Mademoiselle Cordon Bleu's Page
November 2010: Bleu-bleu came back from her self-de-beaking with a vengance. She's finished with her molt and looking great.
Miss Bleu is NOT what the old-timers would call a "thrifty" chicken. She's a special, goofy little pet. She accidentally broke off the top tip of her beak in mid August. The first few days were sketchy: She was very tired, and I had to hand-feed her water several times a day....She has been recovering on strawberries, fresh corn, yogurt and black oil sunflower seeds.
Here is a picture of Broody-Bleu from last spring:
Bleu-Bleu has gone broody again! She was broody in March, and we broke her broodiness with 2 days in broody-jail.
Hopefully she will be back to "normal" soon.
3/26/2010 - I started noticing feathers in the nest mid march. After spending a whole weekend removing her from the nest, we put her in Broody Jail for two days. She's kind of a head-case already. Broody jail is actually pretty deluxe. It's the new pen we built for this year's chicks. It's 8' x 8' fully enclosed w/ hardware cloth, AND it still has grass!
At 11 months and 11 days old, Bleu-Bleu FINALLY laid an egg on 2/22/2010!
Hooray, Miss Bleu!
She was hatched at Privett Hatchery in March 2009 and we bought her from Concord Feed & Fuel.
Bleu is a special girl. We call her our "rain chicken". She acts very distant, and is probably extra smart somehow.
Bleu has a funny juvenile sounding peep/squeak even though she is eight months old.
Cordon Bleu really likes being on the roost. I think that is because Gobbles cannot chase her when she's there.
She likes the outside perches in the run, the chicken-ramp, and she especially likes perching on the chicken-horse. The chicken-horse is a cute old rocking horse DBF picked up for free on the side of the road. He removed the seat, and put a nice solid square piece of wood that holds up to two chickens. I'll post pictures after this weekend.
DBF and I love Cordon Bleu! She is a feathery snuggle-bun, and totally precious.
Despite her name, we would NEVER eat her (not that there's anything wrong with that).
I read that Cochins were a fad for a time in England until people realized they were all feathers and no meat.
2/15/2010 - This weekend, while she was out free-ranging, DBF bent down to pick her up and she squatted! How exciting.....there may be hope for some eggs after all. She has also been very vocal the past week or so.
2/17/2010 - This morning, she was so loud, I bent down to pick her up and she TOTALLY squatted! I mean, like, squatted, then stuck out her wings even further and REALLY squatted. Her hormones must be raging. Her underdeveloped little pink comb and wattles are also turning RED, RED, RED This is a great sign.
I've perfected the art of feeding Bleu treats behind my back. That way, the other chickens don't see and give her grief. I know I shouldn't mess with the peck order, but I want to make sure she gets enough to eat. She IS gaining weight, but she's behind the other girls by at least 2 lbs. She was 5.1 lbs at the end of December and now she is 5.4 lbs. Grow, Bleu-Bleu, Go!
November 2010: Bleu-bleu came back from her self-de-beaking with a vengance. She's finished with her molt and looking great.
Miss Bleu is NOT what the old-timers would call a "thrifty" chicken. She's a special, goofy little pet. She accidentally broke off the top tip of her beak in mid August. The first few days were sketchy: She was very tired, and I had to hand-feed her water several times a day....She has been recovering on strawberries, fresh corn, yogurt and black oil sunflower seeds.
Here is a picture of Broody-Bleu from last spring:
Bleu-Bleu has gone broody again! She was broody in March, and we broke her broodiness with 2 days in broody-jail.
Hopefully she will be back to "normal" soon.
3/26/2010 - I started noticing feathers in the nest mid march. After spending a whole weekend removing her from the nest, we put her in Broody Jail for two days. She's kind of a head-case already. Broody jail is actually pretty deluxe. It's the new pen we built for this year's chicks. It's 8' x 8' fully enclosed w/ hardware cloth, AND it still has grass!
At 11 months and 11 days old, Bleu-Bleu FINALLY laid an egg on 2/22/2010!
Hooray, Miss Bleu!
She was hatched at Privett Hatchery in March 2009 and we bought her from Concord Feed & Fuel.
Bleu is a special girl. We call her our "rain chicken". She acts very distant, and is probably extra smart somehow.
Bleu has a funny juvenile sounding peep/squeak even though she is eight months old.
Cordon Bleu really likes being on the roost. I think that is because Gobbles cannot chase her when she's there.
She likes the outside perches in the run, the chicken-ramp, and she especially likes perching on the chicken-horse. The chicken-horse is a cute old rocking horse DBF picked up for free on the side of the road. He removed the seat, and put a nice solid square piece of wood that holds up to two chickens. I'll post pictures after this weekend.
DBF and I love Cordon Bleu! She is a feathery snuggle-bun, and totally precious.
Despite her name, we would NEVER eat her (not that there's anything wrong with that).
I read that Cochins were a fad for a time in England until people realized they were all feathers and no meat.
2/15/2010 - This weekend, while she was out free-ranging, DBF bent down to pick her up and she squatted! How exciting.....there may be hope for some eggs after all. She has also been very vocal the past week or so.
2/17/2010 - This morning, she was so loud, I bent down to pick her up and she TOTALLY squatted! I mean, like, squatted, then stuck out her wings even further and REALLY squatted. Her hormones must be raging. Her underdeveloped little pink comb and wattles are also turning RED, RED, RED This is a great sign.
I've perfected the art of feeding Bleu treats behind my back. That way, the other chickens don't see and give her grief. I know I shouldn't mess with the peck order, but I want to make sure she gets enough to eat. She IS gaining weight, but she's behind the other girls by at least 2 lbs. She was 5.1 lbs at the end of December and now she is 5.4 lbs. Grow, Bleu-Bleu, Go!
