I Built A Bridge!

[MistyMountain]

Liz, Thanks! We survived! I will be honest, there is a reason we always hold it at our house…. that way we don't have to go anywhere! We stayed in on NYE too, just DH, my boys, and me. Made a fancy meal with Krispy Kreme doughnuts for dessert! Then we watched a family movie. The wind was blowing too hard at midnight to hear the bells from Fincastle, but we went out on the deck and blew our horns and shouted "HAPPY NEW YEAR" to the world anyhow. Then we went to bed, LOL! Great pics of Reggie and friend!

Teila, I love Blondie! And your yard, as usual, is beautiful!!! It has been so icky here, I wish I could just sit on that little bench for a bit!

Happy New Year, IC! Send some snow our way! If it is going to be cold, it might as well snow! It has been raining and at that temp just above freezing. The poor ground is saturated while everything is dormant for the winter and anywhere that gets any traffic is a giant mud hole.

We had a great Christmas. The boys were happy. We were happy! DH got Alan Jackson tickets for me!! Date night… that never happens! I got him a thermometer with 4 remote stations. Heating with wood, he always wants to know what the temp is in different places in the house. 4 was overkill, but I wanted to have a laugh about him. I know he will use them all. DH's Uncles came to stay for a few days and the one that owns the sawmill brought an even bigger surprise! He had taken a cedar log that we cut from next to our bard back home with him on his last visit. It was too big and pretty to cut for firewood and we knew he could find some use for it. He cut it in half and his neighbor made two 5' benches out of it! Merry Christmas to us!! We love hand made stuff.

 

[Teila]

Howdy Bridge Club

Ah well, they say all good things must come to an end and this is true of my holiday .. back to work tomorrow

IC lovely to hear from you; Happy New Year to you also. While you freeze .. we melt

MM Dusty may have a thing or two to say about you sitting on her bench

Your Cedar benches are beautiful!

No news of note from BB. Blondie is still broody and everyone else is healthy and happy.

 

[lizgarf]

Happy 2015, everyone!

Wow, MM, I'm super jealous of those benches! What an amazing gift! Glad to hear you had a good holiday.

Sorry you have to go back to work, Teila. Darn work! Glad you had some good times with your girls over the holidays.

IC, TG, any new chick pics?? How are the little ones doing?

Things here are fine. Work is busy but feeling more manageable. I feel like I can be emerging from my hermit life a bit. The magnolia is blooming and the weather is warming up, and I'm looking forward to having time to garden soon. The hens all seem fine. It's still just been Grace and Rousseau laying, and though they're great at it, they're the smallest birds, so it's been just enough eggs to get by. Marsha has been actively setting up shop in the nest today, so she should be done with her winter break. I've seen Lucy in there most days, but no eggs from her yet. It still seems really weird to have such a young hen take such a long winter break (4 months!), but what can I do? I've been a little worried about Bettina, because she has turned into a bit of a Jaba the Hutt, this winter. I've physically taken her to the back most days, since she doesn't seem to want to leave the roost. But, I think she's just exhausted from growing back all her feathers. She's a very fluffy bird and it must take some work. Her energy seems to be gradually improving, in any case, and I don't see any particular symptoms. She interacts with me and moves around on her own when needed. I sure hope she's just hibernating a bit, because y'all know she's special and needs to be healthy.
Diego is as easy a rooster as can be. He hasn't won all the girls over yet, but he doesn't seem bothered by that. He's still trying, but not too hard. He was trying to show Grace a new nest the other day, and he's always helpfully pointing out the feeder. His crow is still cute and overall, everything is just so much easier than it was a few months ago. There'll be no hatches here in 2015!!

 

[ItalyChickie]

Liz, Thanks! We survived! I will be honest, there is a reason we always hold it at our house…. that way we don't have to go anywhere! We stayed in on NYE too, just DH, my boys, and me. Made a fancy meal with Krispy Kreme doughnuts for dessert! Then we watched a family movie. The wind was blowing too hard at midnight to hear the bells from Fincastle, but we went out on the deck and blew our horns and shouted "HAPPY NEW YEAR" to the world anyhow. Then we went to bed, LOL! Great pics of Reggie and friend!

Teila, I love Blondie! And your yard, as usual, is beautiful!!! It has been so icky here, I wish I could just sit on that little bench for a bit!

Happy New Year, IC! Send some snow our way! If it is going to be cold, it might as well snow! It has been raining and at that temp just above freezing. The poor ground is saturated while everything is dormant for the winter and anywhere that gets any traffic is a giant mud hole.

Love those benches MM! And I'm 100% with you on New Year's... best way to celebrate is at home!

I don't know where the snow went - hope it went your way, MM! - but it only lasted that one morning on the 31st over here, and just a sprinkling. I mostly minded the freezing temps and having to unfreeze water in the waterers every couple of hours. Anyway, it's back to normal winter temps for us, above freezing and sunny - so much better! But this is what it looked like:

Howdy Bridge Club

Ah well, they say all good things must come to an end and this is true of my holiday .. back to work tomorrow

IC lovely to hear from you; Happy New Year to you also. While you freeze .. we melt

MM Dusty may have a thing or two to say about you sitting on her bench

Your Cedar benches are beautiful!

No news of note from BB. Blondie is still broody and everyone else is healthy and happy.

Teila, I am seriously envious of melting weather right about now. Was even more so a few days ago!

Blondie is a very beautiful Broodzilla!

Other than that, no news is good news right?

Happy 2015, everyone!

Wow, MM, I'm super jealous of those benches! What an amazing gift! Glad to hear you had a good holiday.

Sorry you have to go back to work, Teila. Darn work! Glad you had some good times with your girls over the holidays.

IC, TG, any new chick pics?? How are the little ones doing?

Things here are fine. Work is busy but feeling more manageable. I feel like I can be emerging from my hermit life a bit. The magnolia is blooming and the weather is warming up, and I'm looking forward to having time to garden soon. The hens all seem fine. It's still just been Grace and Rousseau laying, and though they're great at it, they're the smallest birds, so it's been just enough eggs to get by. Marsha has been actively setting up shop in the nest today, so she should be done with her winter break. I've seen Lucy in there most days, but no eggs from her yet. It still seems really weird to have such a young hen take such a long winter break (4 months!), but what can I do? I've been a little worried about Bettina, because she has turned into a bit of a Jaba the Hutt, this winter. I've physically taken her to the back most days, since she doesn't seem to want to leave the roost. But, I think she's just exhausted from growing back all her feathers. She's a very fluffy bird and it must take some work. Her energy seems to be gradually improving, in any case, and I don't see any particular symptoms. She interacts with me and moves around on her own when needed. I sure hope she's just hibernating a bit, because y'all know she's special and needs to be healthy.
Diego is as easy a rooster as can be. He hasn't won all the girls over yet, but he doesn't seem bothered by that. He's still trying, but not too hard. He was trying to show Grace a new nest the other day, and he's always helpfully pointing out the feeder. His crow is still cute and overall, everything is just so much easier than it was a few months ago. There'll be no hatches here in 2015!!

Liz, I have had a few girls not wanting to leave the coop during the coldest days too, wonder if it's the molting combined with the colder weather. Hopefully everyone will be back to normal and laying again soon!

Speaking of laying, we're back to 6-7, and once even 8 eggs a day! Woo hoo! And probably more on the way, because my 7 month old black cochin, Liquirizia (that's Italian for "licorice"), laid her first a couple of days ago! (3rd one today!) And I think a few other younger ones are almost ready too.

The little ones are growing, and it's pretty much impossible to catch them for a picture... they're even running around so fast they're a blur, or they are hiding under mom... mostly running around though! Here's one of Chiocciola chasing the poor Red Stars back into the coop and away from the chicks:



And a close up of that brown one - not a great pic, but you can see there's some pattern developing, can't wait to see the more grown version:



No other news here.. I'm kinda glad to settle back into my usual routine, the holidays are exhausting!!! (Yeah, I know I'm not entirely normal.)

 

[tommysgirl]

Boy Howdy do I have some tales for you all.

First some pics Here is Norma with her clutch she hatched out these two little darlings on the 26th. She also hatch a third but that baby lives with Gracie Belle and the rest of her NYD hatch. That is another story.





This is Norma's #3; Darling right? Its name is Abel and it was a house chic for 8 days because when I found it, it was outside the nest and I thought it was dead. Turns out it was just super It had cold but she had given it the boot because...


It had this going on



I did some research and learned that it was an unabsorbed yolk sak. Made the decision to treat it with Vetricyn and see what happened and on the morning of day 8 the little "butt nugget" had totally dried up and fallen off so that night I snuck out under cover of darkness and gave Able to Gracie Belle who had a 2 day old clutch. Spent a nervous Nelly night and was out at the coop several times that night then again at first light to check on it. Imagine my happiness and relief when I saw this:


And then this...That's Abel's fanny as he scooted under her wing. Kept the whole brood and mama in the crate for 36 hours giving them a chance to bond then yesterday allowed them all out for big test #2. Able passed!!! The graft has been successful and life is good in chicken ville!


Here are the darling mixed breed chicks that became Able's siblings


That's an Easter Egger on the right behind the little black one and the reddish one on the left came out of a Marans egg. The little black ones all look like Australorp chicks but the whole lot of them came from a mixed flock so who knows. One has 5 toes on one of its feet though so maybe a silkie made his way over to the large fowl side of the pasture.



And finally here is Julie Taylor with her 5 and dust bathing lessons...you can see the dirt being thrown up on the chick in the lower left part of the frame. These chicks are in their awkward phase right now. 4 are black two are booted and smooth two are silkied and one is smooth and blue. I think the smooth blue baby is a cockerel because of its attitude but who knows. They are cute but stand offish at this point.




Now you are all caught up on my chicken life. MM love the Benches.

I have loved reading all of your posts. IC stay warm Teila stay cool Liz you be you my friend, no one does it better.

Happiest of New Years to you all!

 

[Teila]

Good morning Bridge Club

Wow! First week back at work was a doozy, I need a holiday!

Liz good to read that things are going well with you, even if work is a little hectic. I hope Bettina’s Jaba-phase improves and it is really good to read that Diego is being a good little man.

IC love the snow pic and your little ones! Congrats on the first egg.

TG love your pics also! Kudos to you, awesome work on saving Abel!

I got nothing! No news of note! Zip!

Blondie is still trying to break me as opposed to me breaking her and I am now outnumbered two to one as Cilla has decided to cross over to the dark-side also!

When Blondie is broody she picks on LuLu and when Cilla is broody she picks on Blondie!

I currently have Blondie and Cilla attempting to wear out the grass around the coop and run as they do circuits trying to break in. Occasionally they meet in the middle with lots of puffing up and screeching and then back to circuit work! Meanwhile Dusty & LuLu potter around the garden, occasionally rolling their eyes and muttering “Dem broodies sure do be crazy!”

 

[lizgarf]

Hi everyone,
Wow, @tommysgirl ! I'm so glad you were able to save Able! How lucky for him that the yolk sack didn't break! What a little cutie!
I also like the snow pic, IC!

Things here are fine. Just finished another brief today, with plenty more to come. I'm getting less hermity, though. I'm singing in my first chamber opera this weekend, with other students of my teacher, so that's exciting!
I think the chickens are fine. Bettina continues to gradually show more energy, which is a relief. Lucy finally returned to laying, yesterday!! And, boy, did she make a racket out of it!! Such a high-strung girl. But, it's nice to get some dark eggs again.
The one concern at the moment is a bunch of the chickens have a couple tiny scabs on their combs. I checked Grace and Diego's behinds and didn't see any signs of nits, but they both have the scabs. I really don't know what it could be, if not a recurrence of the lice issue. Seems weird to get pox in the winter, since it's not exactly mosquito season. The plan is to keep up the lice-abatement (DE in the dust-bath area and occasional drops of neem oil on the neck), and to wait and see if things change. Any thoughts?

Sorry about the continued broodiness, Teila! Rousseau is hinting about it, but hasn't shown commitment yet. No broodies in 2015!! That's my plan and I'm sticking with it, regardless of what the hens have to say about it!

 

[Pooman]

Does anyone else get e sense of one disaster averted.... But another appears right away...

Bugger me. Cured Rambo of a huge mite infestation and sour crop (what a bugger sour crop is) . Only to find Rocky has lost a heap of weight and his area is infested...

Im sitting here with the little buggers crawling all over me. Its just started raining... And i have just made my first batch of pyrethum, i have a feeling I'll be pulling the feed shed to pieces today we are getting covered when we walk in there

Meh... Bloody mites

 

[MistyMountain]

Hi everyone!

Wow, TG, amazing story about Abel. Glad you could help him out!! How is the lil guy doing?

IC, no snow here. We had some freezing rain and ice this morning, causing a school delay, but no snow

Pooman, sorry to hear about your mite troubles!! Those things sure sound icky!!

Teila, all the broodiness over there has me hoping and wishing that this spring I will have some of my own!! Maude (or Mable….) has been going to bed in the nest box, but she is in no way broody. We had a cold snap and I think that she just decided to stay put after laying. Your girls make me think of the three stooges the way they pick on each other!

Liz, Super excited for your first opera!! Be sure to let us know how it goes!! I have two, Sandy and Brownie, who are acting just like Bettina. They hang out inside the coop and are the first ones to go to bed. Both are back to laying, so it's not that they are molting. I think they just do not like the cold. Speaking of cold, does it get cold enough there at night for frostbite? (Stupid question, I know you are in CA, but I do not know your area or elevation…) I know last winter a few of mine got a touch of it that caused tiny scabs. Willie already has some this year, but that is unavoidable. He will probably take my finger off if I try to put anything on his comb and he does not tuck his head like the floppy comb girls do at night. Chica has a few scratches on her comb, too. I wonder if the dryer winter weather can make their combs more susceptible to nicks and scratches. I know my hands sure are!

Not too much here. Whole house battled the stomach flu last week. That is something I do not want to go through again. It is a rarity that I get sick, and when Mom's down…. not good. We also had a super cold snap. Got into the negatives with the wind chill. The whole flock hung in there and I even took a couple extra girls to spend the night with Blackbeard and Cleo in the schoolhouse. I even got 18 eggs one of the days!! Two more and I would have had my max!

DH has spent break working hard to reclaim pasture in the back. He has probably close to 2 acres cleared and will need to try to get some grass growing before Valentine can come home. We will need to do a pasture rotation, though, because horses are good at making two things: Poop. and Mud. He has been talking about goats lately as well. Who knows where this adventure will take us, LOL!

We found 10 or so persimmon trees in the back. I had never tried one until just now. Interesting… kinda like a fig.

I'll leave it at that for now… wishing for snow, 30* weather (so the ground freezes and I don't wipe out on all this MUD) or 70* weather

See y'all later!! (remind me to tell you about DH and his bartering….)

 

[lizgarf]

Liz, Super excited for your first opera!! Be sure to let us know how it goes!! I have two, Sandy and Brownie, who are acting just like Bettina. They hang out inside the coop and are the first ones to go to bed. Both are back to laying, so it's not that they are molting. I think they just do not like the cold. Speaking of cold, does it get cold enough there at night for frostbite? (Stupid question, I know you are in CA, but I do not know your area or elevation…) I know last winter a few of mine got a touch of it that caused tiny scabs. Willie already has some this year, but that is unavoidable. He will probably take my finger off if I try to put anything on his comb and he does not tuck his head like the floppy comb girls do at night. Chica has a few scratches on her comb, too. I wonder if the dryer winter weather can make their combs more susceptible to nicks and scratches. I know my hands sure are!


We found 10 or so persimmon trees in the back. I had never tried one until just now. Interesting… kinda like a fig.

Mornin' everyone!

Persimmon trees are great! They make the most amazing fall color! Do you know if you have hachiya or fuyu? Are they pointy? If so, they're hachiya, and you can only eat them when soft. You can bake with them and maybe sell them along with your eggs! I've also heard of people freezing them and then eating them like ice cream. Fuyus you can eat when hard or soft, and they're lovely grilled and in salads.

Exciting about the horse and goats!

The first opera went pretty well, MM! Thanks for asking. I literally choked on my first line, but after that it went better. There'll be another performance in about 10 days. There's no danger of my being picked up by the Met anytime soon, but it's nice to know other people actually enjoy hearing me sing.

I don't know if it gets cold enough here for frostbite. I doubt it. (my elevation is under probably about 600 feet) We've had an extra mild winter and it hasn't gotten below 35 degrees. But, in any case, the scabs have largely disappeared from the combs already. I guess the little application of neem oil I gave them really did its job!
Despite the mild weather, there are three hens not wanting to leave the coop right now - Bettina, Jan, and Frida. These are all the temporarily non-laying adult hens, and it's starting to look like they're avoiding Diego's advances. Over all, Diego is a lot less demanding than Desi was at that age, but maybe they're just annoyed/confused by his attention, under the circumstances.
The 3 pullets are 20 weeks now, and Cindy in particular looks like she could start laying soon! They're all lovely, but Maryanne is especially pretty. One of these days I'll update the photo files.

Back to work! Hope everyone is well!