New baby chicks!

I was hoping this day was coming, but wasn't sure until I saw evidence that the eggs under my broody hen were going to hatch. Yesterday afternoon the eight eggs under black momma chicken started to peep and show signs of the little ones inside trying to make their way outside! Luckily, momma hen is letting me check and now I can tell you there are five fluffy white chicks hatched, two chicks (one black and one white) that went to chick heaven, and one egg yet with no signs of hatching so it might be a dud. The 5 little fluff balls are warm under momma, but I caught this little face peeking out:


The eggs were from another farm where they have a rooster who actually can fertilize the hens (unlike tiny little Colonel Sanders here!). On that farm they have white, red and black hens. They also have two white and one barred rock rooster, so any combination of parents is possible. It's funny that all the chicks are white, especially since all the other hens on our farm are colored. We'll always be able to tell which ones were new in 2009!


Keep your fingers crossed that we get at least two or three hens from this hatch, and that any roosters we get will be sweet enough to keep around, at least for a while. Of course I will post many more pictures as soon as momma gets them out and about, but I think that will still be a day or two as they are so tiny and there is that one egg left she's trying to hatch.