Three White Hens

Because one of my readers asked for pictures of the Dalmies, I present to you…. three mostly white little hennies.

Perdie, who, as you see, got the most gray from her adventures in the ash pile.  I got pictures of her investigating the nests and it apparently upset her routine, so she went back outside.

Pongo, who is slightly bigger than Perdie in build and has a bit more fluff in the trunk.

Pongo is also the more friendly of the two.  Granted, Ashley raised them all to “hide because it’s safer” … but I can pet Pongo and Maxie.  Perdie doesn’t really want me near her at all.  She is very skittish, as is their hatch-brother, Felix.

Genetics… Pongo and Perdie are most likely Pip’s children, with Australorp mothers.  They act a lot like my Australorps, and also the Orpingtons.  Those two breeds are cousins of sorts, so I guess that makes sense.

They are the most dramatic when it comes to laying eggs.  Often, they will go into several nests in search of the right one, announcing their displeasure at the rejected ones and complaining if their preferred is empty – for a very long time before settling on one.  Or faking the Egg Song in an attempt to get someone out of the nest they want.

I’ve noticed the same behavior in the Orps and Lorps, where as my sexlinks (Abby and the Mystery Bin Girls) are very no-nonsense about it.

Maxie, on the other hand….

… she is a straight to business type of girl.  More like Abby and the Mystery Bin Girls who jump into any available nest, lay their eggs and move on.  Like I said, no-nonsense.

Given that Maxie is a mini-me of Dots, I’m guessing her egg donor was one of the sexlinks.  She’s pretty and friendly, a little smaller than her sisters.  Another indicator that she is a sexlink.  Possible straight-on second generation if we assume Dots as the father.

Maxie was one of the few who avoided the ash pile altogether, so she isn’t even the least bit gray.  Which makes her very smart, in my opinion.

Anyway… that’s the girls.  🙂

 

Ashley’s Babies Have Names

I’d like to formally introduce you to…

Felicia…

who is really a rooster, so he should be Felix.

It’s true.  Felicia is growing more and more to look and act like a little roo-ling.  I just can’t bring myself to call him Felix, so Felicia he remains.

Miracle Maxie

My little Miracle Max… or Maxie. Who looks scarily like a female version of Dots.

This is Dalmie#1

whose new name is

Pongo

The Dalmies… so named because of their Dalmatian-esque color scheme… have been given Dalmatian worth names…  this one is Pongo, named after the father dog in 101 Dalmatians.   Pongo is mostly white,with the black spots on the back, tail and neck,but is growing up to have a slightly smokey grey color in the head and neck.

I am uncertain if Pongo is just in need of a bath or if this is a really cool color variant.  Since none of the others look dirty, I have to hope it’s the latter. 😉

Perdie

aka Dalmie #2

Dalmie #2 is named after the female Dalmation… Perdita, or Perdie.   Like Pongo, she has black splotches on her back, neck and tail.  But rather than the smokey grey, Perdie has gold/red in her neck and chest feathers.   It’s really kind of neat!

The gold/red is the same color as my sexlinks… Abby and the Mystery Bin girls.  If we’re right in thinking that Pongo and Perdie are Pip’s babies, then this is his sexlink heritage coming out in Perdie.

Aren’t barnyard mixes interesting? You really never know what you’re going to get!