Pipd's Peeps!

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Some three-week-old babies! Look at this fabulous naked neck baby!

And my little silkied Cochin sweetie

Two little thugs

They found the edge of the desk I take their pictures on and they were momentarily stunned. Perfect for a few shots!

Whoooops!! Thankfully she caught herself and didn't fall--we moved away from the edge after that!

I also got the cheesecake done, just has to set for a few hours before I top it with strawberries and we enjoy.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Cute birdies.

Yum, the cheesecake looks delish!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

They are pretty cute little stinkers! Emphasis on stinkers sometimes, though!

It was pretty darn good! I hope that's okay to say as the one who made it.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

They are pretty cute little stinkers! Emphasis on stinkers sometimes, though!

It was pretty darn good! I hope that's okay to say as the one who made it.

Definitely, since we are our own worst critics.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I spent most of the afternoon putting up fence to give the girls a bit of 'free-range' space for the late afternoon. They were happy to stretch their legs and do some scratching! We've had HPAI cases in southern Michigan at the closest, several counties away from here, and from all reports it's primarily spread by waterfowl, which have no reason to tread anywhere in the space I've set up for my girls, so I feel more comfortable giving them the room than trying to box them in and seeing them miserable and pecking each other all day. Anyway, I'm beat and ready for bed, just need to wait for the birds to go to roost for the night!


I also, well, I ordered some eggs. I know I said I wouldn't after the naked neck bantams, but I couldn't help myself! The farm I got my silkied Cochins from now has a Blue pen set up and I've just got to get some more Blues. Those will ship on the 16th for an early June hatch! I'm hoping to get my hands on some Cochin eggs from another farm the same week, too, just for fun. These aren't themselves silkied, but would be a fun color to introduce to the silkied birds over a couple generations if I plan it out right.

Editing to add... Well, I've got the other Cochin bantam eggs secured and coming the same week!! They are Chocolate (with a chance of Chocolate Cuckoo)! I'm so excited to bring that color into the silkieds!!


Oh, and we are about 24 hours without a prolapse from Dandelion again... I'm keeping a close eye on her for now.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Day three of no prolapse with Dandelion... I am happy about it, but also hesitant to be too happy, you know?


Also, WOW, free-ranging makes a HUGE difference on the girls' food intake!! Every night, I take the remaining feed and put it all in a bucket to hang so that mice can't get into it. There was so much feed leftover from yesterday that I used one less 3-pound scoop of feed than I have been using!! My measurements are approximate and I haven't weighed their feed in years to see if it's still an accurate measurement, but I had been using ~12-14 pounds of feed every morning (not including the previous day's leftovers) for all of my birds, not just the ones now free-ranging, and today I only measured about 9 pounds of feed to feed everyone!

 

[Crazy Maizie]

That's a big difference in feed consumption. I wish I could free range more.

I know what you mean about Dandelion.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

The amazing thing to me is that they're not even free-ranging as much as they normally would by this time of year! I've only been letting them out in the late afternoon instead of just after noon every day. I've never noticed such a difference in feed consumption before, but that's probably because usually they have their big chicken yard to peck through when they aren't free-ranging whereas this year they have a smaller portion of that chicken yard fenced off and netted over to keep them safe. Darn hawks. The woods is leafing out nicely now, though, so they should have lots of cover soon and be able to go out a bit earlier every day. Here's the view out the window by my couch this morning! This is a westward window, so that's the shadow of the house darkening part of it.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Very nice. My yard is just wide open. Even when I'm out there, I'm always paranoid and looking up and around to see if there are any threats.

Well, it looks like the drakes might have a home. I'm making plans to meet on Saturday. I will definitely miss them. The funny thing is that the drake I'm keeping is enamoured with me and bites me often when given the chance. These 2 are not as infatuated and basically run the other way unless I have corn in hand. Then, they will stay just close enough as long as I don't try to touch them. My JJ has a lot of personality so he stays even though he is a pain. I hope their new home isnt planning a dinner, but I can't dwell on it and I'm not going to ask.

Also, the extra drakes and the 2 polish I had were the result of me letting my muscovies hatch eggs. So, I think I'm done with those types of gambles. I'm just not good at the letting go part.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Yeah, we're in a woods here. Partly older woods and partly recovering farmland with trees starting to take over. There's an open yard on the opposite side of the house away from the chicken area, but the chickens only occasionally went that far when they free-ranged openly before and I have them fenced off away from there for now this year. Hawks really haven't been a big issue until the past few years, and I think the tiny OEGBs may have been what made them an issue. Once they caught a couple of the Old English, they knew they could get food here and got bolder, going after the bantam Cochins as well. But once the leaves are on, the birds are obscured from above and seem to be at least safer from aerial attacks. There is always the concern of ground predators coming out of the woods, but our dog seems to be enough of a deterrent to keep them away during the day at least.


Glad your drakes finally found a home! I understand on missing them for sure, and having a hard time letting go. I feel like I have a few roosters still that I probably should also let go of at this point, like Murphy and a bunch of the Old English boys, but it's hard when you've had them for so long and gotten to know them so well. That's definitely a down side to hatching is that, with rare exceptions, you just can't keep all the boys you hatch. I'm glad that I at least got up the nerve to start listing them for sale, as before I'd only really had the option of sending them to be processed, which is so final that it made it extra hard to let go of them. Anyway, even though JJ is a pain, I hope you start to see some peace in your flock with all those extra boys gone!


You're in northern Indiana as well, right? Have the wasps been completely insane for you as well?! They are EVERYWHERE here! I keep having to take down nests in the tarps above the chicken yard and dodge them around the garage door and the front door of the house. It's crazy!! And I've already been stung, of course, so I'm extra nervous about them flying around near me. Darned things!