Hatching with 2 broodies

[lizgarf]

Love those Bettina pictures.....

She is so expressive. And I dont even get to hear her chatting....lol. I can hear her in the first pic, looking back at her saddle saying, "does this make my hips look big? lol.

I agree! Desi is gorgeous!!!! He's a pretty big boy isnt he?

Thanks, TGG! You're her second-biggest fan! Too funny about the hips - so true! But, we all love her big booty.
Desi is a big boy - he's uphill of Bettina in that picture, so he's normally not that much bigger than her, but he is a bit taller. He looks ridiculous with Rousseau, but somehow, they work it out.

Nice work in the garden, Teila! So many details! I have a hard enough time just planting and weeding. The babies are so beautiful! I love Tammy's colors. That huge comb is a bit scary, but I agree she looks more pullet than roo. Let's hope she's just a big-combed girl.

Cleo looks pretty with the saddle, MM! Her coloring is just like Jan's, but Cleo is fluffier - more Brahma-shaped than my Ameraucanas. Enjoy spring!!

 

[Teila]

The babies are so beautiful! I love Tammy's colors. That huge comb is a bit scary, but I agree she looks more pullet than roo. Let's hope she's just a big-combed girl.

Thank you Liz

Yeah, the comb in worrying me also. That is the only rooster trait she is showing, so yep, fingers crossed for a big-combed girl

As I said earlier, the jury is still out on a definite decision but I will call her she for now

 

[lizgarf]

For the first time in about 1000 posts, I have a broody hen on my hands. Grace has been making broody screeches for a few days, and today she planted herself in the nest, full-on, broody. I took her out a bunch of times, and she broke somewhat each time - including a full couple hours free-ranging in the back with the others, but she went back in the nest when she had the chance. Grace has always been pretty easy to break, so I'm not worried about it unless she gives the others ideas!

The bad news of the day is my elderly cat Zorro has very suddenly gone downhill. He hasn't eaten in a couple days, and he's been very lethargic all day. I'm torn between taking him back to the vet and letting him ride this out, wherever it goes. I can't imagine that an almost-19-year-old cat really wants to go to the vet, or that there is much they can do for us, but at the same time, I hate not doing anything. Pooh. And I was finally going to go away this week for a couple days! Now, not so sure I should.

But, to end on a good note, please enjoy my new favorite photo series - sunbathing love piles:



Bookends:


Desi, realizing he's a very lucky boy, even with the collar:

 

[tommysgirl]

@lizgarf beautiful pics. Where did you get your saddles? I got home to find that I have need for a few more and that Blanche's is lost. 19 y/o son was in charge the last few days he did a great job but didn't mention anything about the saddle and he was gone back to school before I knew it was missing

@Teila I love your yard. We have the farmhouse in an old orchard thing going and now we are in a drought so not sure when the big landscape adventure will commence. We have been here 9 years now and haven't done anything in the last 5 or so years. With peacocks chickens and deer it is not easy having a manicured look.

I candled last night on day 8. I had 2 clears of the 10 eggs under Norma and every one of the 8 under Petunia were developing so both girls now have 8.

I have been sending FB messages to the lady with the Silkie and I have to tell you it is less than satisfactory. If it weren't for the fact that I don't want to leave that girl and her chicks...if there even are any... in the hands of such a presumably stinkin flake I would bag the whole idea. I have to drive 2+ hours each way to get her and the woman won't take the time to iron out the details with me. I understand that you can't get FB messages easily but when I post on one of your posts that I sent you a PM and I ask you for a cell number so we can get in touch more easily it would be nice if I got a response

Whenever I start to think "Screw It" I remember Gracie Belle and how excited I was the day Tom said he was cool with me bringing her home.

@16 paws @MistyMountain Howdy! Hope chicks in eggs and out are doing well

 

[tommysgirl]

Hey Teila! Been a while!! Glad to hear everyone is doing well with integration! Excited to see some new pics of Tammy and Blondie!

Liz, maybe our roosters need to go to school together to learn to be easy on the hens! I ordered 5 saddles, one for each EE. I only put one on Cleo, since she was the worst off. She happens to be my most skittish hen… and let me tell you, that was a chore! To be honest, all the EE are pretty skittish. I sure hope no one is watching when I catch the rest up! Darth Vader is next, with MJ not too far behind. Great pics! I loooooove that everything is turning green again! We have been super busy today pruning (a bit late, but firewood took priority) the apple trees. They are a real mess. I would guess it may have been 10 years since they have had anything cut off of them.

Shy cleo

Springtime = broken back feathers. My girls are looking ratty as well. Cool how fast the greening up happens. On Monday in NJ the ground was muddy and grey brown...when I left on Thursday it looked more like the ground in Cleo's picture.

 

[ItalyChickie]

Hi Team Broodie!

This is going to sound pretty crazy, but I've just finished reading this entire thread (the 128 pages currently here, anyway), so now I feel like I know you all and your chickens, and just had to introduce myself.

I have been lurking on backyard chickens ever since I got chickens, which is about a year and a half. Never really felt the urge to post before,was mostly searching for information and was out of here when I found it. Then, a couple of weeks ago, as I was searching for info on two broodies who insist on sharing a nest, I bumped into this thread.. And got hooked!

You just seem to have such a wonderful, supportive community going here that I couldn't help reading everything, even after I had decided what to do with my broodies.

But let me back up a bit. My name is Lisa, and I live in Italy, just outside of Rome. We have a decent sized space here, so when I started working for myself and from home, I finally let my husband talk me into "a few" chickens... after all, they are easy to take care of, I won't even notice, right? Well, you all know that statement is as wrong as it gets, and I have also learned, but not before falling completely in love with those furry funny chatty creatures!

I am most certainly not an expert, so if I ever come across sounding like that, ignore me. All I know I learned from these forums and my chickens of course.

Plenty to tell about them, but I'll start with the most relevant info: my newly-promoted-to-full-chicken-status-chickens (read: last year's hatch) have been taking turns trying to go broody since November, but because it was cold and the kindergarten area wasn't ready, I kept telling them to wait (while patiently relocating them away from chosen nesting areas). When we were ready though, the first one to go broody was a proven one, so I let her...then another one that same day (again, proven, and a Cochin)... And I let her two, thinking that it would be the new girls' turn after. But of course, the next morning, I found two of them in a tiny improvised nesting box... And didn't have the heart to relocate them yet again and again, they have been trying so hard!

So now I've got 4 broodies, 3 nests in 1 3 bedroom apartment in the newly restructured kindergarten area, just transferred there last night, sitting on a total of 23 eggs.. My other hatches were 3-4 at a time, so this probably falls into the what-did-I-get-myself-into category, only I am too excited to see it yet.

Other hatches always had some kind of drama... A chick stepped on by mom who seemed dead but only had leg problems, and whom I saved and doted on for 4 days, only to lose to a mysterious predator that turned out to be a snake as soon as he went back to mom was probably he worst. I hope this time won't be quite that painful, but I probably shouldn't hope for perfect, that doesn't exist.

So, with that in mind, I will probably need all the support I can get, and this thread seemed like the perfect place for it. if you will have me, that is.

In the meantime, here are the two future co-mums in their new apartment, and a glimpse at the other two.

Edited to add: expected hatch days are April 12-13... And I've been reading this thread since giving them eggs. F

 

[Teila]

Good morning Team Broody!

Yep, at work, should be working but with the end of daylight saving and most of the country now on the same time zone, I start probably an hour earlier than the rest of the country so nice and quiet

Love the pictures Liz!
Eeeek, a broody! I don't want to see a broody for a very long time .. an egg, on the other hand, would be nice! lol
Correction .. I do love looking at everyone else's broodies, just do not want one of my own right now lol. Well, the bubbies are nearly 7 weeks old, Cilla is just about due to go broody again!
Oh no, I am sorry to read about Zorro. I totally understand your dilemma with regards taking him to the Vet. I am sure you will make the right decision either way and you are both very much in my thoughts

Thank you TG
Hubby fired up the pump/filter yesterday and with a little tweaking, looks like the water loss has been kerbed dramatically. The water is also looking much clearer now and I can, once again, see my little finned friends. Now I just need some more for the middle pond
Congrats on the candling also .. very exciting!

How frustrating for you! Stick with your plan; I am sure Gracie Belle is definitely worth it.

PS. Those tadpoles of mine are still tadpoles! I swear they are never going to turn into frogs and leave home. They know when they are on a good thing!

ItalyChickie ... wow, you read the entire thread!

Well done

lol
Lovely to meet you and welcome.

Thank you for the kind words. Yep, I love this thread! I have a few that I read but this one is my first point of call every time I log in and pretty much the only one I post on. I love the fact that there is no hierarchy and everyone is kind, respectful, sharing and just so much fun to be in touch with

I laughed out loud at "after all, they are easy to take care of, I won't even notice, right?" too funny! Who knew that these cute little feathered munchkins would be such an important part of our lives .. can't imagine mine without them. I remember muttering once, at a very low point, that I had considered giving up chickens because of the heartache; that lasted for about 2 seconds and hubby gave me that knowing look, complete with eye roll! lol

"4 broodies, 3 nests sitting on a total of 23 eggs" How very exciting for you! (and us

)

Your girls are just gorgeous! Love the broody-twins! I was going to make some comment along the lines of "it is a good thing that I do not live in Italy because you might be missing one Cochin" but that is not really something to joke about. I will, however, mention that Cochin (? blue) of yours is beautiful! I look forward to more pictures of her; head included! lolz

What day are your broodies at? Just wondering how long before Team Broody have even more bubbies to love

*Sigh* .. I suppose I should start work now .... have to earn money for chicken treats!

Footnote: Editing because 1. I spelt ItalyChickie's name wrong and secondly, I just spotted the edit with the due date .. woo hooo not long now!

 

[lizgarf]

Hi team,
Benvenuta, Lisa! I'm fighting the urge to write in Italian - I studied in Bologna in college and somehow manged to stay fluent all these years later. I go back to Italy frequently and have many Italian friends here. You write like an American - are you an exchange student who never left (like so many others)? Good luck with all the broodies!

I got the sad news a few hours ago that Zorro isn't long for this world. Fluid inside and outside the lungs. It looks like he's going to try to make it a quick deterioration and passing, which I appreciate somewhat. He's 4 weeks shy of his 19th birthday, and I know I couldn't hope for this time never to come, but it's still tough.

In the meantime, it's 78 degrees out, Reggie and I had a lovely time at the dog beach (where I managed to scratch a car, in my distracted state, left a note, I hope "Johnae1" is nice about it). I also just had the most amazing snuggle with the hens, sitting on my steps in the back. Bettina was at my should staring at my eyes, as they were filling with tears, and she started lightly pecking at my tears - an amazing, if slightly unsettling, moment. Jan and Grace came up to, and we all had a nice little cuddle together. The inability to potty train them may be the only thing keeping chickens from #1 pet status, in my opinion.

Grace is full-on broody. It's been hard to keep her out of the nest, what with all the errands today. If I'm around, I take her out of the coop and let her just roam around and hope for the best. She's such a good flier, I'm not too worried. Otherwise, I close off the nest, but she often manages to get in there. Frida is acting like she wants to be broody too, and I imagine she'll turn on the pac-man cluck tomorrow. I'm determined to break them this time, though, and wait a few more months for Desi and Lucy to be fully mature. And who knows, maybe Jan will be laying again by then.

Here's Zorro and Grace, in one of my all-time favorite shots:

 

[Teila]

Liz, I am so so sorry to read that news .. trying very hard not to cry myself. I wish I could also give you a real hug!

 

[ItalyChickie]

Thank you for the warm welcome Teila! Not that I expected anything less from this thread, not after reading 128 pages of it, but it's still very very nice to be officially a part of it after lurking/reading for two weeks!
(I usually read books in the evenings... so reading the entire thread was simply swapping to a completely fascinating book all about chickens! )

I am also waiting for your tadpoles to develop into something other than tadpoles... who knows, they might have decided to try turning into chickens after seeing how you take care of those, that's why it's taking so long.

Thank you for the compliments on my girls! Yours are also gorgeous... I am in love with your Blondie, and Tina - I would love some silkies, but afraid they're too small/vulnerable to fit in. That said, one of my roos is a (probably not pure, as he is bigger) Silkie, and the other one is his son), so possibly some crosses eventually. I think tommysgirl has a roo that looks like mine, or at least it seems like from the pics.

And feel free to joke about stealing my Cochin! I would never take it the wrong way, but only as a compliment. Though I don't know how she'd fit in with your flock of bantams - she is a VERY big girl. Bigger than my cat, and heavier. Her name is Cenere, which is Italian for Ash, and if I had favorites (which of course I don't! lol!), she would be it. She has the sweetest chickenality... and she also looooves the camera, so there are certainly plenty of good pictures of her to share.

Unfortunately, she is my only Cochin for the moment. It's actually not that easy to get different breeds around here... plenty of people have chickens in the area, but they actually manage to stick to that "chickens are for eggs" attitude, so all I see in the neighborhood are Red/Black Stars, Leghorns, and various mixes thereof. There's a once a month market type of event where they do sell all kinds of different breeds, but usually those are sold as couples, hen and roo. We were very lucky to get the "single" girl Cenere last year!
Here are some pics of her and others.

Cenere doing her big bad broody impersonation:



Cenere hogging the camera as I was trying to take photos of the babies. (Last year)



Two of those babies back there are the current broody twins. (those 4 turned out to be all hens - how lucky was that???)



More posing:




There actually was a possibility of triplet broodies, rather than twins... but their sister wasn't quite as determined. Oh, and that's their chosen nest box, which obviously was never meant to be a nest box, but an empty one in storage area... had to fill it with some hay after failing to convince them there were better places to lay.



I present you the three-tailed chicken monster (aka Rosita, Pesca and Chiocciola):



This was my first hatch - only two out of three survived, Bonnie(red) and Clyde(brown).




This is Bonnie all grown up:



Just a wide shot of chickens/dogs roaming around where they please. Dora in front, Clyde to the right, Gandalf (the silkie roo) center, Cenere chilling in the gazebo area.








I guess with those pics, I should also mention we have 3 dogs, 1 cat, chickens go where they please (once grown up that is, babies stay in the fenced kindergarten area) and everybody gets along. In fact, the cat is scared of chickens after getting attacked by one of the broody twins! She also attacked two of the dogs, at different times, who weren't really sure what was happening so they just ignored her... (The one with the black spots, Chiocciola, which is from Italian "Chioccia" = broody, though chioccola also means snail and the @ symbol.)

I will stop blabbering about my chickens for now - could go on for hours, but figure I'll have plenty more opportunities in this thread.

Just checked the thread before posting (had only seeing Teila's post before) - grazie per il benvenuto Liz!!! Feel free to write in Italian whenever you want, and we'll translate for the rest. Your guess re my background is very very close, except I'm not an American; I am Russian. But I was an exchange student in America (and Holland, and UK), went to college there, met my future husband on vacation in Spain, spent a semester in Italy with my university's overseas program, then he followed me to the US... but a few years later, we decided to come back to Europe, so here I am... my background is quite international and rather confusing, I know. My English is definitely US-learned though.

And oh I am SO SO sorry to hear about Zorro!! Sending you plenty of virtual hugs! Knowing that the day when it happens will come doesn't make it any easier... I am sure he had a wonderful life with you, but I am also sure it's not much of a consolation, just as it won't be to me when that day comes (my cat is 16). There's probably nothing I can say to make it better... but sending hugs and warm thoughts your way!

And in case it helps, there will be fluffy butt distractions in just a few days... My non-twin broodies are on day 17 (or possibly 16 if the first one doesn't count... not sure about this, as I gave them eggs around lunch time on Sunday), and the twins are a day behind. So this weekend is the due date - I promise to post plenty of pics as soon as mummies let me. (I am certain that at least Cenere will let me see them/mess with her/take pictures... she's so sweet she could be a lap chicken if she wasn't so heavy.)