Welcome George to school supplies, dental bills, babysitter costs while you work two jobs to pay for it. And if you even breathe in the wrong direction, there’s the alimony and child support you must pay for 18 years.!!Happy Saturday everyone. Time for a long overdue hatch update for Goose and Gryffyn. This fiasco of a hatch is finally over as of last night. I learned a few things. First thing is never trust dad and Rosie when they say they have all the eggs. Second thing, never trust Goose and Gryffyn if they each have a nest in close proximity to each other. Swapping nest fiends. After the first nest swap that I noticed after Goose's first chick hatched I swapped their eggs and left the hens in place. I came out the next morning to find that once again they had switched places. They did it 2 more times Saturday and I just gave up. Sunday morning Goose abandoned her unhatched eggs and took her 1 chick off the nest, right into Russ's stall. Well, that sent me over the edge and I gathered them both up and locked them in the coop until Wednesday for her chick to strengthen up.
Here is Goose's little minion. Going by shell color, and the fact that it has feathered legs it has to be either a spooky chick or one of the cochin chicks.
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Goose is once again a wonderful momma and very contented and proud of her chick.
Gryffyn, after Goose abandoned her eggs Gryffyn stretched that neck of hers and combined nests. She went from 4 eggs to 13 eggs and I had no clue which was hers and which was the ones Goose abandoned. I called her names and left her alone. Wednesday evening she has 2 chicks hatch while I was at work. 1 passed away soon after hatching as mom found it still very wet. The other one is thriving. It is a total guessing game on who the momma is, came out of a light tan egg and it is yellow with no feathered legs. Yesterday Gryffyn took it off the nest as soon as the sun came up. Thankfully Gryffyn chose not to go into the horses stall once, she kept it near the creek bank digging around. It was getting close to dark last night when I went out to make sure everyone was ok and found Gryffyn and her chick missing. Sheer panic trying to find them. I finally spotted Gryffyns head poking out of Russ's dinnertime hay. She may have chose not to take the chick into the stall during the day, but let's take it to bed in the horses stall. Russ had covered them up almost completely with his hay. Nope not happening. I retrieve a very angry Gryffyn and her chick and for the night decide to place them back on her nest. I was planning on tossing the rest of the eggs into the creek and I heard it. The eggs were left alone all day but low and behold there was peeping coming from one of those eggs. Gryffyn heard it too and my unfit mother took being a witch to a whole new level in trying to get back to those eggs with her chick. I let her settle on the eggs with her chick and went in and got the flashlight and a bucket. I pulled every unhatched egg out from under her and candled them. Nest swapping, being abandoned twice did a number on those eggs. Some never developed, some had a blood ring in them. 1 had a bouncing embryo that needs at least a week to hatch. That sole egg went under Spooky who decided to go broody Thursday. At this point why fight the broody girls. I also know for a fact that egg I gave spooky is a speckled sussex egg. The last egg I pulled out from under her had a external pip and a cheeping chick. I also know for a fact from that egg's size it belonged to Gryffyn's sister Flurry. I gave it back to her, tossed the rest of the eggs and hoped for the best. I went out to check at 1 am and it had just hatched. Another little yellow fuzzball, with feathered legs. I checked on them about 8 this morning and Gryffyn has not taken her chicks off the nest yet. I think my unfit mother has realized it needs a few more hours to strengthen up so is staying put.
I took these last night after I removed all but the pipped egg.
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Later today I will go out and get pictures of the 2nd chick.
Welcome to fatherhood George.
What a lovely moggy! Look at those eyes!
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