Minnesota!

[RandomChicken]

Ok, here's the next results from my mini chicken opera. There are 2 more going into lockdown next week from this same pairing, but she has stopped laying again for a while, so we'll see if there will be further installations of this saga past these 4 and the next 2. They are so crazy adorable. Their cheeks are so fluffy and they appear to all be bearded. They all have pretty heavily feathered shanks and feet. And one has a little puff on the top of it's head which it clearly got from it's mother. I have affectionately nicknamed that one "chunk" because it is the roundest fluffiest of them all. I took several photos of each bird and one of each of their backs to show their coloring well. I can hardly wait for them to grow some wing feathers. Until I have an idea what they are going to look like, I'm not even thinking of selling any of these, so they will probably go in several weeks when they can be sexed, or maybe not at all if they are pullets. Considering how small both parents are, these chicks are sizeable - they would dwarf my pure d'Uccles at this same age.

Chick #1
This is "chunk". Chunk was the last of these to hatch and needed a tiny bit of assistance because (s)he was so big (s)he was wedged into the shell pretty tightly.





Chick #2



Chick #3



Chick #4

ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH THIS? How adorable. I am dying over here!

 

[RandomChicken]

He has already forbade me from having more than the one cat I already have and it's doubtful I will be allowed another when this one passes some day since I also have 3 bunnies, we have 2 dogs and I have chickens and he has tropical fish - saltwater and fresh (oh and I have guppies I convinced him to get that are in one of his tanks). Before we moved here and I got chickens, I had more bunnies and a gecko as well. And each summer I plant like 1/4 acre veggie garden (it's probably bigger than that now, he keeps expanding it for me).

We currently have zero pets. I would like chickens and a doggie or two. If I lived on a farm I'd have horses, bees and barn cats. But alas.....
Your garden sounds fantastic. We grow loads of flowers here but not really a space for a veggie garden that would actually get sun. I'm really annoyed by suburbia on a regular basis.

 

[RandomChicken]

You're right RandomChicken, however I'm busy snuggling, I mean socializing, my chicks right now.

The fluff flock

YAY! How many? Nine?!

 

[RandomChicken]

Thanks. I am really excited about the prospect. I have a smallish flock right now, but I've been increasing my hatching skill and my chicken keeping skill and DH was pretty impressed that I sold my first spring hatch of over 40 chicks before they were 2 weeks old in March. He hasn't said a peep about how my 'bator keeps refilling itself every time there is any open space in it. I pull clears, and somehow there aren't any less eggs in there. I hatch and somehow, there aren't any less eggs.

Right now there are 8 1-week old d'Uccle chicks in one brooder and the other brooder has yesterday's hatch in it (5 Ameraucana/Araucana banties, 2 Easter Egger banties - who I might keep, and 4 crosses of my d'Uccle roo with my fav backyard mix hen who is kind of a barred lavender - who I want to at least see feather out some to have an idea of what they will look like and might keep at least until they can be sexed and then decide who to keep, if any since they aren't pures so they won't fit my future plans, but they are a fun experiment). Starting to sell a few to thin the current laying flock of mixed hens a bit and make room for the pures I'd like to keep and maybe make room for one more variety (I'm coveting some bantie Wellsummers, but not sure if I will be able to find any locally and I'm not ready to shell out money for shipped eggs at this point).

I wish I was in the market!

 

[jbenson]

We currently have zero pets. I would like chickens and a doggie or two. If I lived on a farm I'd have horses, bees and barn cats. But alas.....
Your garden sounds fantastic. We grow loads of flowers here but not really a space for a veggie garden that would actually get sun. I'm really annoyed by suburbia on a regular basis.

Oh yeah, DH has bees too

I'm still a little scared of them, so I tend to not think about them. This is year 2 for the bees and we are up to 2 hives. He is a 3rd gen beekeeper (his dad does and his dad's dad did as well).

 

[jbenson]

ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH THIS? How adorable. I am dying over here!

I know, right? How is it that every offspring of this pairing is absolutely the most adorable thing ever? And why can't I get that silly chicken to lay more regularily so I can hatch more of this cuteness? Silly girl laid 8 eggs over a couple weeks and stopped again.

 

[mnhomestead]

Oh yeah, DH has bees too

I'm still a little scared of them, so I tend to not think about them. This is year 2 for the bees and we are up to 2 hives. He is a 3rd gen beekeeper (his dad does and his dad's dad did as well).

I want to eventually have bees. I am a bit scared of them though, and my husband has had some bad reactions to stings, but I believe they have usually been from wasps. Ideally I would like to find a beekeeper that needs a location to place their hives and I could learn from them while they are here or just receive honey for use of land. We love raw honey!

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Thanks. I have many hobbies - one of them being vintage modeling and my new avatar was from a shoot I did this spring with my first hatch of chicks and my pet bunny as an Easter/Spring theme. One of my gal pals did the shoot with me and had this adorable dress with a full skirt that we filled up with chicks We also did a shoot that same weekend with a studio partner who does kid/family photos and my batch of chicks - the results were totally amazing!

Oh my gosh how fun! I just visited the Grinkie Girl FB site. What a hoot! I'm a nostalgia kind of person anyways...Not real up on taking pictures of myself...but I would totally do that! Wow! FUN, FUN, FUN!!!

 

[MargaretAnneHK]

What is the most anyone has hatched at one time around here?
This isn't going in the record books, but at the moment I have 34 duck eggs for a family member in my incubator, getting more mixed duck eggs, Ancona duck eggs and trying my hand at some silkie duck eggs.
Fingers crossed!!
On another note, I actually saw the SUN today!! I kind of forgot it was up there.....

 

[coldupnorth]

What is the most anyone has hatched at one time around here?
This isn't going in the record books, but at the moment I have 34 duck eggs for a family member in my incubator, getting more mixed duck eggs, Ancona duck eggs and trying my hand at some silkie duck eggs.
Fingers crossed!!
On another note, I actually saw the SUN today!! I kind of forgot it was up there.....

You saw the sun? Where is it....I've been looking for it for days and I think its just playing a sneaky game.

for your duck eggs!