Broodies, chicks and more joys of the country…

Lavender – a lavender araucana – who has been sitting resolutely on 7 eggs for the past three weeks hatched three gorgeous baby chicks: two with ginger Welsummer markings (the dad) and one pure black. Sadly the only one of her own (blue) eggs she was brooding wasn’t fertile – and the chocolate brown Blue Maran egg was eaten in week one! She is proving an admirable mother, showing the chicks what to eat and keeping them warm.

Her sister, Lilac, who was broody at the same time but gave up when moved to a safer location is sitting again… and my two adorable but feather-brained white silkies are broody during the day but go for lengthy strolls and forget about their eggs each evening. The araucana become comatose, oblivious to all else, and peck fiercely if you try to move them; whereas the silkies have trouble coping with more than one egg, steal eggs from one another, and don’t quite seem to know what they’re up to. Is this a Belbin “personality type” system in the making???