Pipd's Peeps 2014!

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Okay, here we go! The littles are 4 weeks old and the Legbars are about 5 weeks old today!! Normally, that would mean that today would be their first trip outside, but I have had to delay that for now. I, of course, will be sure to get lots of pictures once it happens! For now, though, I tried something new with the pictures and put them up where I thought I could more easily get individual shots. Well, it went well at first, but when I got to the Marans, I was met with absolute refusal to cooperate! So everyone got nice individual pictures, but Georgie and Louise were down in the shavings for theirs.

Elda!!

Kit-kit!

Mabey Mabel (who blinked, of course )!

Poppy!

Violet (she was worried about the scary thing that was next to her on the shelf--the other EcoGlow )!

Georgie!

And Louise (with her little ballerina-esque legwarmers )!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Just a few more pictures of the beebees. This is Elda's way of saying, "Cuddle time. Now."

Okay, okay, Cuddles.

Poppy! I had to get another pic of her because her individual picture cut off her little tuft!

Bright eyes!

And Violet hopped up on the now-hanging feeder--and seemed to regret it immediately!

In other news, Tilde passed quarantine today, so she is out and about with the big girls! With the chicks still inside, she's on her own--but she's raring to brawl and show the others how tough she is! She's already got a mark on her face from fighting through the fence!

"You talkin' to me?"

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

And now, for the super-duper-possibly-exciting announcement! This is something I contemplated for a long time. I have done my share of research on the topic, and though the odds are slim, I think we have a chance. So here we go!

Po died June 1 of this year. He was a cute little guy, so good with the girls, and I was so shocked and devastated that he was gone. Well, in the hopes of continuing his legacy, I set aside some eggs from the flock and waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, over this weekend, Margaret went broody! We're eggspecting!

Po has been out of the flock for just over a month now. The odds are slim that the girls are still laying fertile eggs, but... I looked it up, and it is possible that they can continue to lay fertile eggs up to 6 weeks after a rooster has been removed. I'll candle the eggs she's sitting on in a week, and keep my fingers crossed until then that there's some development!

For now, Margie is being Margie. She loooves brooding, and she's taking herself very seriously at it! I pulled her out of the nest this morning to make sure she was still eating and drinking, and she had a very angry dust bath, then went right back in and adjusted her eggs. I'm a total novice when it comes to hatching eggs at all, let alone broody hens, so I really don't know what I'm doing. But I'll do my best and hope that Margie pulls through. I can't wait to see if Po will live on through his offspring!




(And a cookie to Lightchick, who guessed what was going on. And I tried to be tricky, too! )

 

[lightchick]

Haha! Yeah....I'm pretty good at guessing. Soooo exciting!
Why haven't your chicks been outside yet! My chicks got to go outside at 1 week and started living in a coop outside at 3 1/2 weeks.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

e So, so exciting!


And I know. I do take things slowly, but it's because I would just be so heartbroken if anything happened to these babies!

The reason I wait so long is because about three years ago, I rushed to put my chicks out and they ended up getting coccidiosis. I was lucky enough to catch it in time and just managed to pull them through, but it was scary when it looked like a few of them wouldn't make it. I've been very cautious about putting chicks outside since then. I always have Corid on hand and I wait until they're a little older so that they're more stable. I also give them some very dry dirt or sod from the yard so that they're exposed to inactive cocci and are able to build immunity before going outside for real. It does take a long time and some planning, but I have never lost a brooder-aged chick as a result.

Well, it's been so rainy here off and on, and a few things have come up, so I haven't gotten their dry sod to them yet so that they can build their initial immunity. And for a number of other reasons, I haven't been able to get them outside yet. It'll happen eventually, of course, but the time's got to be right.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Okay, what's new today! Well, I was sitting with the babies and being used as a jungle gym as usual, lots of cuddle time and cute faces from Elda and Kit-kit. The dear Legbars, Poppy and Violet, are getting closer and closer to letting me pick them up and cuddle them, too. Well, as Violet walked right up to me, I noticed again that she kind of looks different than Poppy. She really looks different than Poppy! So I sent a PM to the person I got them from, and after a short discussion, we both sort of concluded that instead of a Legbar, he had sold me...


A Bielefelder!!

(A Bielefelder that doesn't like posing for the camera, but a Bielefelder nonetheless!)


What exactly is a Bielefelder? Well, from some reading I can tell you it is a German, autosexing breed known for growing to be quite large and laying plenty of eggs! They are also apparently known for eating lots and lots, which explains why many of the pictures I've gotten of Violet are of her eating!

So to be honest... I'm excited! I am particularly interested in the autosexing breeds, and while Bielefelders are not one I am familiar with, I had heard of them and seen enough pictures to know they are beautiful! I, myself, am of Germanic descent, and I know my dad will be excited to know there's another German in the flock (his side is almost entirely German and he's into that sort of thing ). And, well, I had only really gotten two Legbars so that I wouldn't have a lonely chick while I was introducing the hatchery babies to it, so I have no problem with only having one Legbar in the end. This turned out to be a good mistake after all! e


In other news, Tilly is getting along well with the flock. Saturday is when I candle Margie's eggs to see if they are fertile. And we are ALLLL happy for the rain today, which brought with it cooler weather!


Now, I have to go tuck the big girls in for the night.

 

[lightchick]

Cool! I never heard of such a breed.
Are those eggs fertile or haven't you candled them yet?

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Not a lot of people have, it seems! Bielefelders are a fairly rare and recent breed in the U.S., only imported a few years ago. Not that their rarity makes me any difference--all I want are healthy, happy, FEMALE chicks!

Speaking of, now I'm looking over my chicks and reading as much as I can on sexing both Black Copper Marans and Welsummers, and while my Welly research has done nothing to calm my fears that Mabel could be a boy, the stuff I'm reading about BCMs is making me question whether I've jumped too soon to a conclusion on Georgie... I guess in a few weeks, I'll know for sure. I always come down really badly with 'Rooster Paranoia' when I have chicks, and this year is clearly no exception!


Oh, and I haven't candled yet. Being new to this all, I researched it and asked questions, and most of what I've read says to candle on day 7. We're at day 5--day 7 is Saturday--so I haven't candled yet. Still have my fingers crossed we get at least one baby from this! Po was the only rooster in the flock, so he would definitely be the father of anything that hatched!

 

[lightchick]

That would be nice to get some more chicks. I'm HOPING that my silkie isn't a BOY! I can't keep her then and that would just break my heart!
I already trying to find homes for the 4 extra roosters that the hatchery sent!

 

[ChickenChatten]

So happy that I just came across this forum! Your chicks have such personalities! Mine will be 3 weeks on Monday.

Fingers crossed that your eggs are fertile!