Chicks!

I decided to start four more chicks to fill up and freshen our flock at the farm. I was hoping for four Australorps, but they only had two left, so I got two Silver Cuckoo Marans. They lay very dark, chocolate brown eggs. I think that will be a fun addition. I brought them home from Wilburs in a bucket covered with a towel.

Here they are in their new home, a dog cage in our bathroom. I have a light on them, and I ran the heater to warm them up, but they are a few days old already so they don't need it super hot.

Marans are a French breed, and the Silver Cuckoo variety will actually look a lot like the Barred Rocks (which I didn't know until I went home and looked them up.) Notice how much smaller the chicks are than the Australorps. Marans are active but docile, good for free ranging, and disease resistant. They will lay about 150 eggs a year.
Here's the wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marans
Here's another link
http://www.darkbrownegglayers.com/chicken-breeds-available/french-marans-chickens/
Here's what they will look like grown up
http://www.darkbrownegglayers.com/chicken-breeds-available/french-marans-chickens/cuckoo-marans/silver-cuckoo-marans/