Cookie misses her chicks and made it through the day. She kind of stayed away from the flock elders & spent a lot of time in the coop. I tried to give her a few secret treats to lift her mood. Poor dumb bird kept making the "treat" call. You know the noise the mama hen makes to call the chicks over for food. Well it worked & the other chickens came over & pushed her away from the treats. Perhaps she was hoping her chicks would come running... On the bright side, she doesn't seem to be unhappy with me, and I did see her eat & drink alright. I think she'll be back to normal in a day or two.
Biele Update:
My Bielefelders have finally started laying. I got 3 mini pullet eggs in the last 4 days. (from 3 biele pullets) They just turned 25 weeks. I'm guessing they're from the Bieles since the orps will likely take longer.
BTW- I noticed that Bielefelders make all kinds of unique noises? I swear one of the hens is growling at me. At least that's what it sounds like. Then there's another that "honks" at me. I believe the "Honking" is her way of announcing "Treats are comin!" or it's just her way of begging.
"Hen Solo" in a tree.
Chew-BAWK-a looking cute.
The roo has only crowed a handful of times. The orp roos seem to take care of most of the crowing & mating. The Biele roo's pretty smart, though.
Each night I take the boys off the roost & put them to bed in the garage. That way they can crow away & no one will hear them until I let them out. Anyway, the biele doesn't like being carried. When he sees his brothers being carried away, he usually jumps off the roost. (Makes it easier for me to bend down & pick him up off the ground, rather than reach up & take him down. Because I find it helpful, he tends to get moved last.) Today I finished the chicken count & moved the 2 orps, but Biele was no where to be seen. I checked both runs & the coop. Then I saw him in the garage. He walked all the way over to the "rooster box" & was waiting to be put inside.
Biele Update:
My Bielefelders have finally started laying. I got 3 mini pullet eggs in the last 4 days. (from 3 biele pullets) They just turned 25 weeks. I'm guessing they're from the Bieles since the orps will likely take longer.
BTW- I noticed that Bielefelders make all kinds of unique noises? I swear one of the hens is growling at me. At least that's what it sounds like. Then there's another that "honks" at me. I believe the "Honking" is her way of announcing "Treats are comin!" or it's just her way of begging.
"Hen Solo" in a tree.
Chew-BAWK-a looking cute.
The roo has only crowed a handful of times. The orp roos seem to take care of most of the crowing & mating. The Biele roo's pretty smart, though.
Each night I take the boys off the roost & put them to bed in the garage. That way they can crow away & no one will hear them until I let them out. Anyway, the biele doesn't like being carried. When he sees his brothers being carried away, he usually jumps off the roost. (Makes it easier for me to bend down & pick him up off the ground, rather than reach up & take him down. Because I find it helpful, he tends to get moved last.) Today I finished the chicken count & moved the 2 orps, but Biele was no where to be seen. I checked both runs & the coop. Then I saw him in the garage. He walked all the way over to the "rooster box" & was waiting to be put inside.
and so sorry for Cookie. The chicks are doing great they all get loving several times every day and we're already making guesses about which are boys and which are girls. I love the tiny chick stage but at the same time I'm dieing to know what they'll look like as adults and how many are pullets.
it cost me about $10 round trip in gas to Farm and Fleet, no savings there... 
