Mina

Out of the beautiful pink hatching eggs, emerged two tiny fluffy yellow chicks. With fans help I named the chicks Daphne and Guinevere.  "Daphne" means bright, alert and playful, charming and elegant. One look at what Daphne will look like as an adult and you know the name fits.  "Guinevere" means fair and white (how apropos!) and of course was the legendary Queen of King Arthur.  Since this breed originated in England around the time of the Roman conquest in 43A.D., I thought Guinevere was the perfect name.

By one week old it was clear this is a very friendly breed. Any time I took them out of the brooder, they seemed perfectly content to just stand on my lap.

I had also ordered day old chicks from Chicken Scratch Poultry that arrived at the same time my eggs hatched, so one more Light Sussex joined Daphne and Guinevere in the brooder.  By a week old they were already starting to lose their yellow chick fluff and one was even sporting a few tiny tail feathers!

At a month old, their feathers were coming in white and the black markings had started to emerge. True to the breed, the three of them continued to be curious, friendly chicks, having a grand time exploring the ground outside their coop as I snapped photos.

By five weeks, it was clear that I had a rooster.  Its hard to tell roos from hens at this young age, but by comparing chicks of the same breed and age, it can sometimes become apparent at an early age.  One chicks comb was much larger, turning red and he was already starting to grow wattles.  His legs are thicker and he is more stocky than the two females.  So it looks like we have a Lancelot for our Guinevere!

And here are the hen and rooster together at about 18 weeks old.

I am so glad I chose to raise a few Light Sussex. From everything I have seen, they will be extremely friendly hens and will add a nice bit of color to our flock, that up until now hasnt included any white chickens.  

And oooh, those pink eggs !  I cant wait.