Pipd's Peeps!

[Soon2BChixMom]

They are just delightful, aren't they? View attachment 1541971 I love my birds!


Hey, @Soon2BChixMom , I was meaning to ask, how's it going with Boomer?

He's doing really well. I was expecting the worst due to all the stories I've read, but he is a good cockerel. I observed his dad and his mom when I picked him up. They all seemed pretty low key while I was there. So hoping the behaviors I've seen so far will continue.

 

[WhoDatChick]

I've had a looooong day, but I did take some pictures, so I thought I'd post them real quick before bed. Enjoy!

It was the first day of fall today! Most believe it's called such because of the falling leaves, but around here, it's got more to do with the falling feathers.

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I wanted to get a better picture of Jasper, so here it is! I also tried to get update pictures of Rufus and Russell because I didn't last time, but the lighting was all weird in their pen, so... Here's Jasper, anyway! Still behaving himself, so so far so good!

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Still getting plenty of eggs despite the seasonal changes. There was a line for the nests this afternoon! This is Rowena, Rooska, and Tessa.

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Rowena didn't want any pictures of her taken while she was getting ready to lay.

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Here's Roha, looking dreamy.

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Vivi, Josey, and Mavey. Every day at free-range time, they all jog together out to the side yard to forage.

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A close up of Myrna with a feather askew. Ain't she sweet?

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Crash and Malcolm are getting along pretty well these days!

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The last picture is of a tiny wildflower and it turned out way better than I thought it would, so I thought I'd share.

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Our overnight low is 42 F, and since Elda was not acting too happy about our abruptly cooler weather today, I thought I'd go ahead and bring her in for the night, just to be safe. This gives me the chance to check her crop in the morning, too, without having to pull the feed for everyone.

And I think that's it from around here. Y'all, I'm wiped out! Time to hit the hay! Good night!

GREAT idea for nest boxes

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

He's doing really well. I was expecting the worst due to all the stories I've read, but he is a good cockerel. I observed his dad and his mom when I picked him up. They all seemed pretty low key while I was there. So hoping the behaviors I've seen so far will continue.

Fingers crossed! A lot of their temperament is inherited, so if the parents are calm, he's likely to be as well. If you know his age, they tend to go into their 'terrible teens' at 6 months old, give or take, so you can keep an eye on him at that point for any signs of it. However, I've had the best luck with cockerels that someone else raised, I suspect because they're unfamiliar with me and so don't test boundaries like a familiar cockerel will, so hopefully the same happens with Boomer for you.

GREAT idea for nest boxes

Thanks! I think I actually pulled the idea from someone else here on BYC, though. I like them because I have some older hens whose eggs tend to be weak and break when the next hen goes into the box to lay. When that happens, I can just take the nest box out and hose it down, then replace it with fresh bedding once it's dry again.

 

[Leahs Mom]

If I remember correctly, @armorfirelady used the cat litter buckets for nest boxes.

 

[WhoDatChick]

Fingers crossed! A lot of their temperament is inherited, so if the parents are calm, he's likely to be as well. If you know his age, they tend to go into their 'terrible teens' at 6 months old, give or take, so you can keep an eye on him at that point for any signs of it. However, I've had the best luck with cockerels that someone else raised, I suspect because they're unfamiliar with me and so don't test boundaries like a familiar cockerel will, so hopefully the same happens with Boomer for you.







Thanks! I think I actually pulled the idea from someone else here on BYC, though. I like them because I have some older hens whose eggs tend to be weak and break when the next hen goes into the box to lay. When that happens, I can just take the nest box out and hose it down, then replace it with fresh bedding once it's dry again.

Oh, even better! I am kinda going through that right now but with young gals... they just started laying recently. Apparently one of them lays a very soft/thin shelled egg and it will break. Well, someone has started to eat it... I caught them yesterday chasing each other around with the shell!! And today I only found what was left of the inside of an egg. I am hoping that they don’t try to start cracking the others and eating them as well.. and also would love to find the culprit

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

If I remember correctly, @armorfirelady used the cat litter buckets for nest boxes.

Wow, her setup is pretty nice! That could be where I got the idea. It's been so long since I started using them that I have no memory of where I saw it, just that it wasn't something I came up with, myself.

Oh, even better! I am kinda going through that right now but with young gals... they just started laying recently. Apparently one of them lays a very soft/thin shelled egg and it will break. Well, someone has started to eat it... I caught them yesterday chasing each other around with the shell!! And today I only found what was left of the inside of an egg. I am hoping that they don’t try to start cracking the others and eating them as well.. and also would love to find the culprit

Aw, well I'm sure she'll get the hang of it eventually! Those first few eggs are just practice tries. From my experience, my girls go nuts whenever they see a soft egg, but won't eat a fully formed egg unless the shell is weak so it breaks after only a peck or two. Mine won't break open a nice, strong shell. I hope the same goes for your flock, too!

 

[WhoDatChick]

Wow, her setup is pretty nice! That could be where I got the idea. It's been so long since I started using them that I have no memory of where I saw it, just that it wasn't something I came up with, myself.







Aw, well I'm sure she'll get the hang of it eventually! Those first few eggs are just practice tries. From my experience, my girls go nuts whenever they see a soft egg, but won't eat a fully formed egg unless the shell is weak so it breaks after only a peck or two. Mine won't break open a nice, strong shell. I hope the same goes for your flock, too!

Oh my goodness! Well I sure do hope that is the case.. thank you!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I've been having a hard time telling Myrna and Kita apart lately, so I decided to go ahead and give them leg bands tonight. Enter, the handy-dandy bin of zip ties! I got as close as I could to their baby band colors, so Myrna has a reddish-pinkish band and Kita has a yellow band. These are terrible pictures because I used my phone, but I only wanted to show their leg bands, so it works. They are not as tight as they look in these pictures! They actually didn't need to be that tight at all thanks to those extra toes that Dorkings have--I can easily fit my finger in next to their legs! (As a side note, I have no idea what Myrna got all over her beak. )

They were perfect angels for me to get them banded. The two of them just stood there and let me put them on and trim off the excess. Kita felt it tickle her leg and pulled away at first, but no fight from her after that. She did look it over very closely once it was on, though!

Boy, I sure do love my Dorks!

Anyway, I also let Jasper loose a little early tonight to see how he did, and he's decided to still be a butthead toward the little Dorkings, so I guess he'll just have to stay penned. At least he's behaving with me.

I think that's all going on right now. I have a take home exam due Thursday, so I'll be busy the next couple days finishing it up.

 

[Leahs Mom]

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Tonight, my old Barred Rock, Freema, was huddled on the nest box shelf with her head all twisted to the side, classic wry neck. She is in a bit of a rough molt, having dropped all of her tail and wing feathers so that she's quite round instead of chicken-shaped. I suspect a simple deficiency from a harder molt than is typical for her. I also suspect that the cooler weather we've been having has played a part, because she was back upright in the hospital pen inside and full of spit and vinegar by the time I had finished closing the coops and got back to give her a vitamin E / selenium boost. I went ahead and dosed her anyway, to be safe, but she seems to be okay for now.

In other news, the Crash report. She's been actually going into the coop on her own for the night, at least every once in a while. Malcolm has lived there for as long as he's been here (and not in quarantine), and he often has to be herded inside, so I take this as good progress! This morning, I put Crash in the pool to swim, and Malcolm climbed in as well, which usually makes Crash nervous and she flies out. Well, to my surprise, she actually stayed in the pool with him and swam around for a bit! I do believe she's beginning to accept that she might be a duck!

And just for the heck of it, a pic I took of the flock scratching around in some hay a couple days ago. Near as I can tell, here, we have Ihi at the far left, up behind the Dogloo, then one of the Dorking babies (her band isn't visible), Roxy, Lady Wyandotte, Kate (Freema's sister), Fancy, Maggie, Freema smack dab at the center, Abra way in the back, Endymion, Rooska in front of Callette with Mako's tail sticking up behind her, She Who Sleeps Standing Up (also in a rough molt, but you can't really tell from here), Marka's fuzzy rear end, Margaret, and finally, Reuby on the far right. Not nearly everyone, but a nice mix of them!