Two Gals in the Flock

It's "setting" time in the coop again but no one's liking me much because I keep taking their eggs. I get some low growls, and the odd "it doesn't hurt at all" peck.
This is Midnight. She's sort of special, but then, all my chickens are. Way back, when Hubby found all those banty chicks in the baler, we had a chicken (Pinky) setting on some eggs. Slowly, one by one, she kept losing them, until there was only one left. The day I placed all the adopted chicks under her I grabbed that lone egg and, thinking it was a dud, was going to toss it. I walked down to the shop, holding the egg in my hand. When I got there I chatted with Hubby for a bit and suddenly I felt a very teeny peck peck in my hand, right through the egg! I cautiously scooted back to the coop and placed that egg back under Pinky... the next morning there was a very small all black chick along with the adoptees. She looked so funny, compared to the others, because everything on her was black... her legs, beak, and body... black as midnight. She has since got some colour around her face but will forever hold the name Midnight.

Here's Baby Banty. She came in with Mama Banty one very cold winter. Her one brother is long gone but Sammy (her other brother) is still with us, as is Mama Banty. I swore I would never have banty's in my coop and here I am with a mish mash of all kinds of chickens! Baby Banty has proven herself an excellent Mother... even attacking one of our Chihuahua's when he dared enter the coop. She will adopt any stray chick, or even not a stray and the fight is on.

I might let them both set when the weather warms a bit because my older chicks are getting, well, old. I have 33 birds and been averaging about 12-16 eggs a day with 31 layers so I know the older ones aren't really putting out much anymore. I'm just not the type to butcher up my buds tho' so they'll probably just die off natural deaths.