Pipd's Peeps!

[shadow rabbit10]

Yeah, it seems like a lot of production-oriented lines have issues with aggression, especially the roosters. What breeds do they keep where you work?

Nope, not much at all and it looks like it's mostly melted off as of tonight. I'm hoping tomorrow gets warm enough for Tessa to at least visit the flock. The OEGBs are doing great now, though quite confused by their new surroundings.

The production birds are some sort of leghorn hybrid. That's most of the birds. During the fall they keep a few bantams around for the students to show for class. They keep cochin bantams, seramas, silkies, and polish mixes (they have really cute silkie seramas and they sell them at the end of the season but my mom wouldn't let me buy one ). Glad the OEGBs are doing better!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Aw, that stinks! Silkied Seramas are way too cute!

They're doing fabulously now that they've settled in. Winston is even crowing and letting the world know of his new location. I have moved Ben to their old coop as a first exposure, so by this upcoming weekend they should be out of quarantine, as long as Ben doesn't get sick. It's also looking like we're going to have a couple warm days around Thanksgiving for Tessa to go back outside during. She's not exactly been thrilled with her current home, so that should make her happy.



Speaking of Thanksgiving, looks like we'll be using bantam eggs for most of the cooking that day. I got a whopping ONE egg today, none yesterday. Margie was laying, but she went broody. I believe Abra finally went into molt, and I'm not sure what Rowena is doing (but is anyone, really? ). That leaves Vira as the only one paying the rent for the flock. Oh, well. At least I thought to freeze some eggs a few months ago, so we have something to work from where whole eggs aren't needed!

 

[shadow rabbit10]

I know! They were adorable. Good that the birds are doing better. Lol it's funny how you can have so many hens and get no eggs. I only have 5 hens, but my mom said they haven't been broody. I was so excited to come home and pick some pretty green eggs, but nope! Freeloaders are off duty I guess Only thing in the nest box is poop thanks to my lazy silkie who would rather sleep there instead of the roost.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I hope those of you who celebrate it have had a happy Thanksgiving--and haven't eaten too much. Unfortunately, I believe I did, so I've been groaning on the couch for the past hour or two.





I feel you on the eggs, Shadow Rabbit. Today, over the monitor, Vira was being pretty vocal. We used pretty much all the eggs we had today with all the cooking (and some mishaps, but that's another story ), so I was hopeful for at least one egg so that I can start cooking again. Well, tonight I found out that Ms. Vira was not being vocal because she had laid an egg. No, instead, at 6 months old almost to the day, Vira appears to have decided to go broody. She was in the nest, grumbly and grumpy, and even managed a small screech at me when I moved her to the perches! If she is broody, that shatters Marge and her daughters' record age of 7-ish months old at their first time going broody. Oh, boy!

 

[shadow rabbit10]

Happy Thanksgiving! I ate a decent amount. Had a really good sour cream apple pie with crumb topping. And wow 6 months is young!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Wow, that sounds good! My sister made a basic crumb-top apple pie by my request, but she used waaaaaaaay too much butter in the topping, so it melted down into the apples and it kind of makes me sick to my stomach to eat. Not that it was bad flavor-wise, just really sickening!

Yeah, 6 months would be quite young... As it turns out, she seems to have just been laying an egg late last night. She returned to the nests to finish laying at some point overnight, and is out and about today. So, I guess, like with everything she does, Vira was just being sassy. "Broody? Who you callin' broody?!"

We finally got the warmup I've been waiting on all week (first it was supposed to be early this week, then by Thanksgiving, then finally today!), so Tessa's back outside. The girls didn't seem to have noticed that she was gone. She tried to get pushy with a couple other hens, but she was pretty much ignored. Anyway, here's a couple update pictures of her so that y'all can see how she feathered in since the last time I posted about her!

Her tail is still growing out and she has a few patches of feathers that haven't been molted yet, but she's well covered enough that she should be good to go from here on out, and she has a couple days of (relative) warmth to get herself situated and ready before it starts to get chilly again. Plus, my room should start smelling better again!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

So, since the Meyer babies are about 6 months old (almost to the day; they would have hatched on May 20 or 21) and the silkied Cochins just a hair over, I thought I would take some update pictures of them today. Unfortunately, I forgot the boys. But here are the girls:

Roxanne, Red Silkied Cochin bantam:

My Mottled Cochin bantam babies:

Bryony:

Ida:

Sylvie:

And little miss attitude, herself, Vira:

"Did you expect any less?"

And the Silver Gray Dorking babies:

Myrna (working at the pumpkin they got about a week ago) :

And finally, Kita:

Just a few pictures of some of the other girls, here is another shot of Tessa. She's enjoying being out again, I think, and she remembered where to go to perch tonight.

Perdita the Red Dorking being nosy

Just a small portion of the massive amount of fluff that is my Blue Cochin, Cazzie:

Reuben, because it seems like I haven't taken a picture of him in a while. He's got some Einstein hair going on right now.

And a shot of the girls free ranging in the woods by the garage. I'm not sure which Marans is which, but the two black birds here are two of the Marans. Ida's behind them, and Lady Wyandotte is closer. Then, there's Rowena, Bryony, Vira's fluffy rear end, and Roxy on the right.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

How much room do your birds have to free range in? Besides your rooster pens and bantams, do you have 1 coop for all of your other birds?

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Somewhere in the vicinity of 32 acres, I can't remember the exact amount. They probably only use an acre or two of that, though.

As for coops, I currently only have the duck coop, the Guinea coop, the three rooster pens, the quarantine coop (which is not always occupied, of course), and the main coop. All of my hens live together in the main coop along with Reuben and Winter. I plan to fix up that old structure I posted about into a coop for the OEGBs next year, mostly so that I can have more of them without worrying about the main coop space. But it's also because they are eensy-weensy and I don't want them to get hurt or to have to separate Winston from Syb in case he doesn't get along with the two boys in the main flock. I've been daydreaming about another coop for my bantam Cochins as well, but for now, they're in the main flock.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Your mottled cochins remind me of the laced orps I got in their body shape. I posted some photos over on the Indiana thread. (Your photos inspired me to go take some of my own this afternoon.)