I Built A Bridge!

[Teila]

CONGRATULATIONS Liz, I am so very happy for you!

I had a chuckle at “chooks”; I deliberately do not call my gals ‘chooks’ or ‘chookies’ on BYC because I get all sorts of flack about that Aussie vernacular but now I know I can use them in the Bridge Club

Hopefully that smell is a broody poop or one of those very smelly poops they do when shedding some intestinal lining; they are gross

Keep us up-to-date with the hatches and apologies from us to the gals for the camera, you can blame us and explain that we need pictures

 

[16 paws]

Congratulations Liz!

Cute picture of mama and baby. Desi is too cute also.
Go little hatchlings go!!!!

 

[lizgarf]

Thanks everyone!
Call them "chooks" as much as you want, Teila. You see we all adopted "bubby" on your behalf! Who doesn't like speaking Aussie?! (well, except for "carpark," but I digress).
The smell has dissipated, so I'm hoping for the best.
I don't know if there's a #3 yet, but here are a couple more pics for Teila before she has to go back to work.

The aunties/donor moms keeping tabs on the hatch:


I think this is #2, but I'm not sure:


Broody Teamwork:


And I know this picture doesn't really come through because of the darkness and shadows, but this was the sweetest team broody moment I've ever seen. Grace had her wing over Frida, and I'm guessing the bubbies and eggs, just like a human co-parent would put her arm around her. Chickens are just amazing social animals, when given the chance to thrive. I've learned so much from them.

 

[ItalyChickie]

IC, you could go with Michael’s sister, Janet or JJ

Beautiful, beautiful bubbies and a lovely shot of the co-broodys, The little Bonny chick is adorable. I am also interested to see how she/he develops.

Lol! I might go with the dancer/singer theme for all of them then and if those two are boy and girl (my first guess based on newborn crest differences is that they are, the dancer being a girl), then Michael and Janet will be perfect. Though I rather like the name Josephine, too.

Of course now I am hoping Bonnie's chick is a girl just so I can call her Shakira.

Pancake is sitting on 8 eggs and they are due to hatch on Tuesday I believe.
So I have Layla with her 1 Brabanter chick
Sophia Loren with her 4 bantam cochin chicks
Dotty with her 2 bantam cochin chicks
Pancake with her 8 eggs
Freckles staying in the nest box everyday and me pulling her out twice a day
OMG too many broodys!
I love broodys but enough is enough

Marie

Wow, we have the same number of broodies! (Pallina, Chiocciola, Rosita, and Cenere + Ombretta, though not sure if that counts as one, two, or 1.5 or something?) I just managed to break one though after blocking her preferred spot that wasn't anywhere near the copp, or I would have won the broody prize... is there a broody prize?

It's contagious I tell you!

@ItalyChickie cute pics...sorry about the marans. Cute babies! I love my australorps they are all around cool birds, Broody, great layers friendly and gorgeous in the sun.

Yeah, I'm sorry about the Marans too, but not too upset as it was an extra hatch just because I had to see that co-broody team in action again, I wasn't really planning more for this year, so Marans will be the first on the list for spring. I won't be ordering eggs again in August... the shipment was delayed one day, and it has been really hot, so I'm guessing that was the culprit... last time I got eggs from this seller, 13 out of 15 had hatched. Now, only 3 out of 15. Happy I got a couple of australorps at least.

I'm so glad Petunia has been found! She seems like a great mom, that picture with the bantam chicks was priceless!

@tommysgirl I'm so sorry to hear that Petunia is missing! I hope you're right that she's broody and she'll be home soon. That's a scary feeling.

Thanks for tuning in for news on Frida & Grace's hatch! My first grandchick is here!!


After a second relatively sleepless night where I had two dreams of going out to see the bubbies in various states of disarray (including a pretty distressful one where they were like newborn mice, left out to die, and I had to find a way to warm them up), I went out at about 6:30 am and heard peeping! Then out popped up the little shown above, who I'm assuming is Bettina's, since that was the first and only pip I saw.
Things seem to be in order. Grace and Frida are setting tight on the other eggs, but communicating well with little B. The other hens are curious (probably mostly about the chick starter in the nest), but are leaving them alone. I set up a small extension with some wire, but everyone is sitting tight for now.

Here is a picture from yesterday of Desi nest-guarding:


I'll update more later! yay!

Congrats Liz! The broody team is adorable, and so is Desi! And I can totally relate to waking up from scary dreams when I am waiting for them to hatch! (And wanting to go check on them at all sorts of odd hours...)

#2 has hatched!! Grace and Frida are still setting tight, so there must be more on the way. Grace is pecking the littles under when I come by, more than I am comfortable with, but it doesn't seem to be hurting them. I wish she would trust me more! I'm not touching this time until the hatching period is over, to try to minimize stress and build trust, yada, yada, but I'm still checking in and taking pictures! Sorry chooks!

A bad smell has also emerged. I'm wondering if one of the eggs has turned (probably one of the marans eggs they keep leaving out). At the moment, they're sitting on all the remaining eggs, so I don't want to explore. Is it possible that a normal hatch would emit a bad smell? It kind of smells like a nasty poop, so maybe that's all it is, but it also smells a little more sinister.

There was an awful, awful smell from one of Cenere's ginormous poops in my coop too, until I cleaned out the nest yesterday (they took the babies out, pics coming up). On the other hand, I had two exploding eggs last time (when I took them out of the bator a few days before hatch, good thing I did a sniff test), and that smell was quite different. I think you'd smell something other than nasty poop if it was an exploded egg, and if it didn't explode, you probably wouldn't smell it at all from a distance. (Hoping I'm right!)

I had a chuckle at “chooks”; I deliberately do not call my gals ‘chooks’ or ‘chookies’ on BYC because I get all sorts of flack about that Aussie vernacular but now I know I can use them in the Bridge Club

Well, I for one am very used to that... I work with Aussies a lot, and a big chunk of projects are recipe books, so, while in a different context, I do see the word "chook" often enough.

Thanks everyone!
Call them "chooks" as much as you want, Teila. You see we all adopted "bubby" on your behalf! Who doesn't like speaking Aussie?! (well, except for "carpark," but I digress).
The smell has dissipated, so I'm hoping for the best.
I don't know if there's a #3 yet, but here are a couple more pics for Teila before she has to go back to work.

The aunties/donor moms keeping tabs on the hatch:


I think this is #2, but I'm not sure:


Broody Teamwork:


And I know this picture doesn't really come through because of the darkness and shadows, but this was the sweetest team broody moment I've ever seen. Grace had her wing over Frida, and I'm guessing the bubbies and eggs, just like a human co-parent would put her arm around her. Chickens are just amazing social animals, when given the chance to thrive. I've learned so much from them.

Awww they are adorable Liz! And yes, I can make out the chicken hug in that picture.

Co-broodies are just too sweet to watch... I couldn't find Cenere's head last night when I went to close the coop, just lots of fluff everywhere, then saw that it was under Ombretta's chest, lifting her up a bit, and all the chicks were under that mountain of fluff they made.

Also rather hilarious, since Cenere is 2 times as big as Ombretta...

Couldn't get a pic of that moment as it was getting dark by then, but here are some outside pics from yesterday. They are out again this morning, so I'll be taking more soon.











edited to add a couple of close-ups:

 

[tommysgirl]

Yay for Petunia!!
But, to an outsider like me, she looks different than in her other pictures - are you sure that's Petunia? Did she outgrow her crest?

Thanks for hoping for pullets - not sure how that would work out if they all hatch, but we'll see how it goes. So far, just the one little, but Frida and Grace seem to expect more are on their way out.

haha lol liz I don't have THAT many chickens

She is a one of a kind in my flock. Sort of splash but 98% white, 5 toes on one foot 4 on the other and that VOICE but yes she has changed in looks since she was a slip of a girl. Plus it is hard to see her crest. It's not so much she lost her it as her comb grew and has sort of blocked it.

I am sure you have a chick report in the upcoming posts so I am hitting "submit" so I can go check out your babies.

 

[tommysgirl]

congrats liz and italy chickie...we NEVER get tired of this! I haven't heard from my contact with California Grey eggs. I hope to by Friday or I will be giving Julie Taylor some home grown eggs. Don't really want to do that so hope he comes through.

 

[ItalyChickie]

My co-broodies were nice enough to reproduce Cenere with her head under Ombretta scene outside, and I just have to share... this is the view from above, so a bit blurry, but I was worried they'd stop by the time I get downstairs...

 

[lizgarf]

haha lol liz I don't have THAT many chickens

She is a one of a kind in my flock. Sort of splash but 98% white, 5 toes on one foot 4 on the other and that VOICE but yes she has changed in looks since she was a slip of a girl. Plus it is hard to see her crest. It's not so much she lost her it as her comb grew and has sort of blocked it.

I am sure you have a chick report in the upcoming posts so I am hitting "submit" so I can go check out your babies.

Oh good!
How was the shaking up there, TG? You're probably closer to the epicenter than I. It shook long enough here for me to sit up and wonder if I should do anything. Reggie jumped under the bed immediately.

I wish I could give a more definitive report, but Grace and Frida are really doing their best to hide the newbies from me. They just look up at me like, "what, I don't hear any peeping." Based on feather-movement, I'm guessing there are 4 or 5 now, but I can't give any more specifics. So far, Desi's genetic influence is strong!

 

[lizgarf]

Now that is a great fuzzy butt shot!
Beautiful pictures, IC!

 

[lizgarf]

Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have brought treats to the coop this morning. I bring them fermented scratch and yogurt at about 10 every day, and the broodies know that schedule. So, when I just now did it, the broodies got all excited to share with the babies, and left a hatching egg exposed. It was getting bounced around a bit, so I very gently moved it under Grace, who was relatively stable in the corner of the nest. I hope it makes it! It looks a little crushed and I didn't see movement from it. I saw Frida but her mouth near it, like she was trying to also give it a treat.
I've mostly given up home on Lucy's eggs, left out again, but I hope that little Rousseau egg makes it:


I thought I counted 5 chicks and 4 eggs, but that would be missing one. Who knows what's going on in there!