Tuesday 5 March 2013

The waiting is over

Today has been a very special day.


Two little balls of fluff

We have been brooding and waiting for three long weeks ...

Brooding

I was on tenterhooks yesterday, constantly nipping out to check on the mother-to be.

And this morning I knew when I heard the squeals of joy from Princess Bunchy that the waiting was over.

Hatching

Our small miracle had happened - those little blue eggs had cracked open, out had come two tiny balls of fluff, and a third was just emerging. (If you look very carefully at the picture you can see it happening.)

Indignant

And someone else's beak is completely out of joint - she has been turned out of her home lock, stock and barrel until the little ones are big enough to be introduced to her.

Spring has sprung indeed.

Look at the pretty baa lamb

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Technical information: the fluffy white hen is a Silkie, a breed reputed to be the very best mothers. The indignant looking one is a Brown Speckled Sussex. They and the fertilized blue eggs came from Blue Egg Hens.

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Technical development: Pomona is now on Instagram - if you would like a picture postcard from me more often than I get round to blogging then you can find me @pomonaspics.

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27 comments:

Canadian Abroad said...

I spotted my first lamb yesterday. Love that happy feeling it gives you. The chicks must be gorgeous to watch. Oh, and I am on instagram - canadianabroad - or I will be back there when my phone problem gets resolved.

Sophie said...

Congratulations on the new additions to the family! So sweet.
Sx

ArtyZen said...

Sooo cute! We're hoping to have chickens when we move - not sure what breeds we'll find here in Spain but will be researching. Axxx

greenrabbitdesigns said...

Awe, look at them, so cute! I would be excited too, all that lovely new life. :)
V xxx

Katy Cameron said...

Have fun with the new additions!

Indigo Blue said...

Oh that is sooooo cute. Wait until I show Sophie (aged 10) she will love it. Not seen any lambs yet but then I have been confined to barracks with spring report writing. Offically allowed out tomorrow!!

Holly Hollyson @ Full of Beans and Sausages said...

Really lovely to read this and know that it is finally happening! Lovely spring!

Frances said...

Pomona, this post really does signal that Spring is getting very close.

Your photos are marvelous and your models are amazing, too.

xo

Draffin Bears said...

What a wonderful time for you, the little chickies are so precious and the new little lamb.
We used to always have chickens when I was growing up and remember how excited I was when new fluffy chicks hatched.

Happy day
hugs
Carolyn


Mrs. Micawber said...

No spring babies here as yet, but we saw some very new calves in Colorado....

The little balls of fluff are adorable, and what pretty eggs they came from.

menopausalmusing said...

We had a silkie who did a sterling service for years, they truly are incredible mothers and isn't it amazing to see newly hatched chicks?

ted and bunny said...

that is the loveliest thing.

I was quite sad this week, having a convo with a (perfectly nice) man who runs a local battery hen unit.
He was moaning about the amount of young hens who arrive at the farm at 13 weeks with misaligned necks, something I'd never heard of but evidently, he told me, it was due to the "egg-cracker" coming down seconds too late.
What on earth I thought. . .
He explained that "indusrty" hens are hatched in huge trays and so they all have the same development rate the eggs are cracked open in unison by a machine so they all hatch at once.
Some chicks are just raising their heads to come out and the cracker jars their necks which stay misaligned.
It makes commercial sense of course but it did strike a sad chord- these chicks aren't ever allowed to do ANYTHING natural, we have to run the show for their whole lives. Even their birth is micro-managed. . .

Windy Island Handmade said...

Oh gorgeous! I used to keep hens and absolutely loved it. We had a Silkie called Millie who would sit on the settee in the kitchen on my daughter's lap and watch the Tweenies. Happy days indeed.Karla

Shocking Hocking said...

so gorgeous - there's nothing quite like it - congrats to the new mum!!

Susan McShannon-Monteith said...

What a perfect way to greet Spring.
The chicks are so cute and the lamb adorable.
I have a fondness for piglets... maybe someday I'll have a few.
Susan x

dottycookie said...

Just ow, I can;t think of anything more gorgeous than a soft fluffy new chick. Sigh.

andrea creates said...

aw, those silkies are so cute!
i wanted chickens when we moved but i'm not sure we're allowed to have them. it's still on my wish list :)

Liz Davey said...

We had a lovely white Silkie like yours, until the badger got into the hen house .... grrr

Quinn said...

How lovely! What a good broody hen. Much joy ahead, watching them grow :)

Elizabeth Musgrave said...

Gorgeous! we have cream legbar and araucuna eggs in the incubator. Only a week to go!

Old Magnolia Tree said...

I just have two words; sooo cute!!
Rosie

Anonymous said...

What a definite sign that spring is on the way. I can't imagine how cute and soft they are in real life. We are hoping to get chickens in the next couple of years :)

I am yet to see my first lamb of the year, but the nearest sheep are on the way out of the other side of town and we don't go that way very often. But your photo certainly makes me want to go have a look xx

Julie said...

Oh they are going to be su much fin. Can we please have some pics as they grow up? Juliex

Down by the sea said...

Your balls of fluff look so cute hope Mum and babies are doing well!
Sarah x

Floss said...

Sweet, sweet, sweet! Our silkie was broody last week, but we had no eggs to hatch so we were ruthless in keeping her out of the nestbox. Sadly, she's bald at the moment, as she inadvisedly stuck her head through the fence towards the bully-hens and they took advantage... it's nice to see what they're meant to look like again!

Sweet Posy Dreams said...

Oh how exciting! Won't it be fun to watch them grow!

Gillian Roe said...

How lovely! My son's nursery have eggs in an incubator and they are eagerly waiting for them to hatch. So fluffy and impossibly cute.

Gillian x

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