----Flock to the opposite side of the brooder when I decide to reach in and grab one. After a long while of watching, with them staring right back, I decided to pull out a few and take some pictures of their feathers----mainly the three BBS orpingtons, who, despite all my doubts, might actually really be blue.
First up, however, was Rico. Because he's so cocky he just stood there and twittered at me until I grabbed him, and then he started to flail about and squawk. Drama-queen.
His top-hat is starting to get some texture to it as the "real feathers" come in, and his barred color pattern is also showing up more and more as little white-tipped feathers come in on his sides and tail.
The broad-wing feathers have a nice, grayish stripe through them, hinting that when he gets bigger and gets his first molt they'll come in all barred.
~
Then, I decided to pull out Little Rock, who's so far the most developed of the lavender ameraucana bantams.
Her color's great, though to be honest she wasn't real thrilled about being singled out for pictures either.
~
Then the orps. Jojo, the big boy, was up first. He, in all protest, pooped on my leg.
Then Jayden:
And Razia:
Now. With all the orpingtons, I'm having a hard time deciding what I'm seeing exactly in their feathers. The black is there---obviously, in all the birds, closer to the body. Then there's blue, and white. The white is streaked with some gray and blue, reminding me of splash. Though, it is quite possible that these chickens will continue to grow out blue, or molt into blue as they get older. I don't know. Really, I would like some splash or blue, and am hoping that they don't all three turn out to be black, which seems unlikely at this point.
