I Built A Bridge!

[lizgarf]

So, the plan with the rancher is back on! I will try to bring Desi to HER on Monday. Funny, but for some reason I had a assumed it was a man, but now it'd have to be a man named "Patti."

Thanks, TG! I'm feeling optimistic about Frankie too. Who knows, maybe I'll decide to keep him instead of Diego! They're both awfully cute, but Frankie is definitely higher maintenance at the moment.
Yeah, the occasional flighty pullet seems to be a hazard of the broody hatch. None of this past hatch is currently cuddly with me, despite lots of hand-fed yogurt early on. There's hope for Cindy, but Ginger is already pure trouble!
By the way, Teila, Cindy is blue-cochinesque! It'll be fun to see if she ever gets any copper, but right now she's blue with slight lacing, a dark neck and a somewhat cochin shape. She was hatched from Rouseau's egg, so has the black/blue cochin gene, minus the frizzle.

 

[Teila]

Good morning Bridge Club

TG congrats on Sapphire’s first egg!

I would never ignore you and yep, the ‘everyone arrives with a friend’ is going through my mind also.

No rush and any newbies are definitely on hold while I have yet another break-broody session with Cilla!

Liz well that is the pits! I had high hopes for Desi’s cattle ranch adventure also. Maybe it was not meant to be because his new found popularity means that his perfect new home is just around the corner.

Pooman sorry, you lost me at “eat the fat off the lamb”

I examine every piece of meat before I eat it to ensure all of the fat has been trimmed or it will come straight back up; I can’t tolerate it at all.

No news from here so sharing a couple of fun pics …. Cilla in broody jail with no nest box or eggs to tempt her:



Blondie and LuLu practicing their synchronised dust bath routine which obviously needs a bit more work!

 

[Teila]

Hey Liz we posted pretty much at the same time!

Good luck for Monday, I will be thinking of you

 

[tommysgirl]

Teila I think that Blondie could easily have been named Jane Masnfield..Love your new avatar..Will miss Tina and the Bub but understand the switch and whole heartedly approve.

My egg shipper shipped 13 eggs when I asked for 10! I put 10 under Norma and 3 under Gracie who will be getting her own eggs hopefully on the 10th or 11th. The plan is to candle all 13...5 had wonkie air cells...on the 11th and leave Norma with however many are still viable a that time...sticking one or two under Julie if needed. Basically doing an egg shuffle between the three broodies with those three until their hatch dates roll around then putting them under Norma when she gets room...This will only work if all 13 don't develop.

I guess I could tell the bantam cochin lady who is sending me Gracie's eggs that I want fewer but really who are we kidding? "I think the shuffle will work" said the crazy chicken lady.

I have had things to do every day after work all week and feel like I have been neglecting my flock. They haven't been out much I haven't had the time to hang with them like I like to and I am really looking forward to this weekend and some bird time.


I hope things are moving forward for Desi and that no one has had any heartbreak these last few days. I would send you shots of my broody moms but you have all seem them in action before. I do have pics of Cosmo and Stella to share. probably get to uploading those tomorrow

It is funny though with Gracie and Julie. Julie has never been broody separately from Gracie. Julie goes and a week or so later...about the time I give her eggs, Gracie is in the nest box next to her. This last time with Buster, Posey and Waylon all the chicks hatched the same day and the 3 mamas raised them together. The first time Julie was given chicks within 3 days of Gracie hatching a clutch and they mothered them together too This time there will be over 2 weeks between Gracie's and Julie's hatches so I think I will separate them out of fear that Gracie will give up on her eggs to help Julie mother the chicks.

Take care chicken friends. Liz I hope your hillside is secure above and below you. We are in for lots more rain!

 

[tommysgirl]

It has been awhile since I posted pics so here are Cosmo and Stella being cute...now that the Gracie and Julie are once again on the nest Stella has reclaimed her main man.


He is a bit of a player when he has his whole harem....Here he is telling the world what a studmuffin he is.



The demure and lovely Stella


The colors aren't true but the dark pullet egg is from Sapphire...it is like a dark army green! The one above it is a true olive green from Willa, Then a white egg from Blanche, Godiva's Tan one and Stella's little tinted one. That was the first she had laid in a couple of weeks.


Now you may more thoroughly enjoy your weekend

 

[lizgarf]

The plan is still on to take Desi to the ranch on Monday. I really hope it works out. I'm even looking to make a little trip out of it, maybe swing by the coast and stay somewhere with Reggie overnight. I haven't taken a trip since June, and I want to take advantage of the lack of an extra-loud rooster at home as soon as possible!

Cosmo looks a lot like Frankie, to me @tommysgirl !! Funny, because Frida has a bit of a rosecomb (so could be related), but Freddy's is single. What breed is Cosmo?


I see what you did with those cockerel names! Good luck with the extra-egg hatching plan. I definitely learned my lesson with giving them too many eggs, but shipped eggs are different, I'm sure.
My hill is steep, but the soil is very secure. This little house has been here for 90 years, and I'm not worried about it or the hillside going anywhere. Earthquakes and fires are another story. A couple years ago, a giant oak tree came crashing down during a big storm and just leaned up against the house, without crushing it. That was a sad and scary event, but all humans and animals survived unscathed, and the other trees it crushed have been recovering better than anticipated.
Here is a pic (taken from my house) of the swollen creek after the heaviest rain this week, plus "fall" colors on the giant-leaf maple that had been crushed by the oak:


And this is my new favorite plant, coming into its second bloom this year, tree dahlia!


Enjoy your weekends, everybody!

 

[Teila]

Good morning Bridge Club

Tee hee TG Blondie is definitely a bit of a princess/poser!

Enjoy your bird time! I know I get huge withdrawal symptoms on the rainy weekends when I don’t get to spend as much time with them as I would like.

That picture of Cosmo and Stella is adorable.

Liz so you are going to ranch and not meeting half way? That is great news; I think being able to see where Desi is going will be good, rather than just switching him out to a car.

I have everything crossed for you that it is a successful venture and looking forward to hearing how it went.

Love the pictures!

No news from BB … Cilla gets to sleep on the roost with everyone at night time but is still spending her days in broody jail.

She is still picking on Blondie but in an interesting turn of events, when Cilla picked on Blondie yesterday, Dusty picked on Cilla! Maybe having Cilla in broody jail will be a good thing, knock her down a peg or two

 

[lizgarf]

Liz so you are going to ranch and not meeting half way? That is great news; I think being able to see where Desi is going will be good, rather than just switching him out to a car.

I have everything crossed for you that it is a successful venture and looking forward to hearing how it went.

Hi folks. Operation Re-Ranching Desi is still on for tomorrow. Teila, I won't be actually going to the ranch. She said she breeds Corgi puppies and doesn't let new dogs on the property (and sent me pictures and videos to prove it), and I didn't feel the need to push the issue and leave Reggie in the car. So, we're meeting at a drop-off location by the highway, but it's closer to her ranch and the coast than the initial plan, and I'll be heading to the coast afterwards. I'm actually really excited about the trip. I'll take Reggie to the beach and meet a friend for dinner in Santa Cruz before heading back north after Silicon Valley commute traffic winds down.
Jealous, @tommysgirl ? (Santa Cruz is where both TG and I went to college, just a few years apart!)

Otherwise, Desi's last weekend here was pretty uneventful. I really hope everyone adjusts to his move well! Diego and Frankie are getting along pretty well -- it'll be interesting to see if that changes without Desi. Actually, I'm starting to think I might want to keep Frankie instead of Diego. They're both pretty cute! But, I'm not keeping both!!!

 

[Teila]

Operation Re-Ranching Desi is still on for tomorrow. Teila, I won't be actually going to the ranch. She said she breeds Corgi puppies and doesn't let new dogs on the property (and sent me pictures and videos to prove it), and I didn't feel the need to push the issue and leave Reggie in the car. So, we're meeting at a drop-off location by the highway, but it's closer to her ranch and the coast than the initial plan, and I'll be heading to the coast afterwards. I'm actually really excited about the trip. I'll take Reggie to the beach and meet a friend for dinner in Santa Cruz before heading back north after Silicon Valley commute traffic winds down.

Thinking of you .. got everything crossed for both you and Desi!

 

[tommysgirl]

Thinking of you .. got everything crossed for both you and Desi!

X2 Hope all went beautifully!

My bantam cochin connection dried up

But I scored some barn yard mix eggs from some cool breeds on ebay to give to Gracie

Buster pecked a peacock yesterday...this is a good thing been looking for a boy who will keep the peas away. Hoping he continues to assert himself