Pipd's Peeps!

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

These Barred Rock bantams sure are precocious little scamps. Early layers, early female crowers, and now early brooders! Yup, Skeeter's gone broody for the first time at the ripe old age of 9 months old! The only ones to my memory who I've had to brood sooner than that have all had Silkie blood in them, a breed notorious for brooding.

Editing, I guess she's closer to 10 months old now (dang, how is it already almost May?!), but I did start seeing signs of her brooding a week or two ago, so we'll call it 9-and-a-half months.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

The babies are roughly two weeks old now! How has it already been two weeks since Easter weekend?! Anyway, here is their two-week photo shoot. They were just as uncooperative as ever!

Little Cochin baby:

Little vulture naked neck baby:

And a couple of them just being cuties

And that's it! I always feel like I don't take enough pictures of them, but being that there are only two of them to take pictures of, I guess there isn't much more to do with their photo shoots!

 

[Crazy Maizie]

A little sad news. SweatPea died today. I noticed some diarrhea the past few days, but nothing super concerning as she was acting normal and she had no other symptoms. But, I've been keeping an eye on her. This morning she didn't come out of the coop. She was still on the roost when I checked. Luckily, I only worked a half day. So, I was out there when they were all out otherwise, I'm afraid I would have found her dead later in the day.
I isolated and gave some water and vitamin b complex. I was planning on nutri-drench later, but when I got back home she was already gone.
A few of my other chickens have messy bottoms. I just wormed a few months back. I'm worried it could be something else.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Aw, no! I'm so sorry you lost her! Have they gotten into anything different lately? Moldy food that missed the trash can maybe? Some sort of fertilizer that was spilled in their reach? That's the only thing I can think of for messy bottoms and sudden death. Maybe start a thread and see if one of the illness experts has better advice? I hope that it's nothing serious and your other birds feel better soon--and stop worrying you!

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Aw, no! I'm so sorry you lost her! Have they gotten into anything different lately? Moldy food that missed the trash can maybe? Some sort of fertilizer that was spilled in their reach? That's the only thing I can think of for messy bottoms and sudden death. Maybe start a thread and see if one of the illness experts has better advice? I hope that it's nothing serious and your other birds feel better soon--and stop worrying you!

It is possible that she found some moldy feed. They have straw in the run. I turn it often, but you just never know.
I am beating myself up for not doing anything sooner. But, I usually just keep an eye on things - by the time I found her in the coop, it was pretty watery. I just didn't think she'd pass so soon.
She had laid an egg the day before too.
I cleaned yesterday and the poos from roosting all look good and not runny. So, the rest must be ok. Maizie gives me a little concern still, but she's fine for the most part. She's always been a weird bird.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I understand the feeling, but that seems like such a sudden downward spiral, I doubt you could have done anything differently. Don't beat yourself up about it I don't think I would have done different than what you've explained had she been my bird.

Man, Maizie's still got you worried, too? Has she had any change in her condition at all? I think it might be an Easter-egger thing to be weird, though, because most of mine are weirdos, too.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

I think I just need to rid myself of the rooster and Maizie will be back to her normal weird self. She's actually much better than when I was worried about her. But, I noticed she went to get feed and the rooster pecked her on the head - so she went the opposite way. He let all the other girls eat. I set up multiple stations in case her issues were caused by bullying. I don't think he bullied SweetPea as they were best buds and he was very protective of her. Plus, I never saw him do anything mean to her.

Btw, your two littles are so cute!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Glad to hear she's improved! It does sound like the rooster needs to go. Makes me wonder why he's singled her out specifically. Do you have any scrap fencing or a cage or anything you can separate him with to give her a break every now and then until he's gone?

They are pretty stinking cute, aren't they? They're getting to the age where I can really start being paranoid about both of them being boys, too.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Glad to hear she's improved! It does sound like the rooster needs to go. Makes me wonder why he's singled her out specifically. Do you have any scrap fencing or a cage or anything you can separate him with to give her a break every now and then until he's gone?

They are pretty stinking cute, aren't they? They're getting to the age where I can really start being paranoid about both of them being boys, too.

Yeah, I can definitely separate him.

Oh, do you think the 2 littles are boys? That would be the luck of how things go.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I don't actually know if they're boys yet, but yeah, that's usually how it goes! Actually, comparing the little Cochin to pictures of last year's Cochin babies, she looks more like a pullet for the time being. But, I get paranoid when it comes to my own birds, and being that she's the only one in the brood so I have no one to compare her to side by side, I'll probably flip flop on that for a while.