The Chick From Uccle

A couple of weeks ago I was out for the evening and when I got up the next morning and went out with the dog, Nibby was watching from the window while I let the chickens out, which seemed a bit odd. The reason became apparent when six new chicks came chirping out of the chicken house.

We haven’t hatched any eggs this year – these ones arrived (on the sly) at a few weeks old. The cool-looking white one in the picture is apparently a Barbu D’Uccle. The others are crosses between that and various other strange-sounding breeds.

Unfortunately, it was that same cool-looking white one that I saw flying across the orchard while I was mowing this morning. Not under its own steam, but in the jaws of the dog. After a long chase, I managed to retrieve it and apart from being covered with slobber it seemed to have survived the ordeal unscathed, so hopefully more pictures of this feathery footed beastie will follow over the coming months.