Babies!

Waffle

Our backyard flock has dwindled some, since inception.  Now, despite it being high season for eggs, we aren't getting enough to be able to share them with friends.  So off to Atwood's to see the baby chicks.

Huntsville

Atwood's gets chicks year 'round, and today they had some standard pullets (girls), and some rarer breeds in straight run (unsexed).  We got 2 Barred Rock pullets, and two Buff Orpington pullets, and then it got interesting.  The stock tank full of straight run chicks clearly had some interesting birds.  We opted for a total of three, all in the same breed family, the Hamburg chickens.

Firefly

We are supposed to have a Gold Penciled Hamburg, a Gold Spangled Hamburg, and a Silvered Spangled Hamburg or maybe a Silver Penciled Hamburg.  I'm not totally sure!  They are supposedly a docile breed, if a bit flighty (sounds like our Brown Leghorn!).  We might need to clip their flight feathers in the future...and hopefully, they are all hens!  I really don't want to deal with a Roo.  But if we did end up with a Roo in the bunch, I should be able to trade him for a hen.

Nike

Since none of our hens went broody, we have to raise these new birds by hand, in the workshop.  Less convenient, but not our first chicken rodeo at least.

Athena

Yes the Monkeys have already named (with some editorial input from yours truly,) all the chicks.  The Buff Orpies are Cookie and Waffle.  The Barred Rocks are named after penitentiaries (because we nicknamed the Barred Rocks as jail birds").  And the tiny Hamburg chicks are named after missiles from the US inventory (past or current), Nike, Athena and Firefly.

Cookie

Yeah, I know, we're an odd lot!  But it is rather fun, giving them names.  Hopefully the names will fit, once they're grown.  And if any of the Hamburgs turn out to be Roos, then they'll briefly be known as Hercules or Ajax (also from the Nike missle program).

Leavenworth