I guess it is good that she is willing to work with you. I don't blame you for not wanting to start your search over or settle for a different color. You had your heart set on these two. I guess at this point, you have to believe that, if it was meant to be, it will be. I hope it works out for you!
@NotableNancy and @trsturself , I loved reading about the differences in your birds and your friend's birds and how their interactions with you have changed over time. I guess there are a lot of variables that affect how the girls interact with you. Very interesting!
I, also, find it very interesting how, in the same breed, one hen looks like it should have been laying for weeks while another is just starting to get her wattles. Her is photo of my Dominiques side by side.
Even though Desdemona is a bit blurry, you can see the difference in development. Melissa, the one that is more advanced, has always been the smaller of the two. Isn't that crazy?
Two days in a row, Jed (the most mature RIR) gave what I could only imagine was the loudest egg song possible and no egg. Is that normal? Have any of you experienced a false alarm like that?
I looked under the coop and in the run and there is no sign of an egg anywhere. I imagine if someone was eating the eggs, there would be at least a wet spot on the ground from spilled egg whites. But, I have not seen anything. Is she just practicing her song?? It is a mystery to me.
If you think about how different any two dogs look (even in the same breed), or two humans from the same family, it makes sense that two chickens, even from the same breed, would also look different. Luck of the genetic draw. Unless they are identical twins, they SHOULD look somewhat different from each other. Even identical twins don't always look the same (one might be skinny, the other fat, due to different food preferences, for example).