Fox Field Farm Flock

[GitaBooks]

Took some more pictures. I decided to go all artistic, but with this camera, isn't always easy. However, I can't complain, its doing its job (and making me happy), just not as well as a new camera would.

Dominator's tail feathers in the breeze


Dominator standing guard over his flock


Dusty, my Hamburg hen.


Capturing the mix of beetle green and purple sheen on Andie (zoom up and it looks a little better)


Captain's beautiful feathers! Again, clicking on them makes it look better. I just love the individual patterning on each feather.




Lastly, the sunlight on Enterprise, out-lining each of her beautiful feathers.

 

[uzisuzuki]

Dusty is a great looking bird!

 

[GitaBooks]

Dusty is a great looking bird!

Thank you!

 

[GitaBooks]

God is truly good. A few years ago we got in a terrible, horrible accident in our large van and the only bad injury was on my mother (she had a damage spine but it has mostly healed and didn't cause any paralysis or anything like that).

We were crossing a bridge with black ice and suddenly slipped (there were seven of us in the van). Mom tried to turn the van and let it slide against the railing to slow but instead it slammed into the railing, flipped over it onto its back and then flipped over again back onto its wheels. Thank God we were all okay, because there was actually grass in my mother's finger-nails and in the roof of the van and none of us were dead! That was a miracle and I'm still getting over it now.

Hint: Don't drive on bridges when it is cold enough to have black ice. Very, very, very dangerous. The ambulances that came for us nearly crashed and three other cars after us crashed as well. You could hear them while we were being saved.

 

[GitaBooks]

Its about time for an update here:

I've got something like 16 eggs in the incubator (it keeps changing), 3 broody hens, five roosters I need to get rid of, and I finally got my two chicks moved out of my room and back outside. Let me explain.

Princess and Susie (Black-eyed Susan) both went broody a couple days apart. Susie is in a nest box and I'm afraid to move her since this can break them up and if I lock her in then she will smash her eggs trying to get out. Because the nest box is open, daily the other chickens push her out to lay extra eggs in there and often soil her own eggs or let them go cold during this process. I took some of her eggs and gave them to Princess and then took some of her's and Princess's and put them in the incubator (it was cold so I wanted them to only have a few so they could keep them warm and so that if they didn't hatch my broodies would still have chicks). Anyways, Princess got four bantam eggs and Susie got five standard eggs. However, even though it is just like two days from hatching, she kept letting them go cold and so I had to take them away and place some eggs in the nest box to keep her busy until these start hatching (when I will return them).
I just realized that Susie's sister, Goldie (named for her eye color) is also broody and so I will likely give her some of the eggs in the incubator (the later hatching ones) so that all the chicks have mother's and I won't have to raise them in a brooder. I want to give her a few days to settle into it, because she broke up the last time she was broody from being disturbed.

Lastly, two of the eggs in the incubator may die because one has some of the shell picked off (a hen pecked at it) but the membrane in tact. This one I named Kojak and I can see inside of it the blood vessels, but it looks to be turning a little green. I can't stand how green the inside of eggs can get, it is so nasty!
The other egg I'm worried about, Snart, was the last egg I found under Susie. I had taken three of hers and left her with two, then she lost one (I looked around for shell, the egg or a chick and saw nothing) and I had removed it as well. This egg is Snart. So I have two eggs named that likely won't hatch. I guess we'll see.

As for the two chicks inside, Ruby (a momma hen) "weaned" her chicks when they were fully feathered (but still small) and started perching in the chicken room again. When I tried to tuck them under her she did not call them to her and they fell off the perches. The cold stunted them as they put all their energy to being warm and fighting the adult chickens for chick food and not growing. I started taking them in at night for the warmth, food and water and they are now doing better. They are both bantams and both blue in color (well, the silkied chick is more black). Noel is likely the male and I'm hoping that the little silkie mix is a girl (her name is Rain). They are starting to gain back muscle mass and as it warms up hopefully they can begin to forage.


A picture of Spock, my sebright rooster.


Noel showing off his/her blue feathers.


Rain and Noel resting together. This picture makes them look black.


Rain and Noel eating bread and eggs while I wait to be able to buy some more chick food (as the adults ate it all).


From a tiny, first egg of a bantam up through pullet eggs of standards to the double-yolkers of an Easter Egger hen.

 

[GitaBooks]

So, I just thought I would update after the Easter Hatch-a-long. I set a number of eggs (around 22 if I remember right) but only two hatched (both assisted) and only one chick survive. I named it X because of the marking on its shell, and because I had just watched X-men.

Anyways, X I gave to a broody hen (Eve) who was sitting on infertile eggs and so she is happily raising him right now. I also have three other hens with chicks and one more broody hen, as well as a few thinking about going broody. Its a little chaotic, but they're figuring it all out (with some help of course). All the chickens are getting a mix of adult food and chick food (since I can't separate the chickens out), but I think the layer feed is mostly going to the chicks and the hens are gorging on the chick food (which they think is candy).

Its been cold, even snowed yesterday, but now it is raining and hopefully warming up some. I've got some more eggs in the incubator (though I promised I wouldn't) because I couldn't just let my poor new broody hen, Ruby, set on eggs and then not get chicks out of them (should something happen to the ones she is on). Hopefully this time it finally goes without incident.

The four eggs that I opened and placed in the carton had died during formation, the six in the plastic bucket were infertile and two of the three assisted hatching chicks didn't make it (which I had opened because I had been getting a lot of backwards chicks which drowned just before hatching). Those two were 25 and Dash, again, because of markings on the shell. Actually, Dash didn't have a dash on his shell, but another egg did that hadn't developed so I passed the name along.


Goldie and Susie are sisters and both have chicks right now. Here is Jean, Goldie's little girl. She is feathering out nicely and I have a feeling she is Cowgirls daughter because she is similar in appearance to a Light Brahma.


Here is little X, finishing absorbing his yolk and strengthening before going out under his mother.


Here is Dash, one of the only pictures I have of him. He was pretty weak from the assistance, but he was drying nicely. He died when I placed him out under his mother and he crawled out of her reach and was too weak too return. It was really sad, but its always nice to know that I gave them a chance and that I kept them comfortable so they weren't afraid.


Not the greatest picture, but he won't sit still for a better. This is Noel, my mix-breed bantam from Christmas. He is a really cool dark blue with some lemon leakage on his shoulders, an adorable crest, and grey skin. His brother, Rain (who was suppose to be a hen but is getting streamers) looks almost exactly like a black silkie but with no feathering on the legs.


I'll try to post some more pictures soon. : )

 

[GitaBooks]

So, as promised, the updated photos of the chicks. They are growing well, feathered out, and looking adorable. However, I'm having trouble remembering which name goes to which, so we'll see how well this goes. : )

This either Buttercream or possibly Nat. She'll likely grow out of her partridge feather pattern and just be red as an adult. I've seen this happen with lots of young chicks that feather out.


I think this is Denali. He takes after his father, a Buff Brahma


Here is Roshashannah, the chick i thought was a silkie but is growing up to look like... I'm not even sure. She is larger then a bantam should be at that age, has no crest, but has dark grey skin and came from a bantam egg. Oh well, I'll guess we'll see what she looks like as an adult.


This little crested baby is either Sight or Nat. I love her color!


Getting a drink of ice water (it was snowing here for a few days) Agent (the black chick) and a few others that I think may be Denali, Rory and Buttercream.



Yeah, chicks and adult chickens are colored so differently. : )

 

[GitaBooks]

It was a great day out and I got some cool pictures of my chickens, including some updated pictures of the chicks.

Here is Baby Cakes, our Easter Egger mix. Her father was a Buff Orpington, hence the similar appearance to one.


For whatever reason Yosemite just loves to jump up on my arm. Here is a picture of her perched on my arm.


Bubs, our Buff Brahma rooster, showing off his hackles. He was shaking his head during this picture. He has incredible golden locks.


Roshashannah, eating some food in the warm sunlight. She has some cool barring. I think her mother is a Partridge silkie, the father might be Dastan (a silkie mix). I'm not really sure where the patterning came from still, but I like it. It makes her stand out.


Tad, my little silkie mix. She is a full adult, though half the size of a normal silkie and wthout a crest. She has golden eyes and purple wattles and comb.


Enterprise in the sunlight, showing the blue glow of her black feathers.

 

[GitaBooks]

A few more photos. : )

Here is Nat (Natasha), my only Buff Brahma mix that might actually be a girl. She's a pretty thing, though a little flighty. She's a lighter color then Denali but darker then Rory, both of whom have the same pattern as her.


This is Sight, my crested chick. She's such a pretty little thing, I can't help but like her. I just hope she isn't a rooster because I have enough of those from this batch as is.


Coulsen is my smallest chick, the only one that seems to be truly bantam size. He's a light blue-grey in color with white speckling on his head, chest and wing feathers. I'm curious to see what color he/she will turn out as once fully grown.


Noel, my Christmas chick. He's now fully grown and sporting a lovely plumage of light and dark blue with some lemon tossed in there. He use to be much darker but his back has continued to lighten and some lacing is appearing. His wattles and comb are purple and his skin is grey, like his father (Azul the blue silkie).


Dastan, the father of probably half my chicks, he is a silkie mix and a very proud dude. He's protecting his ladies right now as they relax in the sunlight.


This is Buttercream, the red chick with some partridge patterning on her feathers. As with Baby Cakes, I'm expecting the partridge pattern to disappear with age, but I'd love to be proven wrong. I guess once again I'll have to wait and see.


Dove, standing out against the darker color of the barn. She's one of my prettiest chickens, with her purple comb and wattles, blue ear-lobe, grey skin and white feathers. I must say she suits her name quite well.


And lastly, Goldie the Dalmatian Bantam with her two chicks (both standard) Jean and Rip (short for Jean Grey and Rip Hunter

). I'm not sure who Rip is related too, though his buff coloring means he could be my Buff Orpington's son. Jean on the other hand appears to be Cowgirl's daughter, Cowgirl being a Light Brahma.

 

[uzisuzuki]

I LOVE THEIR NAMES! I have a flock named after cosmic Marvel Comics characters that I call the White Hot Room Flock (it started with Phoenix bantams, expanded to any long tailed breeds). Jean Grey is my favourite comic book character. I also have a new flock named after characters from the Hellblazer & Sandman comics.

(sorry - just got really nerd excited there over all the comic book names)