***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[ashtree]

I am sorry to hear about all the losses this week. Losing favorite birdies is never easy.

Maybe these will help find a smile...

All 7 of my Olive Eggers hatched! I'm excited to see how the Splash feather in. @ashtree, my Ameraucanas stopped laying. If they start back up, I'll let you know.

Oh those are soooo cute! Please do tell me when they start laying again! I feel like at this point my broodys will give up before eggs hatch, so I'm going to try to put some of the chicks from the incubator I plan on keeping under them. They've been sitting on non fertile eggs for almost 2 weeks!

 

[Kyzmette]

When springtime rolls around is anybody in the northeast planning on making a chick order? If so, let me know. Or does anybody know somebody in the state who breeds fancy leghorns?

 

[BetsyOK]

Showgirls are very hardy. I never have a problem with heat or cold with them. My pens are in shade and are fairy well protected from prevailing winds. I don't add any heat to the adults pens.

 

[Kassaundra]

Showgirls are very hardy. I never have a problem with heat or cold with them. My pens are in shade and are fairy well protected from prevailing winds. I don't add any heat to the adults pens.

Thanks, I wanted to make sure since she is so tiny

 

[NanaKat]

One of my Saipan Jungle Fowl hens stomped a field mouse to death as it attempted to enter her pen.  She didn't make a sound, but she jumped and kicked to vigorously that I thought she might punch a hole in the invading rodent.  When I lifted him from the fence, I could tell that his back had been broken in several places.  She attacked the way the velociraptor juveniles did in Jurassic Park.  If I ever witness this again, I'll shoot a video instead of still photos.

Wow, that's pretty amazing. They look like pictures of progenitor bird species.

I'm in the middle of a chicken nightmare. I just found my other beautiful gray girl on death's door. I have her isolated, but I think her neck is broken. She's another girl who had just hit point of lay.

Is it possible for a rooster to be so rough with hens that he can kill them? Stratus is huge and young, and second to Orlando, so he has to tackle girls and work fast. I don't want to get rid of him, but I'm starting to think he's killing my pullets.

An addendum.... I've never seen Stratus do the mating dance; he just chases the girls down and jumps them. Could this be "rapist rooster" behavior?

Sorry to hear about your pullet.
An over amorous cockerel can be put in his place by penning him with older hens who will teach him the proper way to treat his ladies.

I've been working on clothes for Rudy for most of the day trying to figure out simple easy patterning for his shape and clothes that will be snug enough to stay on but loose enough in the right places to allow for movement, not as easy as it sounds w/o a waist or shoulders!!!!!   Anyway one epic failure today had us in stitches, put it on him and it would go on, but obviously was not comfortable around the legs I think he actually may have invented a cool new dance!!!! lol lol lol  Even the bunnies were laughing at him.  Really wish we had brought a recording device to share the laugh.

Oh and Rudy remembers Shakespear very well.  The other chickens come to his fence and say hi and he interacts w/ them, even Riker the "2nd in command" and he have pleasant interactions at the fence.  Shakespear walked up to the fence today and Rudy took off running like a shot, didn't know he could move that fast!!!!

Poor Rudy. First the bunnies laugh at him and Shakespear frightens him. He leads a stressful life.

 

[Kyzmette]

Sorry to hear about your pullet.
An over amorous cockerel can be put in his place by penning him with older hens who will teach him the proper way to treat his ladies.
Poor Rudy. First the bunnies laugh at him and Shakespear frightens him. He leads a stressful life.

Do you think the older hens could stand up to him without getting hurt? I have a couple of likely candidates, but if he killed one of them I'd probably change my anti-culling stance on the spot. I'm so torn when it comes to him, though, because when I go outside he comes up and walks next to me. And when I stop, he stops and just looks up at me like he's asking what my thoughts are on the world. But if I find one more dead pullet, his new name will be Soup.

Maybe I should take yours and Kass' s suggestions and cage him solo for a bit before rehoming him with the older girls.

Rinda, what kind of chicks do you have baking?

 

[Kassaundra]

All Doctor Who episodes are awesome, but this week's was extra awesome, just got through watching it.

 

[artsyrobin]

so that is season finale, when will the new episodes begin? this dr sure keeps me confused!

spent 2 days working to move the porch birds into the main coop- maybe they will all be warmer that way


has anyone had crossbeaks in this kind of weather? do their tongues get frostbit??


I am convinced young roos should automatically be put either in bachelor pens, or isolation till their hormones settle down- they are not worth risking the young girls, when i first got chickens i had 2 brahma boys that would work in tandem to trap and jump the girls- nope- not acceptable- honestly in my mind, the girls are way to valuable to put at risk-

and for all those losses- here is the poem i share- i don't know that i will ever stop missing my lost ones, and this helps, it was saved from a post here on BYC a long time ago-

Chicken Heaven is a very wonderful place.

It is infinite in every direction and there are no fences. The coups are as big as sky scrapers and there is always an open next box to lay in. There is an entire acre just devoted to taking dust baths with every kind of dirt imaginable that is always just the right consistency for a lovely bath. The sun bathing is choice and there is always a place that is just perfect and the chickens never have to fight for a place to lay in the sun.

There is a huge garden that is full of worms and bugs of all sorts. No matter how much the chickens eat from the garden, the plants always grow back. There is no shortage of food there and whatever they want to eat just appears before them whenever they want to eat it. They can eat as much as they want of their favorite treats and they never run out of them.

They are allowed inside the house whenever they want and there is no shortage of things to break and trouble to get into.

There are no predators in Chicken Heaven. No Coons, dogs, hawks, weasles, skunks, or any other thing to hurt them. They never feel pain, hunger, sadness, or remorse. Everyone is always happy in there and they never have to feel sad.

Anything you can imagine is there for chickens to do, eat, and be a part of.

Chicken heaven is a wonderful place, so don't feel bad when your chickens have to go away there to live. It is just a part of being a chicken. All chickens want to go there when they die and all Chickens do.
R.I.P. all those wonderful chickens who have gone on to live in Chicken Heaven. I know that you are happy there.

 

[Kassaundra]

I believe it was both the finale and the set up for this years Christmas special. I do not know when the new season starts

This new Doctor has been so different from the "new Doctors" a real throw back to some of the original Doctors.

 

[Kassaundra]

Okay guys this wasn't at it's funniest, but will give you an idea and a chuckle