Our New Life in the Country: The Chicks are coming.......

Thursday, 28 April 2011

The Chicks are coming.......

After our success hatching the first lot of Lavender Pekin Bantam chicks in November last year we decided recently that it was time to get our next little brood going. Well last night the first little cracks started to appear in the eggs.

By 6 o'clock this morning this little chick was nearly all fluffed up, about an hour old and waiting patiently for the first sight of Mum. I gave her a little cuddle and then popped her back to keep warm while her brothers and sisters made their way into the world.

I've just checked again it's 9 o'clock now and she's not on her own anymore, she's been joined by a little damp bundle who's completely exhausted after her struggle out of the shell. Bantam shells are quite tough and I do feel for the little chicks who struggle so valiantly into the world.

I'll pop back later with an update.

As promised - it is now 5.20pm and I'm back with an update. We have five little chicks. The three that hatched first have been moved to the 'nursery box' under the warmth of the heat lamp, chick number four is still in the incubator drying out and chick number five.....I watched her being born, kicking her way out of the egg and lying exhausted watching me with tired little eyes when I went to get the info for this update. These two will stay together for a while before being moved, there are two more in the early stages of pecking their way out, so we are doing well up to now.

On a different note - an update on my Below the Line challenge, it was due to start on Monday of next week, but as we are nipping up to Scotland to visit my lovely Mum in Law on Friday of next week, I have decided to bring it forward by a day. So I will be starting the five day challenge to live for '£1 a day for 5 days' on Sunday. The Blog will be devoted to meal plans and budget shopping for the whole of th 5 days, I hope you will pop by.

To sponsor me use the link at the top of my sidebar, it will take you straight to my personal fundraising page. Every penny counts, so don't be embarrassed to sponsor me for 50p or any amount you choose. Thank you.

Sue xx

6 comments:

Jane and Chris28 April 2011 at 13:20
Is it my eyes or do the chicks have the same colouring as the adults?
Jane x
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Sue28 April 2011 at 15:21
Yes Jane, the chicks are like little miniature adults. The same colouring and they also have the feathering on their legs from day one. Very cute!!

Sue xx
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Jane and Chris28 April 2011 at 16:02
Thanks!!
Jane x
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landcuckoo28 April 2011 at 19:02
How wonderful, congratulations 5 times over, so far!!
All the very best with your £1 a day challenge, I think it is a great thing to do and commend you for it.
Take care
Sarah x
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Unknown28 April 2011 at 19:29
Lovely news about the chicks.

Sft x
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Campfire28 April 2011 at 19:52
That is the best way of having babies. Congratulations on your little chicks and hope there are many more to come.
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Comments are now turned off for this old blog of mine. Thank you for reading the posts, I hope you enjoyed them. xx

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This was my Blog, just me writing about our day to day life learning all about and then living the smallholding life. First we started on a farm in Oxfordshire, then we moved to a smaller place in Berkshire (both in England) and then we found a place of our very own at the bottom of a hillside in North Wales. Along for the ride were all our various animals, and we ended up with just our dogs, Suky and Mavis, our cat Ginger .... who secretly thinks he's one of the canine gang, a sheep called Ethel who wandered in off the road and stayed... and a roving band of egg laying chickens that live cheek by jowl with the local wildlife.

We grow our own fruit and vegetables, selling surplus plants and edibles at the gate. We sell the eggs the chickens lay, we reuse, recycle and rethink ... and life ticks over at a pace that suits us.

It was simply the wild and wacky ramblings of a 50 something townie turned country girl called Sue, who lost her heart to a sailor and started a new life in the country .... many years ago. On a path that took us from Cumbria to Oxfordshire, to Berkshire and then we found our home at the bottom of a wet and windy Welsh hillside by a busy main road.

Pull up a chair, grab a coffee and relax into a world of dogs, cats, chickens, polytunnels and veggies with the occasional grass munching sheep thrown in for good measure.

Sue xx

Disclaimer

Our New Life in the Country is my blog.

I use it to chart the day by day, week by week, year by year goings on in mine and Lovely Hubby's life. In it I also express my views and opinions, and say what I do and occasionally how I do it. I am hoping that this will prove to be a useful reminder for myself of how we did things, as we continue in our learning process.

If you chose to follow my practices it is assumed that you will do so with care and consideration, and question where necessary any methods or techniques I use to your own satisfaction and match them to your own circumstances.

The pictures in each blog post are taken by me unless otherwise credited, and as such should not be borrowed and used elsewhere without my consent.