Mystery Chicks

I love this game. It's the best part of breeding critters of any kind. What will the new babies look like? Did my critters make something new? 

So here is just such a game. The parents are our mottled mystery mix bantams. Hearafter known as our M&M&Ms. ;-)

We just hatched our first babies and what a variety! First, this little one was what I expected:

A little black and butter cream puff. 

We also got a whole bunch of these little jewels with coal spots on their heads! Looks like my guess of mottled Japanese for the parents linage was spot on!  *giggle*!  ;-)

No, that's not a marker dot. That's the color they were born with! 

We also got a little chocolate drop. This one is a rich dark brown on top and buttery underneath, named Toffee!  ;)

Chocolate? :-/ Where did he come from?!

And then.... (Drumroll)....

We got a solid black chick! Black legs, black eyes, black beak,... Is he black on the inside?  I gentle looked in his mouth. Nope. Rats. :-(

But still a cute little guy! 

I wonder what this one will look like when he grows up? There must be Silkie in the mix! 

Cotton Patch Geese!

Exciting and busy weekend! The best part was trading a group of Bielefelder chicks for two beautiful cotton patch geese! Thank you Regina! I have been researching these beautiful geese for quite some time. They are the only American land race of domestic goose. They were used in the cotton fields back in the day to eat the grassy weeds while leaving the crop untouched. Today, they can be used the same way to weed our vegetable gardens! Im not entirely sure what they will and won't eat, but I'll find out soon enough.
On the way home, our new girl didn't waste any time. She laid a      beautiful white egg, right in her crate!
After sleeping overnight in their transport pen, our pair ventured out and have taken over our fallow garden, already putting quite a dent in the grass!We have some tomatoes, strawberries, onions, and yellow squash planted, but they have not so much as touched any of those, preferring instead to nibble the grass down to the dirt! These guys are better than Roundup! Cheaper too! Just give them water and grass!



For their nighttime quarters, our geese decided the center compost bin was a perfect fit. We agreed that would be a safe and secure spot for sleeping and nesting, so I dug it out and filled the bottom with fresh hay and straw. Chuck sturdied it up and added a roof and door.

They love it! They spent most of today inside and this afternoon laid a SECOND egg!! YIPPEEEE!!!