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Sometimes, when a rooster and hen love each other very much, this happens:  Mama hen, Emmy, hatched some babies in a trash can yesterday! She was sitting on 18 eggs, and I think most of those have turned into chicks through some sort of magic.  About half of them are chipmunk patterns, the other half are blue like their daddy. I'm resisting the urge to smoosh them all with love. Emmy is surprisingly tolerant of me sticking my head in her trash can to play with her babies. Look - the one on the right is still wet from the egg:  Anyhoo... if anyone needs more chickens, I have some extras now...
9 Comments
Erin
8/8/2011 08:38:32 am
I do! I want some! We were going to get a couple for Bella, but we're not prepared for babies. (We're actually not prepared for ANY yet, but I can arrange a coop and buy food quickly enough.) Can they live with you until they're bigger?
Shyra
8/8/2011 08:47:34 am
Congratulations! This is soooo exciting! I was wondering about her since she was hanging out with the broken glass. She has pretty babies!
Jen
8/8/2011 08:55:45 am
Yay! Yes, Erin, we can keep them til you're ready. They'll need a heat lamp for a few weeks until they're all feathered out (or they can stay with their momma and snuggle under her belly). Let me know what I can do to help - I fully support chicken addictions :) Um, I might need a rooster. I've had three THREE!! hens nest so far this year (and one presumably on a nest in the woods somewhere right now) and I haven't gotten ANY babies. I'm starting to make rude comments about my rooster and his ability to do the most important part of his job...
Jen
8/8/2011 09:44:39 am
I actually didn't think Sasquatch was very good at... things... with his ladies because he's so big and slow, he can't catch them to do the deed, then he looks really awkward while he's trying. But apparently he's quite effective - the babies all have feathery legs just like him!
Erin
8/8/2011 11:47:32 am
Bella is PSYCHED and wants to know what breeds they are.
Jen
8/8/2011 01:32:10 pm
Their mom is a silver phoenix, and their dad is a splash Cochin. They all have feathered feet like their dad, but I have no idea what they'll look like. Other than adorable of course!
I think it's fascinating that half of them are chipmunk and half of them are blue. With standard F1 hybrids they should all come out the same and you wouldn't get that split until the F2 generation. So either we're not dealing with Mendelian genetics (very likely) or it's possible you've managed to breed little heritage sex-link chickens (much less likely). Sex-link characteristics are tricky to come up with. But I know it can be done with chickens, since that's how some of the high speed egg layers are bred.
Jen
8/9/2011 01:39:36 am
Yeah, I was wondering if I somehow ended up with sex-links. The split is pretty evenly half and half, which makes it even more strange. <3 babies! Leave a Reply. |
AuthorJen & Dave Paul, owners & operators of Old Post Farm Archives
May 2013
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