fluffy bundle of love.

As I was was headed out of town for 4th of July; hubby marked the eggs (so we could get them from getting mixed up with the ones the other hens were laying) and we began the twenty-one day countdown. Much to our amazement after about 14 days a fluffy chick appeared!! She has left the other five eggs and is busily protecting and seemingly happily hanging out with her miracle chick.