To the Hilt

the chooks are here

Well, as some of you may know, the eggs that Rafter was setting on started to hatch on Wednesday. By Friday morning when I left for Tennessee, all nine had hatched. None of Phoenix's chicks had pipped yet, as she had gone broody after Rafter did.

Well, upon my return, my mother informed me that all eleven on Phoenix's clutch had hatched as well! Now, only two of those eggs were actually Phoenix's. One was from Matilda, our other half-bantie, and the remaining eight were from our standard chickens, although we're not sure which rooster sired any of these chicks. Now, on to the pictures!

Some of Rafter's bairn. All of them are hers except for the chick farthest to the left. That is the single chick resulting from someone managing to get in there while she was still laying in her secret spot.

Phoenix and "her" bairn. A very colorful bunch so far.

One of the interesting color variations. Several chicks from both broods are black like this with rust-colored faces. One of the chicks from Rafter's bairn, Pan, has that color all over, as evidenced below (Pan is the farthest to the right):

Isn't 'e cool?