New d'Uccle Chicks ! ( With a couple of Silkies thrown in. )

 This week we had some more chicks hatch out from the Porcelain hen and Self Blue rooster. Here she is in the food bowl with the chicks under her.

 Here is the chicks father who is a Self Blue Mottled d'Uccle.

 Above is the nest box that the hen hatched the chicks in, which was made using a board and a milk crate. I have found the d'Uccles tend to spend most of  their time off the ground if given the chance, and it seems also that they prefer to nest off the ground. Most of my d'Uccles won't lay eggs or go broody if the nest box is on the ground, so keeping the nest box about two feet off the ground has worked well.

 Here are the seven new chicks, two of which are silkies . The other five are purebred d'Uccles, one of which is a Self Blue Mottled. The fact that this pairing produced both Porcelains and Self Blue Mottleds is still puzzling to me but is probably because of the mix of Porcelain, Mille Fleur and Black Mottled genetics involved. ( To read about the parents' breeding click here * )

 This is the Self Blue Mottled chick from this batch, and the second one out of this pairing.

 Above is the Porcelain hen with all the chicks.

 And here is the rooster and hen guarding the chicks. By Bugs.