Living On Through Her Chick

[StardustChicken]

I had a wonderful little Blue Old English Bantam named Nutmeg. I could never get over just how plum tiny she was. At 9 months old she was half the size of a Silkie hen. Size didn't dictate her place in the pecking order though! 22 chickens and 14 different breeds, most several times her size, but that didn't stop her from being a strong mid-tier in the hierarchy.

Funny thing about her is that she never sang an egg song. Probably why she nearly got away with laying a dozen eggs on the coop roof! She absolutely loved to perch on my shoulder and head, it even earned her the nickname Pigeon from my relatives.

Sadly, at the age of 9 months, she was the victim of a hawk attack in late December... fortunately she had a single egg of her's in one of the nesting boxes. I gave it to my trusty broody silkie who dutifully hatched it, allowing a part of Nutmeg to live on.

 

[StardustChicken]

They hatched January 12th, their father being a Silver Phoenix Bantam. Recently they turned 4 weeks old under their watchful foster mom Soot the Silkie. My only hope is that they live a long healthy life

 

[StardustChicken]

5 weeks old

 

[Let There Be Light]

Aww, that's so sad about Nutmeg. But her baby is sooo adorable! Do you have a name for it yet?

 

[StardustChicken]

Aww, that's so sad about Nutmeg. But her baby is sooo adorable! Do you have a name for it yet?

I do have 2 picked out depending on the gender... I've only ever had one Old English Bantam and I'm not too sure how fast a roo's headgear would develop in that breed. Not sure if it's slower a kin to a silkie's development. I'm leaning towards female but there's always room for doubt

 

[Let There Be Light]

I do have 2 picked out depending on the gender... I've only ever had one Old English Bantam and I'm not too sure how fast a roo's headgear would develop in that breed. Not sure if it's slower a kin to a silkie's development. I'm leaning towards female but there's always room for doubt

Awesome! I have OEGB's, I'd say that they develop at a moderate pace, not super slow and not super fast either. (In my opinion.) I'm definitely not an expert at telling genders but I would lean toward girl for your chick, too.

 

[StardustChicken]

Awesome! I have OEGB's, I'd say that they develop at a moderate pace, not super slow and not super fast either. (In my opinion.) I'm definitely not an expert at telling genders but I would lean toward girl for your chick, too.

Dare I say it might be safe to declare the female name? I think I'll call her Margo

 

[Bonnieboo]

I've only ever tried once with fertilized eggs under a continuously clucky chook in an attempt to "break" her (I got the eggs from a friend with a rooster).
All I got was three roosters
It's very hard to get rid of roosters here and eventually I had to give them to a farmer who was prepared to do the last resort thing. I would so love to try again but I think the risk is too great and having to "find a farmer" was pretty traumatic for all involved
Is it possible to get fertilised eggs that have been sexed? That is probably a very big ask or a very stupid question...
All advice taken

 

[StardustChicken]

I've only ever tried once with fertilized eggs under a continuously clucky chook in an attempt to "break" her (I got the eggs from a friend with a rooster).
All I got was three roosters
It's very hard to get rid of roosters here and eventually I had to give them to a farmer who was prepared to do the last resort thing. I would so love to try again but I think the risk is too great and having to "find a farmer" was pretty traumatic for all involved
Is it possible to get fertilised eggs that have been sexed? That is probably a very big ask or a very stupid question...
All advice taken

Nope. There are sexlinks you can hatch, that's probably the closest thing you're going to get. Truth of the matter is, chickens have a slightly higher male ratio, only 45% will be female. Out of 20 chicks that I've hatched so far, only 6 have been females

 

[Bonnieboo]

Thanks for the advice, I was pretty sure that this would be the case. Cheers