Bantams After All!

When we put in our order to the hatchery this spring, we ordered some bantam chicks along with some regular sized birds. Unfortunately, the hatchery had trouble with a lot of their hatches and wasn't able to give us any bantams.

We've always kept a few bantam chickens in our flock because they are friendly, great foragers, don't consume much laying mash in proportion to their size, lay very well, and will often go broody.

The reason we wanted to get more bantams was because we found ourselves down to just two banties . . . one hen and one rooster, both Golden Laced Cochins.

Well, a few weeks ago Mama Bantam went broody so we put her and her clutch in a separated area in the hopes she would hatch out some little ones.

Last Friday morning she presented us with four little (little being the operative word . . . Papa Pea describes them as being about as big as a quarter) chicks. The pic above was the best I've been able to get so far. Two of them out and about but not wanting their picture taken and the other two snuggled under Mama.

I really want to get a picture soon, if I can, of one of us holding one of the little guys in our hand so you can get a sense of how small they really are. They are just the cutest little things!

Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all four of the new arrivals aren't roosters!