Monday 10 February 2014

Mother Hen and chocolate cake....

We had a lovely weekend and friends came for Sunday lunch. The 9yo and I designed a couple of naughty cakes for dessert: The Kit-Kat Cake proved the most popular though I had at least 1 fan of my rhubarb, apple and blackberry oat-topped crumble, (all from the garden/fields.)



Also, to add to the weekend's fun, our new, (well, eBay-new,) incubator proved a good purchase; as we hatched 5 chicks from 12 eggs.



It's Monday morning now and I'm back inside after completing my outdoor jobs. I'm sitting in the warm kitchen, log burner glowing and the cats stretched across the sofa - fast asleep. Outside the snow is pouring onto our fields, (poor alpaca and sheep!) Here in the warmth, the peace is periodically pierced by the peeping of the chicks! They call out, then eat something, then go back to sleep. In exactly 21 days they turned from eggs to the cutest chicks. A miracle really. They are already eating and drinking; amazing.


We're confident that two are Salmon Faverolles, (the yellow ones,) though we still don't know yet if they are male or female. We should know in a couple of weeks due to their wing colour. The other three babies may be a combination of Salmon Faverolle rooster and Black Rock hen. Hope they're girls!

In a day or so they'll move to the larger brooder but for now they are toasty in their incubator.

All-in-all a jolly good weekend. Though after the Kit-Kat Cake, (not easy to say, cut or eat,) I may need a couple of days of fasting..... 
 
[If you are reading this on an iPad or you cannot see the photos, please click the title of the post to be magically transported to my blog where all may be revealed. Lou x]

4 comments:

  1. Congratulations on the new chicks - new life, be it plants, or birds or beasts is always so welcome at this time of year.

    We started this morning with a few flakes of snow and are now swathed in fog. At least it is not raining.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are SO LOUD!! Can't concentrate... (not moaning, honest) Snow has stopped here. Phew. The alpaca seem to prefer the change from rain to snow and I'm hoping for a brief but massive freeze in order to aid poo-picking... My life isn't wot I thought it would be.......

      Delete
  2. That kit kat cake looks fabulous! Sounds like a pretty successful weekend to me, stay warm indoors the weather sounds bitter!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, will do. The cake was yummy....... Jeans feeling tight now....

      Delete

The Archers at The Larches

Lou - Chicken whisperer....

Lou - Chicken whisperer....

Snowy and Moon

Snowy and Moon