Life continues

The Littlees are still in the garden.   We haven't had any crowing yet (I bet I've just jinxed that), so they can stay for a bit longer.

The black chooks are developing brown feathers now, either in stylish streaks, or patterning.  Roobarb (middle chook in the pic) was completely black as a baby, and look at her now.

Tilda (L), Roobarb, Custard

Norah (or was it Batty, I can't remember now) is the mother of 3 of the chicks:  

• Big Bird, the enormous yellow chick, is still kinda yellow.  His/Her grandad was Tilda and Custard's father,  so that may be where it has come from.
• Bert and Ernie, the two mottley chicks, are now very dark brown with splodges.  I can't make up my mind if just one of them is a boy or if they both are. 

Of the 7 black chicks, there are 3 pairs of  "twins", or, more accurately, lookeelikeys.  I would guess we have  4 boys and 3 girls. Charlie, one of the two with a comb, is a boy. Charley-lene is also, I think, a boy.  They look very similar except Charlie has game bird eyes and Charley-lene has Australorpy (black) eyes. Charlie-lene acquired a name because I needed to differentiate from Charlie (and didn't want to use NotCharlie,  I've been down that route before).

We have one definite girl, Princess Odette.  She's the one who doesn't have a Lookeylikey.   She acquired her name because she had a minor  leg problems a couple of days ago and sat around looking like a tiny black swan,  with her elegant neck, small head, and little tail.  She sat looking dainty and graceful, eating the grass around her.  She ate her pellets and drank her water, and is now back to her old self.

The other 4 black chooks - I have no idea, and they haven't acquired names.  One of them is always the last to go to bed, patrolling the lawn first to make sure everyone else is in.  I suspect he's a he.

So, that's 60% of the dinner chickens named.  I don't think I have ever named quite so many before.  I do know better, there is no excuse.