We have our first chicks of the year. We resisted our broodies for as long as we could but finally succumbed and popped 18 coloured eggs (7 white, 4 dark brown and 7 blue/green) under three birds. All 18 were fertile, one failed to hatch and sadly three birds were crushed/died shortly after hatching due to broodies being a bit too zealous about their own individual charges. Nest sharing can be fraught!! We extracted two of the broodies and the remaining 14 chicks and put them in the broody stall and then managed to take some great close ups. The dark eggs have hatched very dark birds; the white eggs, very yellow ones; and the blue/ green, five dark and one pale!! We think the pale is from a very blue egg, laid by our Orrington cross who is herself black and white.
It is going to be fun seeing these chicks grown and change.