2024 Christmas Hatch Chicks

[Slothinc]

Here are the girls and the hopefully girls! BTW all the chicks are in the 8-10 week range now!

 

[2ndTink]

Okay so this past week I rehomed 6 babies and now I have 15. Of those 15, at least 5 are boys, but I suspect another 1-2 will be boys as well. Of the lavender silkies, there is one for sure boy, one that is very likely a boy because he likes to beat up on the bigger boy, and one that I am hoping is a girl but the comb is a little funny looking.

Here are the boys and the suspected lavender silkie boy.

Whatever they are, they're CUTE!

 

[2ndTink]

Noggy is still my favorite though!

 

[Cheekychook12]

Noggy is still my favorite though!

Mine too! He or she is the best
I’m leaning more towards pullet though, not sure why

 

[Slothinc]

@2ndTink and @Cheekychook12 I am almost positive that Noggy is a girl, and so relieved by it! Her comb is a little bit wide but very flat, and she is built much smaller than all of the cockerels that I have.

 

[Slothinc]

Well the chicks are around the 10-11 week age now. They are all so adorable and doing well. I am going to just make a post for each of the 15 chicks that I have still, and give a little info about each chick for my own records. I took the pics right after I had refilled their food with their mash, so they are all looking a little dusty for that reason. Hope you all don’t mind the posting overload! I’ll start with the assumed boys and then move on to the girls. Any input from anyone on specific chicks is always appreciated!!

First up is Turtle Dove.
He is from a pairing of my gold birchen silkie girl and paint boy 1/2 silkie 1/2 lav ameraucana bantam.

He has huge comb and wattles. Very big with thick legs. Definite boy.

Nice feet and toes, dark pigment. Is paint, pretty sure with a black base, but could possibly be blue based. Not heavily marked, but under his left wing he has a huge spot. Has light eyes (not good.) Has 50% chance of carrying one blue egg gene and 50% chance of carrying lavender.

 

[Slothinc]

Here is Minty!

He is a lavender satin bird. He is half lavender ameraucana bantam and half silkie (the silkie fortunately carried the lavender gene.) He was hatched here from shipped eggs. He will carry one copy of the blue egg gene, so half of his daughters will lay blue/green.

He is large and has what looks to me like a moderately sized walnut type comb. He has medium colored brown eyes. Still waiting to see how much beard and cheeks he will get. Does not have very much crest right now. He is a cutie and I guess that’s why I took a million photos of him

 

[Slothinc]

This is Jubilee.

He is a lavender silkie that came from shipped eggs and was hatched here.

He is very large and seems to be good natured. He has a large sized walnut comb growing in, and very thick legs. A definite boy.

He has decent silkie qualities, though not the most beautiful or typey silkie. He likes to have his beak open when I take pics, maybe just because he likes to peep. Hoping there is no issue there, because he can close it all the way if he wants to. He is pretty leggy right now. I am excited to see how he matures. I do wish his eyes were darker.

 

[Slothinc]

Here is Frankincense.

He is a black satin bantam that is a cross of lavender ameraucana bantam and silkie. He carries one copy of the lavender gene and one copy of the blue egg gene. He has a moderately sized comb and is a tough little guy (he wants to spar with my older bantam hens.) To be honest I have had him up for grabs but haven’t found anyone to take him yet. I don’t plan to keep him long term just because I have others more suited for my breeding program, but he is a cute boy!

 

[Slothinc]

Here is Swan.

He is a recessive white silkied cross that is half silkie and half olive egger! There is a 50% chance that he has the blue egg gene.

I am 90% sure that Swan is a boy. However when I look at comparably aged Turkens, the girls have even more red skin than he does. His legs are thick, but so are his “sisters” (I think it’s a girl!) from the same mom and dad. I don’t really see any wattle growth yet which I would expect for a non bearded boy, but he could be late blooming.

I am planning to re home him, although it wouldn’t be the worst thing to do some test breedings with him. I like his shorter thicker beak, and fine him overall to be adorable. I love his dark eyes. He does have one extra tiny toe on his left foot.