We managed to hatch five out of the six eggs – we discarded one on candling because it was empty. These little babies are definitely not Pekins or any sort of bantam. They are our first Brahmas, a large, gentle breed, said to be good all year round layers and hardy in cold conditions.
It was obvious from the first day that they were going to grow into large chickens by looking at their enormous feet and long legs.
You can see that they are feathering up nicely now and we moved them into an outbuilding after a few weeks, along with their brooder for heat. Previously, they were in the dining room and, as this room doubles as a music room, they were regularly serenaded by Hannah on the piano and both of us on our recorders as well as being forced to listen to us practising our Fauré duets. It doesn’t appear to have done them any harm …
As always we wanted hens but got mostly cock birds. We think that three out of the five are male but, providing they don’t fight, we’ll keep them all unless anyone wants one or is willing to exchange for an unrelated bird. They are now outside in a lovely large coop made by Hannah’s husband, George. It has taken them a while to figure out how to get up their ramp which is, admittedly, a very long climb from the floor because they haven’t got a mother hen to show them the ropes. Hannah patiently lifted them up the ramp one by one for a few weeks until they got the hang of it.
They get through a lot more food than the Pekins, in fact, they probably eat twice as much as the other six put together and they drink litres of water too. We have got a larger drinker for them but I think we may try making one from a white, food-grade bucket and some plastic nipples and cups designed for chickens. They seem nice natured birds and we were looking forward to letting them out to free range once they were old enough but avian flu has put paid to that for now. Their coop is big enough to keep them happy but I think they will be even happier once the threat passes and they can explore the garden with the Pekins. Speaking of the Pekins, we did have two cockerels and one hen as we thought. They have been named Chanticleer, Mouse and Freya and they are in with Bunty, Mavis and Clarissa now, all housed in Hannah’s poly tunnel over winter or until DEFRA advise that they can be let out again.
Foxglove Farm 