I Built A Bridge!

[MistyMountain]

Great pics everyone! Pictures are my favorite. Been quiet, but reading when I can. Now that Christmas is over, the Birthday rush has hit us. My oldest turned 7 Sunday and he decided he wanted a party at home. Gearing up for that and trying to figure out how I am going to entertain 10 kiddos for two hours. We are going to make our own walking sticks and go on a scavenger hunt out back to the old sycamore. One of my son's favortie things to do. Luckily the weather is going to be nice! 54*!!
Tg, I wouldn't be ready to throw the towel in, either!
Teila, I am jealous of that watermelon your girls have!!
Liz, I love Lucy's dark eggs! My cuckoo marans do not tllay very dark, but the color is so perfectly uniform. The welsummers lay darker.

Kinda a sad day. We lost Lucky yesterday to a hawk. Willie couldn't save her this time. I should have known better and was going to leave them locked up yesterday because the day before a red tailed hawk made a number of low passes on them, but I forgot and let the little coop out... And well... Safety in numbers. Her little face was absent at head count, usually peeking out from under someone else. I found her next to the coop and in the treeline. Sadly, she started as one of three a year and a half ago... All have been taken by hawks. Ugh. Well, as much as I hate to do it, lockdown now until spring.

 

[lizgarf]

Hi folks,
So sorry to hear of your loss, MM! Are hawks more threatening in winter?
I had a predator scare last night. I woke up to chicken sounds in the middle of the night for the first time ever. I went out to the coop and it took me awhile to figure out what happened, but it looks like the pullets got scared off the far roost by a passing owl, and then dislodged some of their aunties on the main roost. I felt a like a real farmer, out in the moonlight standing vigil by the coop, until I was sure everyone was ok. I'm sorry it didn't go as smoothly with your flock, MM.

Pretty chicks, TG! I vote too soon to tell on Abel, but yeah, it doesn't look super hopeful.

Cindy laid her first little pink egg today! So, now I have 7 layers for the first time ever! And 3 more really should start again eventually, though they are mature hens, as they say. No more egg rationing here!

 

[MistyMountain]

Hi folks,
So sorry to hear of your loss, MM! Are hawks more threatening in winter?
I had a predator scare last night. I woke up to chicken sounds in the middle of the night for the first time ever. I went out to the coop and it took me awhile to figure out what happened, but it looks like the pullets got scared off the far roost by a passing owl, and then dislodged some of their aunties on the main roost. I felt a like a real farmer, out in the moonlight standing vigil by the coop, until I was sure everyone was ok. I'm sorry it didn't go as smoothly with your flock, MM.

Pretty chicks, TG! I vote too soon to tell on Abel, but yeah, it doesn't look super hopeful.

Cindy laid her first little pink egg today! So, now I have 7 layers for the first time ever! And 3 more really should start again eventually, though they are mature hens, as they say. No more egg rationing here!

Thanks Liz. The toughest part about it is that she had already survived one attack and because of that I had become quite fond of her. Hawks are so much worse here in the winter. We are located on a migration highway and with the lack of cover and other small food sources napping more or even hibernating, the chickens become bigger targets. The difficult thing is that they don't just go for them in the wide open fields. They are smart and even if they have cover, the hawk will march right in after them. I wish standing in the pines and jumping out screaming like a sasquatch would be enough to fix the problem, but the next day could be a new hawk passing through.

I really wonder where Willie was when this happened. He is so protective that I can not see him letting this just happen. He managed to get my dog to back up 50ft the other day, all while standing his ground. I finally had to call her off because I was afraid she was going to get hurt.

I'm glad everything is OK with your flock, liz. I know what it is like to jump at any strange noise. One of the welsummers makes this laughing sort of egg song noise for no real reason at all. I always worry something is going on. Congrats on the egg!! Pink is a color I don't have yet… going to have to see what I can do to add that color to the basket.

 

[tommysgirl]

Ohhh MM I am so sorry.

Thanks for the hawk information. We don't have the snows your have but it does make sense that in general there is less around to eat in the winter so the bad guys are likely to turn to our flocks.

Going to pick up some unsexed feed store bantam babies for Stella today. They are getting feather legged bantams in this morning so I am going to go get a few...Stella is not very big...I may weaken and get 6 but I think 3 is a better number. It all depends on the cuteness factor and how strong I can be against the pull of the chick. Going to study pics of bantam cochin chicks in Birchen and Silver Penciled and hope I can find and discern them from the others.

Liz we have motion sensor lights that come on in the pens to help us spot any predators that may decide to pay a cal. They were easy to install. Might make investigating weird noises a little easier.

Teila and Italy Chickie...no news is good news I suppose Hope all is well in your corners of the planet.

 

[MistyMountain]

Thanks all. I think the shock has worn off a bit but I am still caught off guard when I only count 19 at bed time. It does make me wish I could move the coop closer to the house and inside Lilly's "circle of death" (old name, back when she used to be a chicken killer). Buuuuut I'm not a big fan of when the come up on deck and poop as it is. The final position of the big coop (being built this May!!!) will probably be closer to the barn, so maybe more cover. I always thought that hawks would target stuff out in the open. Boy was I wrong. I have seen youtube videos of them going right into coops and watched them dive down at my flock in the woods. Maybe Valentine's presence will keep them away as well. We are looking at April for his arrival. We have worked out a deal with our neighbors and they will be letting him graze their field while our new field in back matures through the winter. We will have to manage him closely, though, and will have a paddock for him up near the barn for when the ground is too soft so he doesn't tear up the pasture too much.

Oh boy, I got off topic. For those interested, here is a link for hawk migration patterns. We are located kind-of in a valley between mountain ridges, a nice path for them to follow with many open hay fields and pastures. I have yet to see any other predators here, but Lilly was quite convinced there was something just in the woods near the chicken coop last night when I locked them up. Bryan always hangs outside when I lock them up if it has been dark for a while. We do have a bear

.

Oh, the link!
http://www.hawkmountain.org/raptorpedia/migration-path/page.aspx?id=352

Have a great weekend all! Busy busy entertaining 9 seven year olds for my oldest's bday. At least it is going to be nice, 59*, and we have plans to go on a scavenger hunt/hike in the back!! The kiddos are going to make their own walking sticks at the house first. I'll definitely need mine, I have a feeling another knee surgery may be in my future

 

[Teila]

Good morning bridge club

As per usual, playing catch up after a busy work week.

Cilla and Dusty thank you for your birthday wishes.

Liz I love the variety of colour in your eggs. Puts my white and slightly off-white eggs to shame! Dusty always lays a long, pointy egg which certainly helps with trying to work out who has laid. Congrats on 7 layers! Good to hear that things are going along nicely.

TG aaaaw, Tammy Taylor is beautiful! Those chicks are so super cute! I agree with MM about not throwing in the towel just yet. Nothing is screaming rooster to me but as you know, I am far from an expert when it comes to sexing chickens, just my humble opinion.

MM aaaaw, I am so sorry to hear about Lucky

I hope the birthday party is fun, it sure sounds like it will be.

So, my news? Once again, zip, zero, zilch!

LuLu is molting and pretty soon is going to be tail-less. Other than that, everyone is happy, healthy and cruising along nicely.

I am still keeping an eye on Gumtree for an additional girl or two but I am now starting to think, after swearing off hatches for a very long time, that the next broody may just be the lucky gal who gets some eggs. (I can hear the enablers in the club cheering me on

) Granted, my luck of late on the hatch rate/rooster ratio has not been good and I did not get to keep any of the last two hatches (still sad about Spot and Gloria/George), I still think that hatching them here might be the best option for increasing the flock … we shall see

Tomorrow I am off to the country to roll out some software and staying overnight so that I am on site for the users on Monday. While Joel has a fair idea of what I do for the gals morning and afternoon, this morning he got to follow me around as I fed, refreshed water, cleaned the coop etc. This afternoon he gets lesson #2 ... I swear I could see/sense the eye rolls

So, having to squeeze a two day weekend into one, I have lots to do today and should get started.

Take care for now everyone

and happy chickens!

 

[tommysgirl]

Meet Stella's Babies!! I got 6 feathered leg bantams...maybe a mix of Cochin and Brahma...I don't know. Any thoughts on adult coloring?


I have two of these silver and black chipmunks



Two little mottled babies and two little penguins




Stella is quite pleased with herself and her new talent for conjuring chicks out of shavings. She has been a great little mama so far.

this little family.

Thanks for all of your reassurance to not give up hope on Abel. The two hatchmates are so overwhelmingly masculine there is no question but Abel's got no pink and maybe a tiny bit of wattle but ... fingers crossed still that I have a little pullet.

 

[tommysgirl]

More Chick Spam:

I Love Stella's Ears and I sure hope this little one grows up mottled like I think it will oh and that it is a pullet...

This was a great fun game called "Mama is a slide" There were 3 of them taking turns hopping on her back, sliding down then running round and doing it again, They were so cute!

King of the Mountain or Princess of the Peak???


The Rowdy Bunch before they went back under mama for a rest after all that play time.

 

[tommysgirl]

Stella took them all out of the coop yesterday which was a bit of a problem when they figured out they couldn't get back in. But they did work it out and navigated the big bird feeders and waterers just fine

I am down 10 chickens from December...I sold the most recent group of girls yesterday and two of my New Years Day hatch chicks are going to a new home this weekend.

Also @lizgarf your example of patience and hope with rehoming cockerels gave me hope and I was able to rehome Wanda turned Waylon on Sunday. A young couple just starting out with chickens took him from me and a few pullets from a friend of mine. He is such a love so I am so so happy that he found a new home and flock.

 

[ItalyChickie]

Hi team! Life is still crazy hectic over here and getting steadily more so... I keep promising myself to not disappear from this thread again and/or catch up on every single post I ever missed, but let's face it, that's just not going to happen, so I'll just jump in when I can and catch up as much as I can... like now!

Liz, love your (mostly) grown up grandchicks, and all those eggs! Pretty! First ones are so exciting!

Teila, beautiful pictures, it seems like everyone had a blast! And Blondie is still beautiful even though she is molting!

MM, so sorry about your loss! Hawks sound scary... hope the change their route a bit to avoid your house from now on!

TG, OMG Stella is all grown up and a mom??? I loooove those pics of her and chicks... the chicks are adorable, of course, but I am really partial to Stella... she reminds me of my very first broody, Lola, so much in those pics.

Oh, and the bantam Cochin is precious - but you all know how much I love Cochins, so there's no way I wouldn't have liked her!


And on a related note, my news - it seems I was right on target when I said "the world needs more Cochins" - or at least, Italy seems to agree and I just might be helping out make some more... Here's what happened: when I was rehoming some of the boys, I posted on a local forum, and an admin asked me if I was registered in their breeder database (they ask everyone who posts ads, it's not a requirement, just a suggestion). I figured might as well, and put Cochins and Orps as my breeds... since I do have them, just not enough to sell at the moment.

Well, guess what? I have been getting phone calls from people looking for Cochins pretty much every couple of days! I had no idea there was such a demand... so I kinda figured I'd go along with it and see what happens... which means we're improvising a separate living space and collecting eggs and stuff... so yeah, so much for downsizing... there will definitely be lots of hatches here in 2015!

Although of course I wouldn't keep most of them... so still kinda keeping the numbers more or less the same, hopefully.

It does seem, from chatting with people on this forum that in my area there are very few breeders of anything, really, except for the commercial egg breeds, so just about any addition is generally welcome. We'll see how this goes... not planning to give up my main job or anything, but it's a fun little side activity that should pay for itself, at least, if it all works out.

No other major news except for the hectic-crazy work period I already mentioned, plus the crazy weather that keeps going back and forth between spring, winter and never-ending rains (the chickens were really unimpressed with two weeks of WET WET everything).

We finally got some sunshine yesterday and today, but outside it's still wet and muddy, but of course they found a way to keep themselves dry:



Plus a couple of pics of the mostly-grown chicks for you:





Liz, the one below here (and above, in the middle) is that little blue-brown fuzzball that you liked, all grown up (and not very blue, but adorable):



The only other bit of news to add is that I am now getting 10+ eggs/day - woo hoo!