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.

D'uccle Breeding Program Update

 Since the last update Ive been busy selecting the chicks I'm going to keep, overall I'm looking for good combs,beards,feet,color and good body shape, so far these chicks have grown into very nice birds.  Above is my 3 color cross which I will be using to try and breed a chocolate colored Mille Fleur.

 This is one of the Mille Fleur roosters that I have chosen to keep for the future Mille breeding pen, he is good in most areas of the breed, with thickly feathered feet , thick beard, good comb and decent color.

 This Mille hen has been shaping up to look a lot like her mom Cookie Dough ,  although her foot feathering isn't as thick as I like she has good shape and a thick beard, I will pair her with a rooster that has thickly feathered feet.

 This is one of a few Porcelain chicks that hatched this year, she has a lot more blue than any of my Porcelain chicks, we will be breeding her to the Self blue Mottled below, what the color will be I'm not sure but my guess is a Self Blue Mottled with some cream lacing?.

 This is a comparison of 3rd and 4th generation Porcelains that shows the feather quality difference, the one on the left is a pure bred Porcelain with typical feather quality, the one on the right is 3/4 Porcelain 1/4 Mille Fleur with a lot of improvement in feather quality.

And this is the Self Blue surprise chick that I didn't expect, which we will be breeding to the porcelain hen above.

Bantam Chicks Growing Quickly

Bug's chicks are growing quickly. He has been observing and studying them to see just how well they are growing and also how well they are measuring up to their breed standard. This is one of his favorites.

We are not quite sure what variety this bantam chick is . Soon, very soon, we believe our suspicions will be confirmed, but we're not yet ready to proclaim him ( chick on the left) because his mottled spots are not "mottled" enough to make Oreo as wonderful in type as we hope he is.

Oreo

The hen we believe to be the same variety as Oreo.

Mlle Fleur chicks.

Granny Baa's bantam black Cochins. I ( Granny) am growing very fond of these chicks, they alone are mine. Their personalities are very different from the rest of the chicks. These little black chicks are very friendly and docile. Not the least bit flighty, they amble over to me as I feed and water the chicks. They are also shaped like little black roly-poly balls. Watching them just makes me happy. I am very glad I added these chicks to the order of Mlle Fleurs, Porcelains, and de'Uccles.

Raising chicks is so much fun, and so interesting. The benefits of having chickens, both bantam and standard size are many, but pure entertainment ranks high on the list.These chicks chase each other, play with each other, and are also an on-going learning experience.If you are a bit stressed out, just grab a cup of coffee or tea and go on out to the chicken pen to sit a spell and watch the chickens.You cannot help but leave them with a smile and a chuckle...and maybe a little better perspective on your day. At least enough to help you wake up and begin anew another day, after all, your chickens count on you to come back and spend a little time with them. ( O.K. They need you to feed and water them, but that works for you , doesn't it ? )