The chicks are now about 8 weeks. They segregate into 2 small flocks with their brood mates. I think there’s 15 of them running around.
There’s 6 or 7 olive egger cockerels that look very similar black, pea comb. Like this guy:
There’s 2 olive egger pullets that are barred and look almost...
…but it looks like the 3 or 4 black copper marans that hatched are pullets. I integrated all the chicks last night and they slept in the big coop with the adults. I’m really hoping they all go in tonight on their own.
Only 1 pointy marans egg out of the basket hatched. So, I expected only 1 cockerel out of all the chicks that hatched.
I think there’s about 16 chicks running around and about half look like cockerels. I don’t have any good pics but they look a lot like this guy.
The chicks are about 4-1/2 weeks old now and the second broody hen has stopped taking care of the chicks today. I’ll see if she decides to roost in the coop tonight.
I’m definitely seeing atleast half of the marans x whiting true blue chicks are cockerels.
Making some deviled eggs
There was only 1 marans chick that was from a pointy egg. All other chicks should be pullets according to the egg shape index theory. Most of the air cells were too hard to identify in my dark brown and green eggs. That seems to be a lot easier to identify in white eggs.
From what I can tell so...
Ok, the egg shape experiment…
I’m seeing some birds with vibrant yellow combs right now, but none have turn red yet. Some I suspect as boys…thick legs, wide and vibrant combs.
@Ladybird CA I’ll try to get another video this week showing closeups of all the month old chicks. Would be amazing if...
95º+ weather here already. Chicks staying hydrated at the water stations.
Check out the copper mark of the beast on that one chick, that chick is one of the half maran/half whiting true blue.
Getting about 6-7 eggs a day from 10 layers.
Third possum this week.
I started feeding the chicks inside this little protective circle of garden fencing. It keeps the big chickens out of their food and not scratching and wasting.
I’m planning on keeping the barred olive eggers pullets to hopefully backcross them to a black copper marans rooster to make sex linked BC1 olive eggers.
I was looking at the chicks, I think I put a BCM in with the olive eggers and an olive egger in with the BCM chicks. I’m noticing the pink feet vs yellow.
I did hatch some chicks that came from hens that have dark fibro skin and shanks and the rooster has yellow shanks. Idk if that has sex link possibilities
most of the black and white chicks in these photos are from the rooster in the last photo with the large modified pea comb and black copper marans hens with straight combs. The rooster is the only barred bird in the flock.
Here’s an egg from Pretty Girl. Shes the best layer IMO and she’s also the boss of the flock.
Here’s Toasty and her chicks. 8 Easter eggers and 4 Black Copper Marans.
I had a marans hen get locked out of the coop 2 nights ago. Woke up to squawking and ends up something was after her. Set...
Lots of cute chicks out in the yard exploring now. The 2 clutches have started to mix and match with the 2 hens. Second pic is one of the black copper maran chicks. I like how the color of his face, eyelid, and beak criss-cross and change. Some of the the easter egger chicks have vibrant beaks...
The person I got the eggs from has generously offered some more replacement eggs. I might take her up on it soon. I found some white faced black Spanish hatching eggs locally. I might get some of those and do one more summer hatch.