Yesterday I told you all about the new breed of chicks I got, now today you get to see for yourself that they do indeed exist (in case the video didn’t convince you).
I would like to introduce you to my 4 Black Copper Marans chicks. (although one of them may be a Black Copper Marans/Lavender Orpington cross).
I won’t be naming the chicks until they’ve developed a bit of a personality. If I were a parent I would wait until my child was the age of 5 before I named them. Until that point I’d call them Whiskerbuttons and carry them around in a bowling bag.
Here they are … my new chicks.
Notice the furry/feathery legs. I love those little feathery legs. I could just eat em. And in fact have on occasion.
That’s the actual shell this chick hatched out of. We recreated the moment for you through the magic of photography and a particularly slow afternoon.
I have high hopes that this one is a gal. Rumour has it that the boy Marans get their tail feathers more slowly than the hens. And this one started sprouting tail feathers almost immediately out of the shell. That would mean I have at least one girl in this group of 4.
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Below you can see the actual shells my chicks hatched out of. The woman I bought the chicks from gave them to me. So I can expect my chickens to lay this colour egg or darker, or lighter. It’s a crapshoot really.
These eggs came from the middle of her hens’ laying cycle which means they’re lighter than they are at the beginning of the laying cycle. They’re a fairly dark egg and because the rooster also came from a dark egg, chances are I too well get nice dark eggs.
You can see the brown egg that I normally get from my one brown egg layer (Walnut). It’s more pink than brown really.
So once I get to add the Marans eggs into the mix in 6 or 7 months I will have a mixture of eggs that look like this.
From left to right these eggs come from Walnut, (my soon to be Marans), Cuddles and Cheez Whiz. You can see how the Marans egg is shiny compared to the other, more flat looking eggs.
That’s it for the chicken coverage for this week, but I’ll of course be posting photos, videos and updates in the weeks to come.
If I have time that is. Watching baby chicks romp and sleep is awfully time consuming.
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I just got 2 new chix to add to my flock of 2… introducing the babies to the adults is a bit of a challenge. They are all together now and the pecking order is being established without too much kerfuffle.
thanks for letting those of us who cannot have chicks live vicariously thru you and yours…. sigh
i love their little bums..will the eggs taste different
They should taste the same as my other fresh eggs. Although the woman who I got them friend has a friend who swears the Marans eggs are better. ~ karen
There you go… my strays may not be mutts after all. Every JA citizen knows that
‘common fowl’Marans eggs are the tastiest, and yolks could pass as orange in colour. Some regard that as a testament to the benefits of having them roam free, but I think it may just be a breed thing.I’m sure you know I’ll be watching all your chicken-related posts with interest from here on in….. as if I wasn’t already doing that. :-D
What cuties! I’ve pseudo named them (for my purposes….I’m anxiously waiting to see who they REALLY are!)……..
Eeny, Meany, Miney & Moe. :)
They are adorable!! What is the average life span of a hen?
Anywhere from 3 days to over 10 years! ~ karen
I miss having chickens and think at one time I may have had a Marans rooster. He was gorgeous, but that’s another story. I thought for sure that one you took to be a hen was a rooster. It will be interesting to see what you end up with. I hope it’s more hens, roosters can be nasty little pieces of work although mine was a real character.
Sorry, meant to say four legs!
Cute little fuzzies! I got a chuckle out of the eleventh picture – it looks like one chick with two legs. Well it could be a chick semi in tandem ! Still, too cute.
Makes me miss my Chickens and their fluffy pantalons, and oh the joy of getting the full colour collection of eggs, I had the full house too. Fingers X’d they’re all girls.
Such a proud momma, you are! They are all so very cute!
thanks for sharing all those cute pics,especially all the butt shots :)
Word on the street here is that “they” (who are these they?) are trying to get an ordinance passed that allows for backyard chickens as long as there are no roosters. I hope it happens!! We are the people that go to Tractor Supply and swoon over the chicks every spring. And then we leave. First, condolences on Norma. Very sad. How long does a chicken live? When my daughter now 5 and still nameless (lol!) was an infant I or my hubs would be in there every 15 mins to make sure she was breathing. Are the chicks outside or in the house? They are so cute!
Hi Dana – The chicks are outside in a shed that I have with a heat lamp over them. Chickens can live anywhere for a few years to over 10 years! It’s kind of unpredictable. With Norma I just keep telling myself that she had a WAY better life than if she’d ended up at a big chicken farm, or on someone’s plate. :) ~ karen
Everyone who is having a bad day should look at chicks. Baby anything really, but chicks are super cute. So are ducklings. When are you getting ducks?
Do you ever keep the shells after using the inside? They are great for crafts. I made a “brain” head piece from eggs shells in my first year at OCAD. had the kitchen ladies at my residence save them for me. Here’s a recent photos from a Wearable Art Show in London, ON. https://twitter.com/agawaffle/status/446849793956917248/photo/1
OMg. THose are both GREAT! I’m especially partial to the zippered suit. Did you knit it? ~ karen!
He’s a Sack Boy from the video game LittleBigPlanet. I made it years ago….I had another Sack Boy suit, but unfortunately lost him in a breakup, only later to find out the costume was being sold on Kijiji for peanuts.
And no, I don’t knit….but I do sew! I made the suit from some pajama sewing patterns and made up the rest. I have more photos of them here if you want to see! http://agnesmakes.com/category/costumes/
I have been buying eggs from a co-worker with chickens, and they are various shades of brownish/tan. Some of them are very hard to crack open in the morning when I make my breakfast and she says it is because she feeds them the very best…I don’t know what that means, but she says lots of calcium which made sense to me. I only know the eggs are wonderful!
Beautiful little birdies – I, too, am smitten with the legs. Have fun.
I love their fuzzy legs and big feet.
Too much cuteness!!!
Absolutely adorable! My husband and I just loved these cute baby chick photos and such pretty colored eggs! Enjoy, andv thanks for sharing, Karen!
They are so stinkin’ cute!! You remind me of the weirdos that want to take the placenta home after giving birth, lol.
LOL. Oh my God, I have no idea how you came to that conclusion, lol. I mean WHO would take the placenta home when you can eat it right there and then in the hospital? ~ karen
That would have made me spit coffee if I drank it and it was morning. You are too funny.
You silly! It’s so that you can make placenta soup.
Gah, that picture of the one with its little butt up in the air. I die. They are so fucking cute. And yes, they deserved a curse word.
Kare, enjoy your new peeps!
Holy chick, Batman! So cute!
Those chicks are stunning! Really, beautiful photos. I can’t wait for more!
So precious! I’m so glad I’m not the only one who did a (couple) photo shoot(s) of their baby chicks. :)
They are sooooooooooo cute!