"Kuckuckskinder"

In Europe we have a bird with the name “Common Cuckoo”, who is putting his eggs into nests of other birds. The so named “Kuckuckskinder” are children which you are raise in thinking that they are your own biological Kids.

For our two year old year old black shoulder hen it is the same. On the pictures she is with four green peafowl chicks in the aviary. On the picture the chicks are just three days old. I gave her eggs from our green peafowl for breeding. Up to now the young lady is doing a very good job to observe her first chicks.

These are the last four green peafowl chicks for 2015!

Beautiful momma and babies

We have a bird like that in our country, I can't think of the name but, it lays it's eggs in other birds' nests. Because it's eggs/chicks are bigger, they push the others out of the nest, and the poor unsuspecting mother raises the cheaters babies instead of her own. Some birds seem to have very human shortcomings.

Welcome to Backyard chickens, your pea hen is beautiful

drumstick diva said:

We have a bird like that in our country, I can't think of the name but, it lays it's eggs in other birds' nests. Because it's eggs/chicks are bigger, they push the others out of the nest, and the poor unsuspecting mother raises the cheaters babies instead of her own. Some birds seem to have very human shortcomings.

Welcome to Backyard chickens, your pea hen is beautiful

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Cow bird.

These are the four chicks which I hatched out from her four eggs. They are 50% IB & 50% BS. In general they are looking a little bit lighter compared to pure IB, even if BS is a recessive gene.

Especially over the back. I can see a big difference. IB are having dark brown downy feathers and all these four chicks are much lighter over the back.

Now the breeding season seams to be finished. I don't expect and further chicks this year.

Pfauenfreund said:

These are the four chicks which I hatched out from her four eggs. They are 50% IB & 50% BS. In general they are looking a little bit lighter compared to pure IB, even if BS is a recessive gene.

Especially over the back. I can see a big difference. IB are having dark brown downy feathers and all these four chicks are much lighter over the back.

Now the breeding season seams to be finished. I don't expect and further chicks this year.

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Congrats for a successful year, by the way they all look india blue to me, black shoulder chicks will look yellow when they hatch.

q8peafowl said:

Congrats for a successful year, by the way they all look india blue to me, black shoulder chicks will look yellow when they hatch.

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As I wrote the BS gene is recessive, this means this birds will look later like IB but having both genes inside.
When you will breed with two of these birds you will get approx. 25% pure IB, 50% mix and 25% pure BS gene.

Now I understood you.

Today some new pictures, which are showing what is happened since June with the chicks. Now, nearly 5 months later they are already taller as the foster-mother.

Pfauenfreund said:

Today some new pictures, which are showing what is happened since June with the chicks. Now, nearly 5 months later they are already taller as the foster-mother.

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They do grow up fast.

They are beautiful thanks for sharing their progress