Gnomestead Farm Flock

[MarshyRooster]

I don't think I can get pictures onto this computer- the computer doesn't like me much- but I can tell you the interesting story of Gnomestead Farm.

One year ago, my family moved to our new 5-acre property, Gnomestead Farm. The first day we were there, we got pigs- two of them, both very sweet. The old owner of the property had left his chickens behind- Chunky Fred, Big Beatrice, Mrs. Roostevear, Ella, Samantha and Rebel Claire the Second. I named Rebel and Mrs. Roosteavear. (We're down to Rebel and Samantha now.) The Elder Hens are two of our ten chickens (well, thirteen now). The twins, Squid and Piper, Rockett and Max (formerly Ava Max, until we discovered that he was a rooster). We also have an odd little Silkie rooster called Marshmallow. He's on-and-off naughty, but when he was little, he climbed onto my head (that was a mistake- on my part). We have three ducks: Aflack, Danni and Waddles. Monti passed while her eggs were in the incubator- very sad, but she lives on in Misty and Jumbo. And then we have the sweet little Winglets, Disagreeable Dawnwing, Moonwing and Breezewing (Breezewing always wants to roost on my arm!). Moonwing is shy, but she's warming up to me- and Disagreeable Dawnwing is adventurous and fiery and, of course, disagreeable. Don't worry, her real name is just Dawnwing. She's the reason we have Moonwing and Breezewing, though- she hatched (a total surprise) and we weren't prepared. She had no chicks to keep her company. So, there we were at the store the next evening, adopting Moonwing and Breezewing. Moonwing has a parrot-like trill for some reason. Breezewing has silver, orange, dark brown, black, yellow, gold and white feathers- she's mostly golden and white right now, but I think she'll turn out looking pretty colorful.

Misty and her big brother Jumbo (named long before he hatched) have finally gotten their first romp. The chicks got one on the rug. Moonwing poops, Breezewing sleeps and Dawnwing rampages. Yeah, they were back in the brooder pretty quick.

Our rooster Max was a big shock- but the truth is, I'm so glad we have him. Sure, there was a 99% chance for all hens. Well, thank goodness for that 1%! Without him, our hens (even Rockett, who almost died when she was little, and has enjoyed one adventure deep in a bush after flying away while we were trying to transfer her from the brooder to the coop) might've fought for a high spot on the pecking order. Max is so handsome, and perfect for our hens. More updates on the Gnomestead Birds (the Winglets, the Elder Hens, the Duckling Duo & Trio and the Feathery Rogues) coming soon!

 

[Callender Girl]

Quite an interesting array of names for your critters. Thanks for sharing the story of your adventures.

By the way, my laptop hated me so much that we had to part ways last year. My desktop computer merely dislikes me, so I have hopes of posting photos this year.

Good luck to you and the residents of Gnomestead Farm! Will look forward to updates.

 

[MarshyRooster]

Thank you! And yes, the names are quite strange. (This is mostly because I let my family help me name them ).
PS: I hope that you can post pictures soon!

 

[MarshyRooster]

Meet The Flock

I can't say the Feathery Rogues, the Duckling Duo & Trio, the Elder Hens and the Winglets are just one big flock. They're separate. The ducks will morph into the Band of Waddling Birds (yes, I already planned the name !) The Winglets will join the Feathery Rogues. But that's where it stops.

The seperation can be a good thing, though- it makes knowing each of them personally a lot neater.

DAWNWING
Yellow with hints of pale brown. She was a big surprise hatch. She's adventurous and feisty and stubborn, and her nickname is Disagreeable Dawnwing. She once escaped the brooder (huge shock) and was found huddled beside the duck brooder. Not always the nicest to little Moonwing, so it's a good thing that Breezewing sticks up for her. She's our original Winglet- we don't know what breed she is, or who her mama hen is, but we'll figure it out once she's grown up. Right now she's looking like she's maybe Rockett's. She might be a Golden-Laced Wyandotte, but she doesn't look quite like one. Fully aware that I don't approve of her escapes and attitude, and loves misbehaving despite this- and possibly because of it.

BREEZEWING
Very close to Moonwing. Adopted when Dawnwing hatched, along with Moonwing. She's full of hints of color, but for the most part she's yellow and gold. Second to start jumping around. She's energetic and loves roosting on me and doesn't adore trips to the rug, but she gets bored fast and loves just exploring in the area the brooder is in.

THE ELDER HENS
Rebel and Samantha: our two remaining hens. Ella and Big Beatrice and Mrs. Roostevear were all caught by age. Chunky Fred was the victim of a hawk or coyote, although he did save the girls- they were all still alive back then. The remaining Elder Hens are content just to sleep and eat and drink and strut around the run saying, "Hey, youngsters, we're still the bosses!" They're also beloved, and trust me, they know it. I spoil all our chickens with lots and lots of grass. PS: Rebel has her name for a reason.

DANNI, AFLACK AND WADDLES
Skittish and anxious and do not have a pecking order. I wish I'd gotten them better socialized, but no matter how hard I tried, it didn't work. Ducks are naturally prey animals, I know- I don't blame them, but I wish that they were just a little friendlier. They come up to me to recieve grass now, though, and that's progress. They're all drakes. Their leader was Monti, but something happened to her. She has a grave, though- by Princess Fluffybutt, and the gravestones of Eye Patch and Sage. I need to get to work on the rest of the graves, but you can probably guess why I'm putting it off.

THE TWINS
Piper: sweet, calm and well behaved. Squid: energetic, loves grass and always misbehaves. They're gorgeous, really- slender and golden-and-white and silky-feathered. They're Golden-Laced Wyandottes. I already mentioned that, but I love the sound of Golden-Laced Wyandottes.

STORMBLADE
I forgot to put her name up there, but Stormblade is a sweet bird. She might be an Easter Egger, but I'm not sure. It got confusing when we lost two chicks and no longer knew what we had. The twins are the only birds that have a for-sure breed. Stormblade is really pretty- she's black, with orange, blade-shaped speckles. She's been a biter for a while- when she was little, I thought the biting was just a little phase. "It'll pass," I told myself. But now she's around a year old and it hasn't stopped, so I think she's just a biter by nature. I'm okay with that. It's part of her personality. The only problem is her beak is SHARP.

MAX
Flawless rooster for the ladies. Max is so handsome- sunset colors in the front, black, lavender and a few shiny aqua feathers in the back. Loves to cocodoodledoodledoo as loud as he can and remind everyone he's the boss of his farm (though our elderly dog, Zoey, is the real boss of Gnomestead). He's a little cocky, dislikes my mom and is the teensiest bit arroganat, but for the most part he's calm and protective of his hens. He's very watchful, often suspicious. Trustworthy, though- he'd sacrifice himself for his hens in a heartbeat. (His favorites are the twins.)

MARSHMALLOW
Crazy, cocky, fearless, thinks he's a whole lot bigger than he is- Marshy is our rooster-gone-wonky. He lost his friends at a young age, and later on became a ball of enraged feathers. He never grew all that much, though. He's also calmed down a bit, which is nice. He also doesn't like my mom much. He has no hens, but we're getting pullets for him this spring! I'm wondering if fall would be better, but he's a year old and rejected by the flock- he's been alone for too long.

MISTY
I can always count on Misty to keep her big brother, Jumbo, in check! She's not quite as anxious, but just as nervous about being seperated. Misty hates it even more than Jumbo when we put new bedding in. She has very sharp claws, is terrified of our second dog, Sadie (and who can blame her?) and is a wonderful little bird. Well, not so little anymore!

MOONWING
Quite shy, but getting adventurous. She has a parrot-like trill. She's a Black Maran. She's close to Breezewing, but often bullied by Dawnwing. I supervise that- it's not dangerous. After Dawnwing's escape, when that little feisty chick was cold, she deliberately stretched her neck out to put her head on Moonwing- it was so cute! Moonwing's beautiful. Her wings are almost see-through, almost like butterfly wings. She's black and silver, with white speckles.

JUMBO
Resigned to being called Jumby and being bossed around by his little sister. Starting to look like his mama. She would've been so proud if she'd met them! Jumbo is a little calmer than his sister, but much more terrified of Sadie. He pushed his neck into a gate a few days ago, because my dad let Sadie out on accident. He was terrified when I tried to get him out, which was hard because he was thrashing. (He's fine, but that was probably the worst day of his life. I won't let anything like that happen again.)

QUAIL
I haven't named them yet, because we don't have them yet- but soon! Five of them, all Cortunix quail. The Winglets and Duckling Duo are just our second generation of birds- the quail will be our first quail. I hope all goes as planned. I need some name suggestions, also. I'm thinking Cocoa and Sunny and Silver and Hazel. I sort of want a name that they all share, though. The second part, I mean, like the Winglets. If you have any ideas, I'm open to suggestions!

PULLETS
We'll get them pretty soon, I hope. Marshmallow needs some girls of his own. The names I'm thinking of are Taffy, Cloud, Sugar and Sky. But if anyone has other candy-themed ideas, please tell me.

WOW, I'm sorry that was so long! But that's our flock. It's bigger than I realized !

 

[Callender Girl]

A long post, but a good one. You clearly care about everyone in the flock -- even the ones who seem a bit abrasive or snappish. They're lucky to have you as their human!

 

[MarshyRooster]

Thank you so much! Not all of the birds are easy to care for, but I'll always do my best for them. That's what they deserve.

 

[Callender Girl]

We had chickens when I was a kid, and I'm sure my late dad would think I'm crazy for taking care of my chickens like I do. I am certain that never in his 87 years did he take a chicken to a veterinarian. But, like you, I do my best to care for mine.

In fact, one of the first things I did this morning was clean the butt of a three-day-old Cochin baby. I was so happy when she pooped on the rug while waiting for me to wipe her with a warm washcloth. Successful pooping! Yes!!

 

[MarshyRooster]

That's wonderful! I'm so happy that your chick survived. We lost two Silkie chicks to that type of issues when they were barely two days old. That was sad, but we were still so lucky to get Marshmallow out of that. And soon, he'll have a few pullets to keep him company- at least, I hope he will. (Also, Cochins are wonderful. I bet your chick will be so beautiful when she grows up!)

 

[MarshyRooster]

The chicks and ducklings (I don't want to start calling them full ducks quite yet) are growing fast. The ducklings are going to go to the coop in two weeks. I hope that goes well. Marshmallow might not be the best neighbor to them. He won't bother them- I think- because they're ducks, not chickens, but I hope they don't stir up his grumpiness again. He just calmed down a few weeks or so ago. Meanwhile, the chicks have been deemed old enough to romp outdoors. They can barely handle wandering in the Shop, but I'm going to make adjustments to the brooder to make it more fun for them so that they won't want to. They're real escape artists- especially fiery little Dawnwing! I think they'll be better outside, where there's much less clutter. Wish the chicks luck on their first outdoor romp, and the ducks on their transition to the coop!

 

[MarshyRooster]

The ducks are going to move to the coop on Sunday! It's hard to believe that they ever fit in eggs, or that I saw it all with my own eyes. (First ever in-person hatch!) The chickens and the chicks are happy. Soon, me and my dad will check the genders of the chicks again. If any of them are roosters, we can't keep them- we have two already. But we can give them to someone who'll let me visit them all the time. I'll make sure every last one of my birds are always well cared for. Also: today was too rainy to show the big ducks the small ducks, but tomorrow, it's duck introduction time- and, if it's very sunny, time for the chicks' first romp!