Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Cuteness for today! I think I'm keeping this one Marvelous Mr. M.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

Can't forget the littles!

China and maurice together

Not so little dottie

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Dottie is so pretty Fuzzy.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

Dottie is an older speckled sussex. Now i've had her a year her feathers are super soft, and shiny like an english orp. This kind gets the beetle green in the dots like a roo's tail!

 

[RaZ]

I almost had an oops tonight.
Heckle, the cuckoo Marans hatched out one lone chick a few weeks ago. While not such a good broody she is a diligent mother hen. She usually dotes on the OExEE chick and I have been letting them out in a fenced in pen for the day. Then they come in for the night into a secure area of the coop. This is within visual of the rest of the hens.

I bring in the chick and mom follows a few minutes later so they can be together for the night. Tonight, being tired and a bit hurried, I just grabbed the Marans and put her in with the chick and went to finish up evening chores. I kept hearing the little peeping like mad so I go in to check. I put on my glasses and immediately notice that I put the wrong Marans hen in with the chick. I had grabbed Jeckle since she followed me in when I had the little. The real mom was still outside, neck deep in a dust bath. Any way, the Marans were swapped and the little immediately quieted down and slipped under the very dusty Heckle. All is fine now in the coop.

How a chick knows their real mother hen just amazes me. And how the other hens know not to mess with another hen's chicks. Chicken social dynamics are very interesting.

 

[mindylee]

Spontaneous photo shoot of my Salmon Favorelle Gal...she's from around Feb. I think she's adorable!

She's pretty but not a salmon favorelle. I have a sf and she's from a breeder. I agree with the other post... I think a speckled Sussex or a cross.

 

[preciouskitty]

Cuteness for today! I think I'm keeping this one Marvelous Mr. M.

Definitely cuteness overload

 

[chickflick]

Favorelle come in different colors. I have a pure black one.
Good Morning! Looks to be another day. Enjoy!

 

[JackieandChicks]

You sure? She looks speckled, beardy like an orloff. Millie? Salmon is usually while and beige!

My birds decided today was bath day

Stupervising. Following me around and wanting picked up...

Then i marched them back to the pen
(

shepherdess of sorts)

 

[preciouskitty]

Yep, another gorgeous day on tap..
Went out to the garden at 0630 to weed around, then mound the potatoes. Was a struggle though, as I have such a terrible headache that it literally woke me up at 0130...
So much I want to do outside, but back on the couch at the moment...glad I'm off all week.

New girls seem to be doing well after their first day & night in the separated part of the run (put a kitty carrier in it for them to sleep in last night vs. stressing them out by grabbing them, bringing them back in the house & then taking them back out this morning). The other hens & them are "pecking" at each other thru the hardware cloth & Rana (~18 wk old blue Ameraucana) is VERY interested in Bigboy (& he, her). Pretty cute watching them follow each other along the sides of the section. I am SO glad @Opa came up with the plan to add a door to close off a 4x8' section of the run when he built the extension for me last summer. Knew I would be getting either OEs, more Marans or Ameraucanas from Wynette again this year. That pre-planning design rocks!

Maia's one 8 week old sounds so hilarious when he tries crowing...totally cracks me up. I expect the other will be following suit shortly.

@RaZ I agree with you on the whole dynamic of mama & baby chicks. I am really happy that I gave Maia eggs when she went broody; the whole experience has been educational & pretty amazing to watch...

Speaking of the "teenagers"...here's a pic from about a week ago. The 2 EE pullets (B&W) are Shyla (DH named her cuz she's really shy) & Spazzie (named after my late baby girl Spaz (my avatar) & REALLY is gonna look like her); OE pullet, Kaia (means lustrous), who is really starting to get some beautiful copper feathering around her neck (just like Lela, the BCM whose eggs Maia sat on). They love hanging out on the branching of the weeping cherry tree.