That was an awesome recap! It helped me remember it all againWelcome back. Hopefully things calm down for you soon and your girls finish up their molts and get back to laying. I'm not sure off hand how long you have been gone but I will try to do a summary of what has been going on my my flock and family.
Around the first of January I added a new silkie hen Chiquita to my flock. That was to give Branch a 2nd hen so he would not harass Poppy who was not yet ready to lay. 2 days after she arrived she began laying, but was laying every 2 or 3 days. I saved up 5 eggs and tossed them into the incubator as they were fertilized by her previous owners silkie boys. Halfway through incubation tragedy struck and my sweet little Poppy passed away from a broken neck when she flew off the roost as I was opening the coop door and crashed into it. Only 1 of the silkie eggs hatched. After a week when I was confident it was going to make it I purchased 6 siblings for little Ezzie. 3 Buff orps and 3 Cinnamon Queens which turns out they are not and are mystery Rural King red chicks. They are 4 months old now and the one thing Rural King did get right was they are pullets. Jury is still out on Ezzie being a silkie so I'm waiting until I hear a crow or a egg is laid, but I have a feeling pullet.
March 20 my grandmother had a stroke, thankfully it was not a severe one. She really has not been able to stay by herself for a while now but is stubborn and would not move in with us or let one of use move in with her. After the stroke she had no choice and is living with us. Before the stroke she was showing signs of developing dementia and the stroke has accelerated it. She still does not admit she had a stroke, is determined she is going home and driving me crazy. She will always need to use her walker, wants to use her cane which has been hidden and will try and walk away from the walker. This has led to one fall already which according to her did not happen, she laid down on the floor to look under the bed to see what the cat was doing.
During her stay she has taken up with my chickens. I had one hen Bunny who I had been battling since last fall about coming inside. She has always been interested in the couch and I would never let her one it and toss her back out so she could lay in the nest boxes. Grandma let her in, insisted we see what she would do on the couch. Of course she laid a egg, and every day since she would open the door to let her in. Now she is broody on my couch with 3 eggs which should hatch next week. I also made a deal with her the first week she was here when the "I'm going home" argument was a hourly occurrence to teach her how to use the incubator. We filled it up with 42 eggs and 27 hatched. I had 2 broody hens at the time, Baby who was sitting on nothing and refusing to be broke and Raven who was a week into sitting on 1 egg. I had 3 chicks out that I wanted to grow out so I snuck them under Baby and she took them. 2 white ones with feathered legs and a sole Corona chick with feathered feet. The next day I had another chick hatch that was identical to its momma Squirrel and mom wanted to grow it out as well. I attempted to give it to Baby and all was going fine for a few hours then she rejected it. Raven was in the box next to her and had been very interested in the chicks and calling to them so I snuck it under her and she took it. Both girls were wonderful mommas but have since started back laying and on their own the chicks left their mommas. Of those 4, 2 did turn out to be boys so when the remaining chicks left Thursday to their new home they took them as well. I have a white one left named Cricket, and the Corona chick named Lilly in honor of BYB Bobs hen Lilly. Momma hen also went broody and was sitting on 4 eggs but only 1 hatched. Little Karen is 3 weeks old and is chocolate colored.
Due to my personal limit of 3 boys max and my daughter Rosie becoming super attatched to Ezzie and fearing that she may be a boy she agreed to let me place one of my Marans Basil. I found a wonderful home for him 2 miles up the road from me along with 4 of the cochin girls and creamy. The other day when we drove past on our way to the store I spotted him and the girls out in the middle of the goat pen. I kept my other Marans boy Bubba and my silkie Branch. So boy or girl Ezzie is a permanent flock member.
One of my favorite hens Daisy is sick and there is sadly nothing that can be done. She has a softball sized tumor that starts at her keel bone and extends back. I'm keeping a eye on her and agree with my vet. Let her be as long as she continues to have good days and show no signs of pain. When it is obvious that her quality of life is going humanely euthanize her. She is still enjoying her favorite things, spending time in the creek catching minnows and harassing the hooligans as Ezzie's group and been nicknamed. She is a little bit slower but temperatures have been in the 80s to 90s all week so all my chickens have been lazy.
Finally, Rosie graduates 8th grade this coming Thursday. She already has her algebra 1 class for high school completed and pulled off a 4.0 gpa. She has signed up for Honors English next year and when she graduates I will find out if she is going into normal Algebra 2 or honors Algebra 2.
Sorry this is so long, but a lot has happened so far this year, and it is only May.
that is so adorable, what a good mama!
?
waiting to see what Sophia does in the other crate!
