Pipd's Peeps!

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Hope fall comes soon. It's too hot. Walking to class has been killing me. Hoping Elda doesn't have too many difficulties this year.

It has been miserably hot, hasn't it? The worst part around here is the absolute cloud of mosquitoes that appears any time you go out! It's terrible!

How are classes going for you so far, @shadow rabbit10 ? I'm finishing up with this semester and so far the two classes I'm in are polar opposites. One is fun, but strenuous (lots of 'field trips' out in this heat, but it is Field Botany so I guess it's to be expected ) and the other is so, so, SO boring (Animal Agriculture, most of which is review for me so far, and the instructor has that uncanny talent of making an hour feel like four).

 

[shadow rabbit10]

It has been miserably hot, hasn't it? The worst part around here is the absolute cloud of mosquitoes that appears any time you go out! It's terrible!

How are classes going for you so far, @shadow rabbit10 ? I'm finishing up with this semester and so far the two classes I'm in are polar opposites. One is fun, but strenuous (lots of 'field trips' out in this heat, but it is Field Botany so I guess it's to be expected ) and the other is so, so, SO boring (Animal Agriculture, most of which is review for me so far, and the instructor has that uncanny talent of making an hour feel like four).

Ugh mosquitos are the worst. Classes are pretty good. I like my advanced animal nutrition class a lot, animal genetics is okay, my agriculture economics class is absolutely boring, and organic chemistry 2 is going to stink. I'm very excited because I recently got a job working in my school's animal barns (beef cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry) helping out the full time farm staff. It's good experience and a little bit of extra money during the year is nice. Field botany sounds fun, but the heat definitely stinks.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Got the boys scheduled to go in on Tuesday. Now's when I start to get all wishy-washy about things. However, I had to fend off the three Marans boys with the top of a feeder the other day, so they definitely don't get any wishy-washy feelings from me. No red flags from Purple band, so he's still off the list for now.

Also, I have Crash and Malcolm together finally! Crash is very uneasy about Mal still, but he just casually follows her around, so I think they're okay to be together without a fence between now. I'm really hoping she bonds with him well enough to spend winter with him! He seems pretty happy for the companionship and is really excited to see her every morning when I bring her out.

Oh, and I think I finally convinced Josephine to lay her eggs in a nest box instead of in the dropping trays! We'll see how long that lasts.

Ugh mosquitos are the worst. Classes are pretty good. I like my advanced animal nutrition class a lot, animal genetics is okay, my agriculture economics class is absolutely boring, and organic chemistry 2 is going to stink. I'm very excited because I recently got a job working in my school's animal barns (beef cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry) helping out the full time farm staff. It's good experience and a little bit of extra money during the year is nice. Field botany sounds fun, but the heat definitely stinks.

Oh, best of luck with O Chem! Your other classes sound (mostly) interesting, though, and I'm super jealous of your job!! My school only has lab rats and mice and there's always a bunch of people in line to grab up any openings caring for them, which is totally okay with me to be honest. Lots of luck with all of your classes!

Yeah, I like Field Botany so far, and it helps that the professor taught another class I took and he was my senior seminar advisor so I know what he's looking for as far as turning in homework and such. We've finally gotten a break in the weather, too, so hopefully it isn't murderously hot from now on during field work.

 

[shadow rabbit10]

Oh, best of luck with O Chem! Your other classes sound (mostly) interesting, though, and I'm super jealous of your job!! My school only has lab rats and mice and there's always a bunch of people in line to grab up any openings caring for them, which is totally okay with me to be honest. Lots of luck with all of your classes!

Yeah, I like Field Botany so far, and it helps that the professor taught another class I took and he was my senior seminar advisor so I know what he's looking for as far as turning in homework and such. We've finally gotten a break in the weather, too, so hopefully it isn't murderously hot from now on during field work.

Yeah I'm excited for the job. I know they hire horse barn helpers every year but horses aren't really my thing so I got excited when I saw that the livestock barns were hiring. Yeah the weather has been much cooler, but at least down here the rain is starting to come through.
Aw I didn't know you were putting Malcom and Crash together. Hopefully they start getting along better.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

You know, I may not have mentioned that here! After Trudi passed away, I started trying to introduce Crash to Malcolm again so that poor Mal wouldn't be alone, especially in the winter. In the past, she always had a bad temper with him and they would fight through the fence of the duck yard when I brought her outside. It went badly at first this time, just as expected, but Malcolm soon started warming up to Crash--except for when she wandered into the duck yard because that's his turf, apparently. Well, now that they're done molting (and I'm assuming because this is 'flock up and migrate' season for the wild ducks), Malcolm is absolutely fine with Crash, even in the duck yard. He follows her around like, well, a duckling. So, it comes down to Crash, who doesn't want anything to do with Malcolm, but is tolerating him hanging around closer now. I am concerned about things such as making sure Crash is eating as she should (she went off of food the last time I really tried to put her outside) and she gets plenty of calcium in the spring (she inevitably has issues with soft eggs every year), but I really think that overall she's better off outside where she can be a duck!

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Have a safe drive today.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Thanks! Been a whirlwind of a morning, but we're back with 7 birds resting in the fridge.

I'm down the three Marans roosters, Lucky, Mr. Orange Band mottled, and Theodore. After a lot of changing my mind and agonizing over it, we did end up sending Tygo as well. I'm not sure whether he was harder to put in the cage at the processor, or Mr. Orange Band. Something about sending such a small, young bird really struck me hard. (So yes, @Leahs Mom I did end up crying a bit this time ) But it was all for the best. At least, I keep telling myself that.

Anyway, I kept laying out the facts on Tygo, and realized he wouldn't even be used as a breeder until 2020, if ever, so he was going to go. Then I thought, nah, that's not that long, so he was a keeper again. What finally did it was when I was collecting the eggs last night. Endymion had laid, and I remembered that I had wanted to hatch from her for more blue / green egg layers, too, which has more priority to me than crossing Tygo to the Dorking hens did. That means that he would likely be stuck in his rooster pen until 2021 before he ever got to be with hens, and that didn't sit right with me. More than likely, I never would have gotten around to using him for breeding, if I'm being totally honest. So, I think I made the right call. That didn't stop me from changing my mind off and on the whole way in with them, or getting a few jolts of wanting to go back for him after they were dropped, but... It's done now. And, I'm okay about it. You know, mostly. It's a hard thing for me to do, but necessary, and I never want it to not be hard, if that makes any sense.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Awe.
That sure doesn't take long.

How do you come up with the names of your birds?

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

They prioritized our birds so that we could pick them up early and I could get back in time for class today. I'm not sure what time is normal for pick up, but we picked up ours at 9:00. And we actually ended up getting home with time to spare, so that was nice.



On names, a lot of it depends. The consistent part of naming for me is that the name has to fit the bird, like how people say they let their pets name themselves. It's hard to describe, but it's like when I was debating on using the name Jasper for Bryony a few weeks back and used it for a little while. It just didn't feel right for her, if that makes sense at all, so I stopped using it as her name. Most of the time, I name them blind (as in, I have no names in mind to start with and come up with them as I go along), but every couple years or so I'll theme the names of the chicks, so I'll have a list of qualifying names in mind from the start and fit them as personalities start to develop.

As for where I get names, I'm a member of a baby name website that lets you save lists of names with notes under each name. When I'm bored, I'll go over there and look through their database, adding names that I like to my future chicken names list as I go. The non-name names that some of my birds get are based on events or traits they display. So, for example, She Who Sleeps Standing Up was named because she frequently fell asleep as a chick while standing upright, with her head drooped down in the brooder bedding, and Lucky got his name because the egg he hatched from was laid on the 13th.


And I've got to run now, so see y'all later.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

This morning, I used 4-5 lbs less feed than usual to get everyone fed for the day. I opened the coop and didn't have a rooster trying to flog my face through the wire when I stooped down to unlatch the door next to his hutch. I didn't have to open the back pop door and fight off three roosters with whatever was close enough by to get my hands on in order to get it closed again. I didn't have to throw feed to the other side of one of the rooster pens to distract the rooster within from jumping at me.

I like not having to begrudge most of my morning routine anymore.