Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Woolly the chook

This gorgeous little girl is a blue Pekin Bantam. She was named after woolly-de-rosie a.k.a. Rachel from the wonderful world of Ravelry. She is a second generation of my own bloodlines and she will soon go broody (the chookie, not Rachel LOL). When that happens she will be given some fertilised eggs to sit on and hatch. The eggs take 21 days to hatch and I always have the incubator turned on from about Day 19 ~ JIC any of the chicks need extra care or have trouble getting out of the shell. This is exactly what happened with a baby trying to hatch last week. It pipped the shell OK, but after 24 hrs had made no progress. Over a period of about four hours, I very tentatively broke the shell away with a pin and pair of tweezers. The chick managed to make its escape and once its feathers were dry by around 11 pm I placed it under its mum & it's doing really well now ... eating lots, strong and growing feathers at an alarming rate! Pekins have feathered feet, so they do little damage when they scratch. They are quiet and with sweet dispositions, making them great pets for childen. Who cares about the size of their eggs??!!! LOL

1 comment:

  1. I'd love some of these:-)

    PS, the eggs are great for glazing pies, when you need an egg wash or when you only want a small amount for things like pastry. I never thought I'd use bantam eggs until I have them, now I use them for special things...

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