FERN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Serrin]

That's about what I was thinking Cyn. Knowing the average time frame in which the feed stores around here carry new chicks, I knew they had to have acquired him sometime between late March and early May. So, that would pretty much concure with your estimation of 10-11 months!

And Cynthia nails another one!

Cetawin, I wish we did have Grange Co-ops around here. If we do, I haven't heard about them as yet. I stopped in Aslin Finch about two months ago because one of our local members here informed me that the downtown branch had Ivermectin in the small calf sized bottle for about $18.00. When I got there, they had just one bottle left and either someone had opened that unit and spilled it all over the sides of the bottle (of which I promptly got it all over my hands!

) or it had been damaged in shipping somehow. In either case, I wasn't about to buy damaged goods. I worried that perhaps someone had purchased it, discovered it wasn't what they needed, possibly contaminated it, and then returned it to the feed store. Call me paranoid, but I'm just not willing to take chances with my babies!

Denny and I have to go into town tomorrow. I'll have him stop at the local feed store in Cheney and see if they have it. They're usually higher than a cat's back in prices, but when ya need it, ya need it! Cyn, if I use the Eprinex, do you think I should toss the eggs for the first week? Or do you think it would be ok to just go ahead and use them as I would normally? Denny loves his eggs in the morning, and I'd hate to toss a single one if I didn't have to. Conversely, I wouldn't want to have a husband stuck on the throne for a week either!

Beth, sweetie, thank you for your kind words in praise of Griffin!

That was awfully nice of you! I know it sounds silly, that though it's only been two days, I'm head over heals in love with the silly young man! I can hardly wait for this evening when I can take him down off of his perch and snuggle him for about a half hour like I did last night!

I got him to come a bit nearer to me this afternoon, while I was handing out treats of raw spinach to the girls. He still won't trust me enough to take food directly out of my hands, but that's only a matter of time.

I'm with you Cetawin. When she got out that dang wire, part of me wanted to take it and stuff it up her nose and twist it a few revolutions!!! But, one has to demonstrate a certain level of restraint in ones impulses when one is being handed a long wished for rooster for free!

If there had been no benefit in keeping my mouth shut, you can best believe I would have had more than just a few choice words for her!

Poor Isaac...tell him he ain't the only one not getting the girl(s) of his dreams right now!

Griffin just stands there at the fence, purring his little head off and the girls just by and large ignore him. Though I notice this afternoon that they're spending a bit more time in closer proximity to him. Maybe they're actually starting to warm up to all of his flattering words and posturing.

Cyn, is it going to be easier for the girls to accept him since he's a younger bird, or would it have been to his benefit to have been a veteran of many a mating battle?

Gawds! I sure do hope they'll be gentle on him. He's such a sweetheart. I'd hate to see him get hurt. All the more reason for a 2 week delay in putting him with the ladies, eh? **sigh** It's going to be a long two weeks for everyone. Eggs in the bator due on the same day that Griffin is due to join his ladies. Gonna be a busy March 6th, I can tell ya that much!

 

[speckledhen]

I put Hawkeye with my girls when they were all 11 months old. Two of the Wyandottes gave him a really hard time, but when the third Wyandotte, Lorelei, came out of the coop to meet him for the first time, he jumped at her and pretty much told her he'd not be putting up with that crud from her, too. She was like "hey, what'd I do?" LOL. He was such a gentleman that I didn't get fertile eggs for five months. Lexie fawned all over him, trying to get him to notice her, but the head hen, Ruby, was not impressed. When she flared up at him the first day after quarantine was lifted, he raised up to his full height, hackles ablaze and was ready to thump her butt good! She backed off and from then on, he was the leader and a fabulous addition to the flock.

 

[Cetawin]

My gosh if I was Shadow I would have given that big boy the same look...but ya gotta give Ike credit ... he knows a beautiful woman when he sees one.

Serrin..yes free is a zip it cause but I would have put him in my van, locked it and gave her the what for!

Those girls will stop ignoring him when he lays down the law...as Cyn said...they give the girls some leeway and then the law goes down and all is good.

 

[Serrin]

Well, come March 6th, he can lay down just about any law he cares to!

Though I suppose I didn't earn him any good impression points this afternoon when I scooped him up for some huggles. Screamed like a little girl he did!!!

Wings beating fit to stir up a twister! You'd think I was killing him or something! And all the girls scooted off to the farthest corner of their yard with these looks on their faces like "WHAT is wrong with HIM!?!?!?! Good grief! Mom only wants to cuddle him! What a sissy boy!!"

I think they all moved off to the far corner, not out of fear, but to get away from all of his girly screaming!

Good lord! I sure hope nobody else in the neighborhood heard all that commotion. I could get turned in for animal cruelty!

I wonder......Ladies, do you think I should invest in a couple of saddles for my girls before he gets to join them, just to be on the safe side? I know he doesn't have any spurs to speak of yet, but there's certainly nothing wrong with his toenails!

 

[kathyinmo]

Quote:
That's what I need for a couple of my Jersey Giants gals, and my Easter Eggers! Now, I just need to find a pattern! What kind of fabric do I use on one of these anyway?

Serrin .... Griffin is a nice lookin boy there!

More pictures ... What do you think of my boys? They were hatched Sept 21, 2009. They have alot of growing to do!
Blue Jersey Giant

This is the sweetest little pullet ever!

 

[Serrin]

Oh Kathy!! What beautiful babies!! You can just see what gorgeous creatures they're going to become when they reach their full growth!

Boy! Is it just me or does a Blue Jersey Giant roo look an awful lot like a Blue Wyandotte roo? The combs are completely different, but the body colors seem to be very similar. Maybe a shade lighter in the JG's? But that might be due to the age difference between your boys and my little man maybe?

Add that to the list of those things I wish I knew like the back of my hand....what breeds were used in the foundation of creating other breeds that we readily recognize today....I bet they share a lot more common ancestry than most folks realize.

Thanks for the conversation tonight Lady Hawk!!

I much appreciate your indulgence!

Poor Cetawin. She had to sit and listen to me rattle on for almost 2 hours about Griffin this and Griffin that!!

How's your eardrum after all of that dear?

I hope I didn't permanently damage anything.

Well, I might as well let the cat outta the bag and take my lumps. This falls into the "This is what I get for doing my own thinking" category. I thought quarantine simply meant that the two parties shouldn't be able to come into direct physical contact with each other. I hadn't for a moment stopped to think about airborne illnesses and what is needed to quarantine against those....namely DISTANCE

While conversing with Cetawin tonight, I found out (hopefully not the hard way) that I should have created an enclosure at least a couple hundred feet apart from my girls. I was thinking more in terms of keeping them separated from any direct physical contact. And here I was freaking out because Griffin had managed to jump the fence and was making a bee line for the inside of the girls coop right at sunset.

So much for my ideas of what constituted a good quarantine.

Well rats! I'm still going to make him endure at least another week of isolation. It will be good for him on several levels. One, it gives me a chance to work with him more and get him tamed down. Chickens, as we all know, are social creatures. They need the companionship of their flock. In the absence of a flock, they will accept a human in most cases as a suitable substitute for the flock. I'd very much like to see Griffin be able to make that socialization connection with me. That would be a lot easier to do if he's not distracted by big old fluffy butt being flashed in his face!

Then there's still the matter of my wanting to douse him real good with some of the lice and mite dusting stuff and do a good worming on him as well. Again, a lot easier to do if I keep him isolated. Not that he has exhibited signs of either as yet.

Gawds! Why didn't I think about the potential for airborne respiratory issues???

I'm such a twit! **sigh** Well, on a much more positive note, Grif didn't give me any guff when I removed him from the girls house tonight. Nor later when I decided that it was getting too cold for him to sleep outside on their perch and I stuffed his big fluffy butt into his coop for the night. Although I think I did hear one grunt of protest as I shoved him through the door. Something tells me I might have to shave that door a little bit wider!!

ETA: Kathy, have you considered cutting up some of your husband's old jeans to use for your hen apron/saddles? It may not be all that fashionable, but it sure as heck is durable!

I think maybe I'd add a bit of padding to it as well. Maybe and insert of thin foam rubber between two pieces of denim and then quilted together?

Who was it that was offering hen saddles for sale here on BYC? I used to see their banner ad at the top or bottom of each thread page all the time....Can't remember the last time I saw that though.....whatever became of them?

 

[joletabey]

Kathy, I love the feathering on the sweetie in that last picture- I am really falling hard for blue birds- wow!
Serrin, I hope Griffin is clean as a whistle and not having him at a distance won't make any difference!

 

[Cetawin]

LMAO my eardrum is fine silly woman. Around here it is Thor this and Thor that.

Serrin, you did not need to build him an enclosure 100' away..you needed a nice huge dog crate for him to stay in in the house so you could bond with him hahahahaha

Cheyenne was funny when she answered the phone last night..she says "Mom, all it says is Spokane, WA" I said "Grab it, that can only be one person:...I told you, feel free to call anytime...until March 27th anyway...LOL


Kathy those are gorgeous babies. Well done.

 

[Cetawin]

I think it is Luvmychicks or chix that makes them...Moodene used to. Check the auction archives, she had an auction up not long ago.

 

[speckledhen]

My Nuggers is broody, folks. She'll be getting eggs this afternoon, Beth. I have two Dusty and three Smoky eggs for her and may add a couple others so she can keep some babies when you get yours.

Hey, Beth, do you want me to put a couple Delaware eggs under her, too? I'd rather not put more than 9 under her, even though she's a big girl.