Day 593: Counting my chickens... Chickens 5; CHICKS 3!!!

Yup, we've got some 3 week old Cream Legbar chicks!!! Cream legbars are auto-sexing - as in, girls are different colours to boys so no risk of getting a cockeral by mistake. Girls have the markings of a tabby cat, with a pale brown body, stripey head and super-charcoaled eye-liner!!! Boys are just plain yellow lol.

Anyway, here's the news:

• They're in a cat basket as they are already trying to fly so we need to keep them safe, unstuck (they can get trapped in the tiniest of spaces) with a mesh lid (for good ventilation) and escape proof!
• They're under a heat lamp to keep them warm
• They have a tiny feeder and drinker but already are sitting and pooing in them both, even though I've hung them up (I made a chain of tie-wraps!) to try to stop them!
• Newspaper on the floor to aid cleanliness and help them grip their feet
• All this in the downstairs loo to keep them warm, draft-free... and cat free too!

Want to see? Okey dokes :o) Names are forming gradually...

How cute? Every now and again, they go quiet! But then, every now and again they make a racket as they toddle around, flap a bit, stretch a leg or a wing, have a quick preen :o) So yes, VERY CUTE!

And we SHOULD have... BLUE eggs next summer! YAY! They may lay later this year but I doubt it so maybe in a years' time?

PS we told the farmer about our skinny Tallulah and she said we had them on the wrong feed - ooer. Ours was too high quality for pure breed hens who only lay in the summer - so we've bought another brand for our regular, year-round layers  and hope they put on some weight!