Hatching with 2 broodies

[kimmerjo]

Thought I would go through this thread

 

[Teila]

Thought I would go through this thread

Tee hee, Welcome, kimmerjo, pull up a chair and grab a coffee, it is getting to be quite a long thread

 

[Teila]

I bought the peck-no-more from the local farm store and put some on little Rousseau. I hope it helps! At least it matches her color perfectly.
They had 1-day-old Welsummer chicks at the store!!!!!!!! I wanted them so badly!! No broodies, though, and I can't take on house chicks right now. Between Desi, 7 hens, missing bees, and all the issues of my house pets (cat-bite abscess anyone?), it's hard enough to get any work done. (another big deadline coming up, can you tell?) So, I exercised rare restraint!
I finally let the hens out to range, just in time for it to start dumping outside! Oh well, if they're really miserable, maybe they'll figure out how to get back to the coop.
4-for-4 eggs again today! That's 3 in a row from Marsha.
Enjoy the party, Teila! Maybe mak some new friends?

Quote:
Originally Posted by lizgarf

Well, they didn't last long in the rain. They were all huddled under the edge of the roof, so I led them back to the coop. Bettina got escorted in my arm under the umbrella. Lucky girl!

Hmm, I'm a little worried about the peck-no-more. Everyone seemed to be checking it out on Rousseau with their beaks. Not violently, but the extra attention in that area can't be good. On the plus side, I haven't seen Desi jump on her since I put it on, but I also haven't been around them much, given the weather and workload.

Ah, OK Liz, so maybe I was a tad on the premature side regarding things running smoothly on the farm
Missing bees? I'll pass on the cat bite abscess; been there, done that, not nice!

Tee hee at Bettina getting special treatment ... one of the perks of being soooo cute!
Congrats on the egg rate. Eggs? what are they? Haven't seen one for 3 days now. Having said that, Dusty is currently making rather loud "I am going to lay an egg" noises.

Hhhhm, bit strange that Peck-No-More has attracted attention from the girls, but I guess it is good news if it works on Desi. Rousseau is going to be wondering what she did to deserve all the extra attention. Does she have any colour preferences for the new apron she is probably going to be sporting?

Back from the Vets. Chimee has had her jab and has a clean bill of health .. she is currently under the bed and very much not impressed!

Lots of dragging of tables from next door now. That party smell is definitely getting stronger. As long as none of it spills into our yard and upsets the girls, I am OK with losing a little sleep and hope they have a good time

Time to mow the lawns and treat the girls to some fresh clippings. Enjoy the rain and good luck with getting some work done

 

[lizgarf]

Haha, Teila, all my girls are cute. Bettina gets special treatment for the simple reason that she lets me give it to her. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement.

 

[Teila]

Haha, Teila, all my girls are cute. Bettina gets special treatment for the simple reason that she lets me give it to her. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Yep, too true .. we will all be hard pushed to find a chicken that wasn't cute in some way or another

 

[texgardengal]

OH no!!! I hope that Peck No More doesnt back fire!!!!
Quote: HAHA That's too funny. I hope Blondie is a keeper.

You hae such a nice set up for the cats! Hope Syba did OK at the vet...
I have not been very productive at work either lately...haha Not getting much done at home with the chickies and all my charting has to be done at home. No charting, no paycheck.
I woke up this morning to let the chickies out but it's misty and cold so I'm going to wait a bit.. Cookie was outside the yard! Ihave no idea how she got out, the door was closed. It took me forever to get her back in.....trying to get her to follow me back to the door....That hasnt happened before since the crazy night with all the chickens out at 3 am. Bart and Sassy chase her around all the time so she may have found a hole.....not sure. I may put her in the new yard...outside of the chickies. She is still the oddman out. No one likes her..sigh. It will give her a break from getting chased all day....Maybe when the chickies get bigger one of them will be her friend.....
I'm really worried. It's supposed to get down in the teens again tomorrow night. I dont know how people who live up north do it...Im a basket case when it gets cold. Especially now that the chickies are outside.
I

 

[Teila]

Mini bubby milestone .. no air lifting required last night, all of them made it up the ramp and into bed without assistance; and Blondie was not the last one up the ramp ... go Blondie!

TGG, thank you, yes the cats seem to enjoy their outside play area; lots of places to lay and watch the birds in the trees and of course, the chickens on the ground.
It was Chimee who had the Vet trip and besides trying to make herself invisible on the Vet bench, she did very well. I promised her I would tell everyone how very brave she was; so I am doing that

I understand totally how tough it would be to work from home. I would find it difficult not to succumb to the chicken and cat distractions, thinking I would just start a load of washing etc. I can work from home if I wanted but find going into the office helps me get into the zone; also, the office has air conditioning, home does not

That is a worry about Cookie finding a way out; if only they knew the dangers.
Are you thinking of putting her on the inside of the hay bales or the other side? I couldn't quite see in the image you posted but I think I read that there was a fence on the outside of the hay bales?
If I am on the right track, that could be a good plan. Where would she sleep? It would give her a break from being bullied and she will still be able to hear the chickies and Miss Molly. When Miss Molly weans the chicks, maybe they will make friends with Cookie.
As you know, Cilla being out of the picture has done wonders for Dusty, Tina and Suzi's bonding.

When I bought Dusty I felt sorry for her, she was in a cage by herself because her siblings were constantly picking on her and had pulled her feathers to the point she had bare patches. When I got her home, she was very timid and shy and spent a lot of time by herself. It took time but she is now very much an important part of the flock and has improved in leaps and bounds confidence-wise.
I reckon Cookie will be OK and will make some friends soon, she is a tough little girl

Wow, "the teens" in Celsius is -10 or so! Aaargh; that is cold! Our evenings at the moment are averaging around 69F and the days around 82F. It is just after 8am and it is absolutely gorgeous outside, blue sky, slight breeze

 

[Teila]

I love seeing your pictures of the snow, gardens and farms etc so I thought I would share a couple of our view this morning .....

Taken from the front door looking out to the back garden:


Taken from the back lawn looking towards the front:

 

[texgardengal]

Welcome Kimmerjo!!!
OMG Teila, your yard is georgous!!! It's nice to see some GREEN!!!! I'm ready for spring. I'm so jealous of you guys with your yards...I have no plants yet......it's so hard to grow things up on this clay hill.....puny little trees, rocks and cactus! I had the prettiest place before I moved and now I'm starting from scratch. literally....
Quote: nice! Go Blondie lol I saw Mollie trying to teach the 'ramp lesson'. I guess it's a hard one. She went up, down, up, down and there was one bubbie that just couldnt get it. I was gone when it got dark and hubbie got them into the coop. So I didnt get to see if she finally accomplished the lesson. I doubt it, hubbie had to get into the coop and put them up. Yesterday, we had to cover the little coop. I maybe should have made it a little taller but I trusted Miss Mollie to stay put.....no such luck. Forgot who I was dealing with.

I didnt take a good pic but yes, there is a really big yard around the little yard. Eventually I will move everyone over or at least let them share. Yes, I plan to let Cookie run around the big yard, but plan on putting her in the big coop at night until I get them a place to sleep arranged. Right now it 's just a yard with the "littles coop". The bubbies wont get the run of the big yard until they are bigger. But until then, I had to cover the little yard. Miss Molly jumped out about 5 times, with me herding her back in....OK enough. Put a cover over it to keep her in. Probably a good idea before the chickies find out they can fly too.
Last night, I fell asleep a little early and I woke up to freezing temps and rain. Hubby had moved the whole coop back into the barn! He and one of the boys got out in the dark, in the rain and carried the little coop back in....lol I'm not sure I would have done that with Miss Molly closed up with them in the little coop but with it getting in the teens tonight I wont fuss. It's not supposed to get above freezing today so they will just have to stay inside..... I guess he is as worried about the littel guys as much as I am. He would just never say so.

Glad Chimee was brave at the vet...and did OK. My cat HATES the vet....He is really sweet but not so much when he is out of his comfort zone...home.
Bees??? Liz, I dont remember you having bees? Youre going to have to give us the scoop about the bees...after you finish your work....lol.

That reminds me....I have some to do too. But, I have to go to the barn and visit the littles again...lol
Quote: Yes, all your girls are cute...but Bettina is just especially cute... havent seen any pics of her lately...ahem ahem. How's the Peck No More going?

 

[lizgarf]

Good morning, Team!
What a nice orderly yard you have, Teila! I thought of you yesterday when I was checking out how the farm was doing in the rain and found this clever fellow who made a swimming pool out of a watering bowl I had left out for the bees in the drought:


I upgraded him to the creek. I hope he likes it:


Other than meeting my little friend, yesterday was a sad day. My friend Sarah left this earth yesterday morning. I'm grateful I got to see her when she was still doing relatively well in December, but I was hoping to be able to see her again, and that is not to be. It's comforting to see all the love she inspired in friends' posts on facebook - she was a source of inspiration to people all over the planet. Not bad for a young mom from Utah!

Otherwise, to answer your questions, I'm not sure how the peck-no-more is doing. Rousseau is definitely looking shabby in the backend. I'm not seeing the girls pecking her, but Desi still wants to mate with her. He might not be doing it as much, but it's hard for me to know, since I'm not with them all the time. She sure doesn't like my putting the stuff on her. I guess I'll just keep an eye on the situation. I don't want to have to separate them, but this is definitely one more check mark in the anti-Desi column.

The bees: I was hosting two hives for a local beekeeper, in exchange for honey. Apparently the bees are not in the hives anymore and have either died out or moved on over winter, although there is still some bee activity around the hives (robbers, I'm told). I don't know much about bee-keeping and my preference is to have someone else deal with it, but I'm also considering adding it to the list of things I'm doing myself to have it done the way I want (whatever that is).

Here's a Bettina shot for you, TGG. Not her face, sorry, but I like the size comparison with Grace:


OK, back to work!