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MURPHY'S LAW AND THE BELGIAN D'UCCLE MILLEFLEURS.

1/3/2019

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Yes we love our silkie chickens here, with their fluffy little butts and super sweet natures.  But after seeing some Belgian d'uccle millefleurs (meaning  chickens from the Belgian province of "uccle") at a local show, I fell head over heels for this quaint little creature.  Millefleur means "million flowers", and that's exactly what their gorgeous plumage looks like.     

So I hunted down some eggs from a decent Victorian Belgian bantam breeder, and had them posted to Sydney.   Disaster struck 2 weeks into incubation when the heating element on the incubator failed, so the eggs were cactus.    We have 6-7 incubators running between spring and autumn, but Murphy's Law said it had to be the one containing the mille's that failed.

What's that saying - expect nothing from posted eggs, and if something actually hatches, it's a bonus!

Round 2 of a dozen posted eggs saw 7 of 12 fertile at incubation lockdown.  3 had detached air cells (thanks, Aussie Post!) and were late deaths in shell.  4 hatched OK and have survived the first few days, not withstanding the power going out at 11pm one night & taking down all the incubators and brooding lamps for a good half hour!

I was perhaps unprepared for how TINY these fluffy-footed chicks are.  They seem 2/3 of the size of a silkie chick, no bigger than a 20c piece.

Round 3 of posted eggs are on their way. Here's hoping Mr Murphy leaves us alone this time.  So that should be enough breeding stock to get us started.

We will be retaining the Belgians hatched this year, but should have chicks available for sale in early 2020.
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  • Home
  • Sebastopol Geese
    • About our Sebastopol Geese
  • Indian Runner Ducks
    • About Indian Runner Ducks
    • Indian Runner Duck Australian Breed Standards
    • Gallery - Indian Runner Ducks
    • Indian Runner Ducks for Sale
  • Bantam Chickens
    • Belgian D'Uccle Bantam Chickens >
      • About our Belgian D'uccle Bantam Chickens
      • Belgian D'uccle Bantams for Sale
    • Pekin Bantam Chickens >
      • About our Pekin Bantam Chickens
    • Silkie Chickens >
      • About Chinese Silkie Chickens >
        • Australian Silkie Chicken Breed Standards
      • Sexing Silkies
      • Why are Silkie Hens hard to find?
      • Gallery - Silkie Chickens
      • Silkies for Sale
  • Laying & Heritage Chickens
    • Dorking Chickens >
      • About our Dorking Chickens
      • Australian Breed Standards - Dorking Chickens
    • Cross Bred Layers >
      • Cross Bred Layers for Sale
      • About our Cross Bred Layers
    • Faverolles Chickens >
      • About our Faverolles Chickens
  • Poultry Care
    • Poultry Behaviour >
      • Egg Eating Chickens
    • Incubation, Hatching & Brooding >
      • Preparing Eggs for Incubation
      • Incubating & Candling Chicken & Duck Eggs
      • Why didn't my eggs hatch?
    • Poultry Health >
      • How to Post Eggs
      • Marek's Disease
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Hatch Dates
    • 2018/9 Hatch Dates
    • 2019/20 Hatch Dates
  • For Sale