Jimmy was such a good Roo.
8 out of 9 of the eggs I placed in the incubator have hatched.
It breaks my heart to watch them, knowing what happened to their parents and the rest of my flock so recently. But I know that if I don’t get back on with it I will never want to own another chicken.
These will not be going anywhere near the outdoor coop until they are fully feathered and large enough, and until I have fortified every possible fox entrance. They wont even be able to breathe near my birds again without me knowing about it.
In the meantime, these are my newest little babies;
These two were the first to hatch. Blue is very large, and is a cross between Jimmy the horny Pekin and Chickira, a large foul White Star cross.
Buckbeak is a tiny little Banty baby and has the most emo eyeliner I have ever seen.
Next up was Henny Henry, baby of Henny kravitz, the huge Copper Maran. A miracle child if there ever was one, she is the product of the biggest hen and the smallest roo. Nobody is entirely sure what she will look like, but she is very big already, and has Jimmys fluffy feet!
Next up came Henneth. She also came from a blue egg, so is a cross between Jimmy the horny Pekin and Chickira, a large foul White Star cross. We don’t know if she will have tail feathers like her dad, or none like her mum, so that will be interesting to watch.
Next to hatch was Violet. So named because she is the most adorable greyish purple, although she doesn’t look it in this photograph. She’s very nervous and is absolutely tiny!
One of the last to emerge is this beauty. MrT has called it Alvin, because it has a wicked chipmunk stripe. He’s the smallest of all the chicks and is adorable.
To match Alvin, we have Theodore. She’s the opposite of Alvin, and is white with a grey chipmunk stripe.
The very last to hatch is the most beautiful one yet. MrT fell immediately in love – obviously because its as dramatic as he is – and has named it Sanka after the Cool Runnings character.
“Kiss the lucky egg!”
The big birds!
Whilst the incubator was full of little ones bursting into life, my orginals were having their first taste of the outside.
Usually the two big ones are kept in a separate enclosure to the three smaller, but I am gradually introducing them to each other. Their first time outside was the perfect opportunity.
Friday was also out there, but is buried behind Walter in the photo above.
None of them seemed to know quite what to do, especially since the lawn was dewy and the grass long, but they will learn.
When they settled, they seemed to enjoy the tasty grass and scratching about in the mud.
Typical, they’ll get mud all over their freshly cleaned enclosures!
They are constantly under the protection of their bodyguards – Bonnie and Rico the rotties. No other critters are allowed close, especially since I think the rottie club may think that the birds are actually undercover puppies!
The Goose Roost 