Haha! I think that red streak is actually a reflection off the heat lamp - it only appears in pics that the flash goes off on, lol. It does look pretty neat though
So I finally decided to kick my broody off the nest and discard the rest of the eggs. I checked the eggs one last time - candled them, saw no movement or further development... I decided to crack them open just to see what was wrong. All the eggs did have [mostly developed] chicks, but they were all dead in the eggs. I didn't notice any real stench indicating bacteria/rot so, judging by the tough egg membranes I assume the hen might not have rotated the eggs or did not sit on the rest of them properly - ??? Ugh, what a bust this was.
Anyways, first time hatching and out of 15 eggs I only have one surviving chick. Not very good statics here for this experience, but I am so happy to have this little one. It is adorable and I absolutely love it.
(Just for the record, I am planning on investing in a nice incubator for next time's hatchings... )
I named the chick Cricket - between being small and black, it's perfect cricket-mimicing chirps, and the fact that it seems to be one heck of a lucky chick, I figured the name was quite fitting.
I did borrow a chick from a friend to keep Cricket company, so now I have a Black Copper Maran also in my care. The two have bonded, not only to each other, but to me too, so I may have a hard time giving "Bernie" back later LOL!
Bernie is a bit older than Cricket and you can really see the size difference, but regardless of that, Bernie seems to be very careful and gentle and TOLERANT of Cricket's little antics so I am very happy that they get along so well. Cricket is now 8 days old - already developing wing feathers and little tail sprouts (I'm a little worried that Crick might be a roo... With that said Bernie probably will be too, lol).
Anyways here are some recent Pics of the duo. We had an incredibly HOT day so I let the babies out for a little to soak up some sunshine:
(older pic - the brown on Crick's head is just from the lamp)
(Just for the record Cricket's 1/2 Silkie 1/2 Polish)
