I Built A Bridge!

[MistyMountain]

Hello again Bridge Club

Have I mentioned lately I hate Mondays?!!

TG looking forward to the multi broody pictures

MM good to read that the little guys are doing better. Reading your activities made me tired! I think I need a nap now!

Beautiful pictures!

Thank you all for the congratulations; it is so very exciting.

As mentioned earlier, at lunch time today I removed the plastic box that Tina, eggs and bubbies were in. The reason for this is that if they jump out, they may not be able to get back in so we now just have a nice thick layer of straw that they can climb.

If bubby #1 is a keeper, she will definitely be Gloria!

The reason I sort of feel bad giving eggs to Blondie is that if I get to keep one of Tina’s bubbies I will not be able to keep any of Blondies

Zoning laws (6 chickens) and the fact that I do not think it would be fair to have more than 6 bantams in my current set-up dictates that I will be at my maximum. While I could extend some more I really do not want to push my luck with the neighbours and Council. Also, I think 6 is a nice number to keep.

Is it wrong to hatch out more chickens that I cannot keep? Is that similar to those people who have heaps of unwanted litters of puppies and kittens?

Anyways without further delay, I give you Tina bubbies!

'Gloria':

Ok, ok, so maybe I have been lurking these last oh… 8 hours for pictures. Posting two days in a row is totally out of the norm for me… but Teila!! Those bubbies are adorable!!

Tina looks so dedicated! I love the pic of her and "Gloria" looking out the door with her wing kind of hanging out. I keep thinking of the Lion King quote where Mufasa tells Simba "Everything the light touches is our kingdom."

You know, reading all those things on my list made me tired as well! We managed to get the well wire through the conduit and in the foot deep hole… all 175 feet of it!! I am sure the deer are thanking us for getting rid of the giant trench in the front yard!!

That is a tough one on Blondie, Teila. I'm not sure what I would do in your position. You are entering spring, though, right? And you have been successful in rehoming from previous hatches. I totally understand your reservations, though. Such a tough one.

Have a great week everyone!

 

[ItalyChickie]

I love this picture! Coincidentally, I named my most-hopeful-female Brahma Norma, after my old AP History teacher/Model UN chaperone and the Opera, from which I just started working on the Casta Diva aria. Starting with Bettina, I've been naming Brahmas after significant teachers in my life. I'm currently calling the slightly-more boyish Brahma Brian, after my middle-school choir teacher and the Life of Brian. (But, I also keep thinking of him as Roderick, because of the Life of Brian.) And, he may be a girl! After looking at a bunch of different brahma-sexing threads, I'm completely confused. I can't base it on color, because of Desi. Brian's comb is slightly bigger and pinker and he is slightly bigger and more-boyish than Norma, but in terms of feathering, they're pretty indistinguishable. That seems to be my story with chicks. No one ever looks like those short-bodied, long-legged, unfeathered boy chicks I see on BYC threads. Maybe it's the feed or the climate, but all of my chicks have plenty of feathers and tails, even Diego, who hasn't been in doubt for over a week.



IC, yes, I'm jealous of your easy access to amazing ricotta and gelato! There is a lot I miss about Italy, but those two are close to the top! We actually have really good ice cream here in Oakland/Berkeley - lots of gelato and artisinal ice cream shops. But, I still like to make my own. It's inexpensive and I can have it whenever I want it. (always in moderation, of course!)

Brahmas are hard!!! We got a brahma chick in the very beginning of our chicken adventure, and I only figured out he was a he when I saw him on top of his hatchmate... obviously we're talking like 5 months old here... he didn't even crow for the longest time since there was a grown roo. I'd say the only real clue was his height, he looked taller than you'd expect a hen to be, but without comparison it's next to impossible to tell.

And just to add some more confusion to this topic - remember my documentation of Orps and Cochins feathering rates? Well, it seems that the only ones that the "girls feather out faster" rule applied to were those that look closest to breed standard (that would be 2 out of 6 Cochins - the ones that all looked the same turned out to be 2 boys and 2 girls). And obviously, that's the minority of them... so I imagine any mixing invalidates that rule, even in the next generations, because of too many variables.



Yes, I can see how those would be two most-missed things about Italy.

I also love the fact that most of the food is not mass-produced here, we still have the little bread shops, cheese shops, etc. - though I guess you can find that in most places if you look... the thing is, I don't even have to look. But that doesn't really apply to cities here, not as much, anyway.

I wanted to thank you for the gimp link and I also wanted to give a shout out to those mixes and their coloring! Super pretty babies and teens. I am partial to silky crosses myself. Last night I totaled up everyone and counting adolescents and chicks we have 47 birds....

I guess it is good that I only ended up with 4 little one this time. If thing had worked out differently I would have given each broody about 6-8 eggs. fortunately providence stepped in.

You're welcome for the gimp link, let me know if you like it/find it easy to use.

And thanks, yes those mixes always turn out gorgeous... how to decide which to keep??? I did a quick count after seeing your number, and got 44 total. Oh, and there are 6 eggs under Bonnie right now, so if they all hatch, that would bring me to 50. Yikes!

I named my red star, Stella, which is star in Italian.

I also have a red star named Stella, one of the very first two we got (the other one is Luna).

I was away from the farm most of the day today, and was sad to come home to a new peck wound on Frankie's little head! Just when I thought that the broodzillas weren't actually interested in hurting them! I'm not happy, but I'm telling myself that the fact that it wasn't worse is actually really significant. Someone must have protected her in the end, because it's just one smallish wound. Good thing I still have the liquid bandage handy.
I've also noticed that Brian the Brahma is a bit of a bully, as a couple times I've caught him giving long/hard/feather-pulling pecks on the other chicks. I do not like these developments at all!

I've had some chicks that were bullies but grew out of it... hopefully Brian will too!

In other news, Blondie is determined and I am weak! I have just ordered her own little brooder and just about to finalise and pay an order for 6 mixed bantam eggs to be shipped tomorrow!

I believe I need an intervention! lolz

In my defence, it looks like Tina's hatch may be only 2, if that, so, combined, they are just the same as one hatch!

That sounds perfectly logical to me. In fact, it's the same reasoning I used with Bonnie, since my co-parents only got 4 chicks between the two of them.

I also think that you have come to the wrong place for the intervention. We were probably all secretly cheering for Blondie.

No need to defend yourself. Blondie has a way of getting what she wants. You are powerless to resist. And to boot you do get an A in chicken math for your exact figuring of this difficult equation.

Also I am hoping you get something out of the frizzled egg and the mystery egg! Goooo Tina!


I will snap a picture later but currently I have 4 babies being shared equally and happily by 3 mamas. So sweet. Have you heard of such a thing??

Ok, TG said it much better than I did.

Woohoo, Teila, you even got an A in chicken math!

3 co-mamas??? I definitely need to see this!!!! Pics please!

Thank you, TG. I try, but most of them are blurry. I am secretly embarrassed about how many pics of the chickens I have on my phone… people would be in a big surprise if they broke the "don't swipe left, don't swipe right" rule when I hand them my phone with a picture on it!!
You know, I use Mac, but have never used anything other than Photoshop. Even then, being and artist and in front of the computer all day long… I find very little time to edit photos or be creative for myself… sad. Maybe one day.
Thank you, Marie. This is kiddo #2 on the nebulizer. I guess it is kinda nice that I already had all the stuff at home to do the job. This seems to hit them when they get sick too, and mostly dry winter time. I hope we can make it through basketball! I feel positive that they will outgrow it, too. Until then, I will lug this thing and my little bag of medicine on every trip. Glad to hear that your son outgrew it!

Emm is ADORABLE!!! Love those poofy faces on the orloffs

I'm guilty of counting chickens at bedtime too. It was easy when they were all different sizes. 9 big ones, 9 teenagers, 9 momma and littles. now I just count big heads on the roost in the coop. And heads up in the pine tree.

Very cool, IC! I design T-shirt, banner, embroidery, and ad specialty artwork along with some logo development. I have InDesign, but have NEVER used it! I should really open it up and see what it does! I have always used Illustrator, and took some minor classes in photoshop in college. I had to take another non-art related class using Quark Express (does that exist anymore?). I struggled with it because it was too limited. I kept thinking… if I could just grab this and do that and then…

I kinda count the chickens by color and breed... 4 red stars, check... 4 black cochins, check... etc. Of course even that method is going to get confusing once the current babies grow...

I'm totally with you, I never do any photo editing for myself, I think I'm also a bit reluctant to because that would make free time feel like work, lol. Though I will make things like birthday cards etc. rather than buying them.

You probably don't really need InDesign for what you do... I do a lot of layout - anything from books/ebooks to business cards/letterheads/brochures etc., and InDesign is perfect for all that - but the placed images are usually Photoshop or Illustrator. Still, it's definitely worth a look, as it's light years ahead of Quark. I had started with that too, and never liked it. Moved to InDesign pretty soon after it came out. I thiiiink Quark still exists, and they even tried to bring it up to date, but Adobe id a far better job.

I just deleted ooodles of chicken pictures from my phone...like seriously over 200!

I was at 1000 at some point this summer, when my phone kindly asked me to get rid of them because it was out of memory...

Hello again Bridge Club

Have I mentioned lately I hate Mondays?!!

TG looking forward to the multi broody pictures

MM good to read that the little guys are doing better. Reading your activities made me tired! I think I need a nap now!

Beautiful pictures!

Thank you all for the congratulations; it is so very exciting.

As mentioned earlier, at lunch time today I removed the plastic box that Tina, eggs and bubbies were in. The reason for this is that if they jump out, they may not be able to get back in so we now just have a nice thick layer of straw that they can climb.

If bubby #1 is a keeper, she will definitely be Gloria!

The reason I sort of feel bad giving eggs to Blondie is that if I get to keep one of Tina’s bubbies I will not be able to keep any of Blondies

Zoning laws (6 chickens) and the fact that I do not think it would be fair to have more than 6 bantams in my current set-up dictates that I will be at my maximum. While I could extend some more I really do not want to push my luck with the neighbours and Council. Also, I think 6 is a nice number to keep.

Is it wrong to hatch out more chickens that I cannot keep? Is that similar to those people who have heaps of unwanted litters of puppies and kittens?

Anyways without further delay, I give you Tina bubbies!

'Gloria':

Goodness Teila those are simply the cutest!!! I don't think I've ever seen that coloring, and now I can't wait to see their feathers growing! And Tina looks like she is doing an amazing job! Love that wing blocking the entrance!

Ok, time for me to get off the chicken forums and go to the actual chickens - almost bedtime for them over here!

Will be looking forward to more pics!

 

[lizgarf]

They're beautiful, Teila!!
It is a tough dilemma about the broodies. I know you enjoy your broody hatches very much and finding them homes is challenging. At this point you have at least 3 broody hens, and like me, you're not going to be able to keep every chick they hatch. I'm figuring out as I go how many hatches I can handle (in terms of time and the emotional difficulty of finding homes for them and the stress on the rest of the flock), and other than the inconvenience, I have no problem with breaking them if it's not the right time for a hatch. But, if it works out for you to let them have hatches and you're happy with the re-homing options you're finding, I don't think there's anything wrong with it. I'm a bit of a control freak, and I don't like the idea of sending the chicks into the unknown, myself. But, I know your chicks will have a better start in life than the vast majority out there!

 

[tommysgirl]

If bubby #1 is a keeper, she will definitely be Gloria!

The reason I sort of feel bad giving eggs to Blondie is that if I get to keep one of Tina’s bubbies I will not be able to keep any of Blondies

Is it wrong to hatch out more chickens that I cannot keep? Is that similar to those people who have heaps of unwanted litters of puppies and kittens?

Anyways without further delay, I give you Tina bubbies!

'Gloria':

First off they are a very precious little family. You are NOTHING like those people who breed ooodles of puppies. Typically a chicken is a committment of >7years...a Dog is usually < 10. Cats can be 20 something. A chicken has far fewer needs than a dog and can be well cared for and happy far more simply. There is a market for chickens, hens in particular. I have never heard someone say..."I just can't find a new home form my extra pullets and hens" just because you don't have a new home lined up right now doesn't mean you wont find someone when the time comes.

OK so in my totally non-scientific opinion based on my own observations, a hens drive to set and nurture chicks is far stronger than her desire to have said chicks live with her forever. On the contrary, in my own flock I have seen mothers drive their 5 weeks old out of the coop and away from the food dish. Beakface has raised three clutches. We still have two of the pullets from the most recent one and she appears to be totally indifferent to them unless they are going for her snack. Jamie Lee Curtis hatched and raised Cass ( my red star...decided on Cassiopoeoia) and they have nothing to do with each other any more, though JLC did keep her under her wing for about two months Same is true of Norma and Topaz.

Cockerels are always an issue but you have had great luck finding boy homes

I hope that puts your heart at ease some. If I were in your neck of the woods you can bet I would take two of your bantam babies once the mamas were done raising them.

They're beautiful, Teila!!
It is a tough dilemma about the broodies. I know you enjoy your broody hatches very much and finding them homes is challenging. At this point you have at least 3 broody hens, and like me, you're not going to be able to keep every chick they hatch. I'm figuring out as I go how many hatches I can handle (in terms of time and the emotional difficulty of finding homes for them and the stress on the rest of the flock), and other than the inconvenience, I have no problem with breaking them if it's not the right time for a hatch. But, if it works out for you to let them have hatches and you're happy with the re-homing options you're finding, I don't think there's anything wrong with it. I'm a bit of a control freak, and I don't like the idea of sending the chicks into the unknown, myself. But, I know your chicks will have a better start in life than the vast majority out there!

Yes...this too ^^^

I don't know what to do with my bantam boy Cosmo. He is currently housed with Stella, his sister, and the three youngest of my summer pullets. 11-14 weeks old. He is beside himself with hormones and this morning pinned little Topaz down. She is my youngest other than the new bubbies and she was I think really scared. She certainly is not ready for mating. None of the other girls are either but if I put him in the big pen, Ike will probably hurt him, I can't put him in with the broodies and bubbies or in with the much larger cockerels in their pen either so I think I will pen him at night but allow him to range all day. I worry about him becoming Hawk fodder but I don't know what else to do. Even Stella who is his age wants nothing to do with him. She is not laying yet so is not ready either. My plan for him was to have him in with Gracie Bell, Julie Taylor and Stella but with GB and JT broody that didn't work out. Maybe it was a mistake to keep him :-( but he is so cute...except for this.

 

[16 paws]

Teila,
Justy got home from work and raced to the puter to see the newbies.

Too cute! Congratulations to all of you. I love the coloring on the babies and they look at mama like they are in love with her

. That is the best thing about having broodys hatch chicks. The love and bond they have for one another blows me away.

On the question of letting Blondie sit I dont think you are going to like my answer but here it is....

You have so much love in your heart for these chickens, I say you think about moving to a place where you can have as many chickens as your heart desires. I know that may not be practical right now but you just never know.....stranger things have happened.

Now if you stay there and do happen to have more than six and someone finds out you can just refer to the chicken math teacher here, isnt it MistyMountain?, and tell them banties only count as half a chicken so get your counting straight! The chicken police havent busted me yet so maybe they are not that strict. I say give her some eggs and everything will work out. Life is short, have more chickens.....

Marie

 

[16 paws]

 

[Teila]

Good morning Bridge Club

Thank you everyone! Yep, I have to agree, they are two cute little bubs! Tina is doing a wonderful job. When I just checked they were out on the balcony having something to eat and a drink. They sure do have some funky colouring going on; one of the joys of mixes I suspect.

MM love the Lion King interpretation!

IC I am a Gimp fan!
Blondie thanks you for your support

Liz thank you!

TG thank you also!
I am sorry to read about your Cosmo dilemma and wish I could be as helpful as you have been for me but roosters are definitely not my area of expertise. Apart from the Hawk issue, the free ranging sounds like a plan until you have some girls who would be flattered by his attention? Is there a pen he could be in 'by himself' but still close enough to gals that he could 'dance' for and that would keep him company? Some sort of semi-separation?

Thank you ALL so much for your comments and support; I do feel so much better about giving Blondie eggs.

That whole ‘giving in to a broody’ versus ‘not being able to keep the babies’ is a tough one.

I have given it a lot more thought and agree with the general consensus that it is not really mean. Cilla has had a chance to be a mum and now also Tina, I guess Blondie deserves the chance. There is also the possibility that Tina’s two bubbies could be boys which sadly means they will have to be rehomed leaving that 6th spot free. I am very much a believer in ‘everything for a reason’ so rather than stress, I will go with the flow and see what eventuates.

On the bright side, Cilla is not showing any signs of going broody again, Dusty has never been broody and now with Tina and Blondie out of the picture that only leaves LuLu. The timing for trying to break Blondie was not good but at least if LuLu goes broody I might have a chance.

So, for at least a few months, I should not have a problem!

I do, one day, hope to move somewhere where I can have some more gals but not just now. Also, as wonderful as Joel is, he is against more extensions and going over the 6 chicken limit. Sadly, in our current situation, he does make sense and if I did not have restrictions I would probably go overboard!

Anyways, enough rambling from me, work is piling up!
Thanks again everyone, I would be lost without you!!!

 

[Teila]

OK ... I have two apologies to make .....

1. Apologies in advance for all the photos I will be posting; no doubt there will be many!
2. Apologies for the wire in these shots but I just had to share!

Oh yeah and one additional apology to work .. I am getting nothing done!! lol

Tina teaching the bubbies how to dust bath ...... See, Tina is not always white!

If you look closely at this one, little bubby has it's wing out and was just about to roll

 

[tommysgirl]

Good morning Bridge Club

Thank you everyone! Yep, I have to agree, they are two cute little bubs! Tina is doing a wonderful job. When I just checked they were out on the balcony having something to eat and a drink. They sure do have some funky colouring going on; one of the joys of mixes I suspect.

TG thank you also!
I am sorry to read about your Cosmo dilemma and wish I could be as helpful as you have been for me but roosters are definitely not my area of expertise. Apart from the Hawk issue, the free ranging sounds like a plan until you have some girls who would be flattered by his attention? Is there a pen he could be in 'by himself' but still close enough to gals that he could 'dance' for and that would keep him company? Some sort of semi-separation?

Thank you ALL so much for your comments and support; I do feel so much better about giving Blondie eggs.

That whole ‘giving in to a broody’ versus ‘not being able to keep the babies’ is a tough one.

It does make a fuss doesn't it? We are not going to go with the "every broody needs eggs" philosophy next year. I am sort of overwhelmed at the moment.

Thanks for the Cosmo support. He will have his own pen in a few weeks but in the interim the free ranging thing looks like the only option. He will get his girls.

Glad you feel better!

 

[lizgarf]

Now if you stay there and do happen to have more than six and someone finds out you can just refer to the chicken math teacher here, isnt it MistyMountain?, and tell them banties only count as half a chicken so get your counting straight! The chicken police havent busted me yet so maybe they are not that strict. I say give her some eggs and everything will work out. Life is short, have more chickens.....

Marie

I love this!! Life is short, which is why I currently have 17 chickens and sticky buns baking in the oven!

But man, I might want life to be even shorter if I had a few more chickens. They're a lot of work! How on earth do IC and TG manage with more than 40 and hold down jobs!?!?!?! I am so easily distracted by the ones I have.

Yay, the babies are still cute, Teila! What a fun-colored pair! I can only imagine beautiful things from those two!
Oh, and Teila, since you're a fan of silly comedies from a certain era, can you guess whom my Madeline is named after?

I've decided I'm not deluding myself and there are enough physical differences between my Brahmarans that Brian and Norma may get to keep their names. But, there is a very good chance that both Lu and Cy are boys (very clever of those broodies to leave those eggs out), and even Frankie may turn out male. Frankie still looks pullet, except for her little pink comb and wattles. Can a 4-week old pullet have wattles? They're tiny, but they're there. Cy is slightly bigger than Lu, as are his pinker comb and wattles, but the difference is so small, it's hard to call it a gender difference. So, my current count at 4 weeks is 3 pretty certain girls (Cindy via Rousseau, Madeline via Grace, and Alice via Marsha), 2 who seem more likely female than male (Norma via Bettina, Frankie via Frida), 3 pretty certain boys (Diego via Rousseau, Brian via Bettina, and Cy via Lucy), and 1 more-likely boy than girl (Lu). If this turns out right, it'll be about as much as I could hope for in terms of variety and re-homability, which makes me think it might be too good to be true!

Not a great picture, but it shows Brian is bigger and his shoulders are broader, leaving a wide gap between his wings on his back. Also, his comb is bigger and pinker, and he's getting obvious pantaloons in the back, like a rooster (or at least like Desi), whereas Norma's backside is broader and fluffier in a more feminine way.


Norma's fluffy, egg-bearing hips (I hope!!):


Frankie's suspicious comb and wattles (maybe not so bad, right?):


And, a sticky bun: