IT WORKED!!!

Well, we did the ol' swaparoo on Friday night, and at first it seemed dicey: she seemed to be pecking at them ("seemed" because we did it at midnight in the dark with no light) as if warding off an alien invasion and we thought the ruse was exposed. We shut the door and let nature take it's course, but within a few seconds all the squawking and peeping and rustling noises ceased and all seemed to calm down...as if she figured out that she had to take her chicks underneath her. And I never heard any injured and dying chicks noises. So, we went to bed (but slept very little) and when we woke up the next morning...


TA-DAAAA!!! Happy chicks and a happy mommy!

So as of this writing three days later, all is tranquil and everyone seems to be doing their job just right. When it gets cold, she lifts up her skirts and the babies crawl right under there and snuggle up. When it's warmer (or when I open up the hatch to sky) they come tumbling out to take a look around. Very, very cool.