I believe Khan (Cuckoo Maran) is the proud papa of all of them.
I placed the eggs of two cuckoo maran hens, three cochins, (buff and/or partridge), two ameracaunas, and one large white egg. I believe the white egg was from the black minorca hen.
So, in effect, I know I will have 2 maran purebreds, and I can already see the feathered feet of three cochin/maran mixes. One of the ameracaunas didn't hatch, and I believe the yellow chick is an ameracauna/maran and then one of the chicks is probably a minorca/maran. I wonder if they will turn out looking like mutts?
These two enjoyed posing.
Click on the images to see more details.
Can you see the feathers on the feet of the larger chick? Click on the picture to see better.
I am hoping I get a lot of hens from this batch.
The white one is far ahead of his/her siblings with feather development.
I think it may be an ameracauna. I have a white ameracauna hen in my flock.
I think I can see feathers on this one's legs too.
The Great Escape!
She can run, but she cannot hide.
She pooed on the floor too.
I leave you with this photo.
Sometimes you can see three chicks up on this perch.
Thank you for visiting.
68 comments:
Wow, you've inspired me to paint one of these guys. Beautiful photos (I'm assuming Ruth shot them)...wow, really enjoyed this post.
I have been blog hopping and have just found you.
What a fabulous blog - and chicks - heavenly.
I have spent a lovely half an hour reading your posts - and am hooked - will be back again visiting
I've been wondering how the chicks are doing. I'm so happy to see them! So cute, so perfect. Broody is doing such a good job and I love the picture of the chick resting on her back. Adorable.
Awwwwww how gorgeous are those lil ones.
Our girl is till on her eggs and if all works we should get chicks around Thursday.
Hmmmm??? will I require lighting ?
It is Summer here and having temps in the 30's.
I am Unsure what our gal is ....
Have a photo on my blog
I think she is just a austalorp....
But she looks so very much lioke a partridge cochin.
And she is huge!
Your chicks are just lovely
Very cool, we should do that.
sandy: I love it when you paint my chicks! Help yourself.
I need to do a post about you and your artwork
lottie: I'm glad you hopped in for a visit. I will go and check your blog out this evening.
Baby chicks speak to our souls.
susan: I am so amazed that a ten month old chicken has the innate knowledge to do all that she is doing. Also, she is willing to take on a giant predator when he (I) open the brooder to hold her babies.
cupcakes: mine came a day early. I have read that brooding hens sometimes hatch eggs in 20 days. So, if you counted 21, get ready a day early, just in case!
I actually didn't expect this to work and now I have these seven little ones to get through the winter. I think Broody will get it done...
Thanks for sharing your chicks. It will be fun to see what your "mutts" will turn out like.
country girl: if you can get a hen to brood, you will love the experience! If you want hens that tend to get broody, you want silkies or cochins
lanny: thanks, I know that often dogs that are mutts make the best pets, as they are not so wired. I wonder if it can be true for chickens?
I wonder what color egg the ameracauna/maran hen will lay, green or dark brown, or dark green?
They pose so well! We hope to hatch some out this spring. I just can't imagine they would do well right now. The coop stays around 20 degrees most of the time. Our barn needs work. It really needs work. Did I mention it needs work? LOL
Kelly
kelly: I am amazed at how well broody is doing with the chicks. I have heat lamps to supplement her.
My barn needs tons of work too! It needs foundation work, roof work, siding work and floor work, other than that, it is great.
Such a sweet photo of the baby on Mama's back. I have only ever hatched in an incubator, but I look forward to the "real thing" this spring!
claire: do you have broody hens? I have three or four others who act like they could become broody. What will I do with all these "mutts?"
It is such a cool thing tho..
They are delightful and so well behaved.. well, except for that one little incident... cute..
I really like that there are several different types hatched from the same setting.... pretty fun huh?
is it expensive to run the heat lights? probably worth it for the fun and education they afford...
Don, your chicks are adorable. congrats on the hatch. Broodie seems to be doing her job.
gwen: I think if i ran the bulbs 24/7, they would cost about $20 per month. I leave the lights on in the brooder and will continue that until they are fully feathered, the one in the big coop I try to turn off during the day and put it on for the cold nights, (under 15 or so).
I wonder if there will be any differences between hen-raised chicks and incubated "never-had-a-mommy" chicks? Did you ever have experiences with hen-raised chicks?
shicat: thank you! Broody is amazing, I can't believe a "child" (10 month old incubator hatched hen) does all she does with those chicks.
Oh yes we use to raise the laying hens from scratch, all the time, well the Banties did.. they were our best mothers..
.. Maybe that is why we got so attached to them... we use to carry them around all the time.. when they grew bigger they would sit with us for a long time before trying to get away...
we always bought our Meat kings as chicks from the feed store though...
gwen: did your banties hatch out larger chicks? (not banties) Or was your flock all banties?
So adorable! And the last one is beautiful.
oh yes they would hatch out anything we gave them.. dad always had a way of coming across different breeds of eggs for hatching.. and he would give some to me too... funny to see the little broody bantam trying to cover the fast growing larger ones .. and cute to see these bigger chicks running back to their tiny mama for protection.. and her spreading out her wings as far as she possibly could..
(I have never used an incubator)
drowsey: I agree, but I have to say I love them all the same!
Sibling rivalry is fierce in the barn.
gwen: I can imagine a bantie momma hatching out some big orpingtons! They must have been twice her size in no time.
Your dad sounds like a creative and encouraging guy.
I like the idea of an incubator as an educational tool, and a way to hatch chicks at my convencience. i like the natural way better tho!
These are sooooooo cute. Are you gonna paint them? Too much inspiration not to take advantage of it. Love that first photo.
jeanneg: The only way I could paint the chicks is with a roller and some masking tape! Please feel free to put your talents to work!
Don..we've a hen sitting on about eight eggs. Between a Partridge Cochin and a Rhode Island cock it will be interesting to see their efforts.
peace
My little two year old pointed at each chick and said "Chickie", then she got to the yellow one on it's own by the magazines and said "duck"! LOL!
woody: those will be interesting birds! It seems like you will have a lot of good combined features. Good egg layers, good meat birds, and a good broody to carry on with the tradition.
I had some Rhode Island red roosters and they were all mean sob's.
kasey: how cute is that? I'll let the yellow one know that she may be a duck...
I love the last picture! Little chicks are so funny. They always look so rough when their real feathers are coming in!
jen: I agree, they look like biker chicks (now I'll get in trouble)
Aaaaw! They're precious. I'm trying to see if any of our hens will set... so far, no luck.
Even though they're mixes, they may not turn out like mutts. We (as you probably know) have a Silkie/Old English Game rooster who is just gorgeous. And then we have another mix, an Americauna/White Rock, and he's pretty, but not as pretty as the other. We'll have to wait and see!
chickengirl: Your chickens look so beautiful. I love the wyandottes!!
Your mixed-up rooster is a poster roo for cool.
Thank you! The wyandottes were some of our original hens: the chickens that started it all about 3 years ago. They're getting to be the good ol' gals of the flock! It's funny, they pretty much dominate, and when there are cock fights they break them up. :)
You've done a really good job so far Don, they seem to be growing loads every time I see them!
:d
chickengirl: watching the girls breaking up the boys" fighting would be fun to watch.
the roos think they're in charge, but we boys know who rules the roost!!
stiggy: little by little, and I will never get caught up with all of the things needing work around here. I can't imagine what I would do if I atually was a real farmer with crops and large animals, and fencing, and feed, etc.
What kind of lens are you getting for your Nikon?
these are great! doncha just love a broody hen! i have three of my girls setting already this year! woo hoo!
if you need more chickens, i have a giveaway going on my blog for a $25 gc to ideal poultry! stop over and check us out!
http://tinyurl.com/bcqljv
Hey! Between the biker chicks comment and then the one about who rules the roost, I'm beginning to feel some girl power!
When I first saw the first picture posted of the two chicks close to each other, I thought it was one chick...with two heads!...
Your having puppies too?! so many babies so little time!
Just too cute Don! Brings back memories of when I kept chickens as a kid. Hoping to do a repeat this spring. Sometime when you mix the breeds you get really nice results colour wise, also I found in the past that if the mother was a good layer, then the daughters were good too as long as you mixed good laying breeds. Hope they are all hens, good luck!
Too cute Don, great shots!! love chicks, you must be so proud how they are growing up so well.
Maybe the chick who pooed on the floor saw something she didn't like in that Cook's magazine!
These chicks are unbelievably adorable and, is it me?, the look smart: those hard, bright eyes!
jayedee: I agree! broody hens are such a nice addition to our little farm! I can't wait til warmer weather so the hens can get outside and show the chicks how to really live it up. (and avoid mean aunts)
You have three broodies going right now! Good luck with those.
Your giveaway is a good one. Maybe Gwen needs to go enter and get a start on her brood!
ruth: you better believe it!
emily: that's funny to think about a two-headed chick, kinda like that two-headed turtle.
There is something about babies that brings out the best in us.
nobody but us chickens: I'm glad to hear you say that about good layers. I am hoping for some hens so I can see what kinds of eggs they will lay.
bob: yeah, I make sure they wipe their feet and say grace before they eat. I think I am helping them evolve into higher creatures, ok maybe not.
laura: you have the artist's eye to spot all that! How hard is it to paint a chicks's eye?
superb....you can't help but sit and read that post looking at those pictures without having a huuuge smile. Theyre so cuuute lol...hopefully one day we'll get to raise some too.
Loved your poem on my blog rofl. :0)
Like Lottie, I've been blog hopping and found you by chance.
This whole blog, photos and everything, is so enjoyable I have added you to 'Blogs I Follow' and will be back.
Jo: your artwork is very cool. I encourage everybody to go and take a look, and enter her giveaway!
I know, my poem was really lame!
craftimamma: Thanks for stopping by! I will go and visit your blog and see how crafi you are!
That's so awesome, Don!! All those little black and silver chicks and the white one stands out!! (Even if it did leave a little poo..)
I can't wait to see more of them as they grow and start developing their breed traits. Have you tried sexing them? I always wind up with more roosters than hens, but maybe you'll get lucky!
That video was funny! I love the little noises they were making to each other.
I really like those chicken blocks of fabric you found on Ebay and your oven mitt is perfect!
lovely photos
I have 10 bantam and buffs waiting to go out into my field.....wish I photgraphed them as well as you have
best wishes
john
Man talk about some great pictures, they're the best Don. I love new life on the farm. I know your having a ball too.
Chris
john: bantams and buffs, what a combo!
My wife Ruth takes all my photos, so I am a lucky blogger!
I like your blog, you write very well.
Chris: thanks for your compliment onthe pics. Ruth loves to hear that! It helps me keep her motivated to take my pictures. I always seem to get a finger in front of the lens or something.
Your goats in sweaters are pretty cute!
This is about the cutest thing I've seen in a long-long time, Don. :)
And guess what the word verification is: womeste (I think it has something to do with Woman Power, maybe in Dutch?).
ginnie: womeste, maybe that means all of these chicks are hens! I would like that a lot.
I'll name one of the hens from this group womeste. How would the Dutch pronounce that?
I recently lost a rooster to the cold, even with a heat lamp going...I think you'd enjoy my video I made about Sir Henry...I can see your fondness for animals too.
Glad to meet you!
Anne Marie
anne marie: Nice to meet you too! I am sorry about your rooseter. He sounds like he was a big part of your family. He was a cuddly-looking rooster. I have never had one of those!
I came across your blog this evening, I love it and these chick pictures are great!
Lovely photos of your chicks and thanks for visiting my blog and your kind comment. we raised chicks with a broody hen last year and it was very straightforward. Sadly the mother was taken by a dog when the chicks were tiny and we then had to bring them inside to a heat lamp. That too worked fine and they all survived!
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