Pipd's Peeps!

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I went out to check the birds because they had a bit of a freak out (which turned out to just be Neela because she laid an egg), and I noticed out of the corner of my eye a set of legs in the babies' pen. They're Cochins--you can't really see their legs under normal circumstances--so, of course, my first thought is oh, no, another one is down!

Nope, they're just having a mass dust bath and getting really relaxed. Literally every one of them except Choco 3 (and obviously Choco 1) were in this pile, rolling around in the dirt. The little one with his legs sticking up moved by the time I took this picture, but here they are, in one big, fuzzy mass:

Little Freia coming up for air at the edge

 

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Molting season is truly here! Feathers everywhere in and around the coop! Rangi's comb has begun to shrink as she prepares to molt as well, and her hormones must be out of whack because of it. She's been crowing every morning for a few days now! Now, of course, everyone's asking for eggs and I'm getting a dozen or less every day anymore, so there just aren't enough to go around! Where was everyone back in the middle of summer when I was boiling eggs and feeding them back to the hens because they weren't being used or taken?!


Little Choco 1 is not looking great today. Not sure how much longer he'll hang on, but I really don't think he's going to recover from this. I'm starting to consider end of life procedures so that he's not left lingering to death.

Related, being that I'm not having much luck with these Chocolate babies, I've decided I will not be keeping either cockerel and I sent a message through to a different farm that has them listed to see if they'll send me pictures of their stock. I remember seeing a few things I didn't like in the pictures the other farm sent me, so I'm trying to be pickier this time. I really want to get to silkied Chocolates at some point, but I'd rather not introduce a lot of issues at the same time. Fingers crossed they look a bit better! This farm also works with silkied Cochins, so they may even have them already silkied as well! If they don't look bad, I'll have to get on their waiting list for the spring because I'd have to be insane to hatch this late in the year.

Editing, okay, the other farm responded that they don't have current pictures of their breeders, but will try to take some this upcoming weekend, so just gotta wait that long to see. I'm hopeful based on pictures they have of their other Cochin varieties, though.

 

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Rosey attacked me again this morning, but I think this is his last strike. He's gotten away with it so far because a friend named him, but I've had enough. He's been angling toward aggression and this isn't the first time he hit me, but it hurts, it always hurts, and I'm just over it. I'm so done with aggressive roosters. So, Rosey's going on Craigslist with full disclosure, and I won't be asking any questions about his fate.

That's one thing I've been enjoying about my silkied Cochin boys. None of them have really been aggressive. Outwardly, they act like they're going to be, but then they run over and dance around without really doing anything or just stand there for me to pick them up, so I have no idea what's going through their heads when they act like that. Just wanting to look tough, I guess. Going forward, I think they're going to be the only new boys I keep as I hatch, at least for now. I've had too many other breeds just randomly turn aggressive on me, and I treat them all the same regardless of size or breed, so there's no real reason for it. Why can't they all be all bark and no bite like the Cochins, or be like Murphy who eats out of my hand and doesn't even posture aggressively at me? Kind of glad that I held onto him now, since Rosey is going and opening up the space that I considered letting Murphy go to open up.

 

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Choco 1 is getting to his feet again, walking around, and starting to eat and drink on his own. We've been on a bit of a rollercoaster with him, but things are finally looking up! He is skin and bones, so I'm continuing to tube feed him a few times a day to make sure he gets some extra calories in him, but I'm hopeful that he'll pull through now. If he does, after all this, I might just have to keep him in the pet flock. He certainly won't be for breeding, but he's a cute little guy, and as long as he doesn't have an attitude problem later, he'll do fine in there. We'll have to see on that based on recent events.


I'm still trying to get up the nerve to post a listing for some of the other boys. They're just so small still, they're my babies. Blacks G1 and G2, Choco 3, and the mixed color baby are the first wave I've decided to let go if if I get up the nerve to post them, though. I haven't decided between Blacks 1 and 2 which I'm keeping, if either, so they have a little ways to go yet. I am still pretty sure I'm holding on to all three Blue boys, at least for now. With Rosey going, I'll have plenty of room for them and one of the Blacks if I decide to keep one of them.

 

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Well, it finally happened, y'all. I didn't think I'd live to see this day. Donna and Rowena have finally quit brooding.

And, as I anticipated, they only stopped their two-and-a-half-month-long broodying stint to go into molt. They are nothing if not predictable.

 

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Ah, how optimistic that post was... The two of them are back to brooding today. Rotten hens!

 

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I'm still trying to get up the nerve to post a listing for some of the other boys. They're just so small still, they're my babies. Blacks G1 and G2, Choco 3, and the mixed color baby are the first wave I've decided to let go if if I get up the nerve to post them, though.

I finally got up the nerve to post them. I... kinda feel like I'm just talking to myself here anymore, but if anyone's lurking and might be both interested and nearby, they're listed here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/silkied-cochin-bantam-cockerels-northeast-indiana.1545099

 

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Thinking of names for the newbies, I think I've decided that Blue 6 will be Larkspur, one of my favorite flowers and the flower of my birth month... depending on who you ask.

Regarding what I quoted, here, Larkspur wasn't clicking when I would call little Blue 6 by that name, so I think I'll have to shelve it for another bird. I was looking through names again today and I believe I've found the one for her, Ottilie. I went out and 'tried it out' on her and I felt like it clicked, so I guess this little one is now named Ottilie.

Freia has clicked nicely with her name, so it stays. I'm still deciding on Blue 4 but feeling something like Athena or Calliope for her... maybe. I'm holding off on naming Blue 2 and Black 3 until I hear back from a friend who may want to name one of them, and another friend has shown interest in naming Blue 1, so we'll see on that. Now I've just got to figure out Blues 3 and 5, and decide if I'm keeping Blacks 1 or 2 or Choco 1 after all this, and what to name them all as well.

 

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It would seem that Donna, Rowena, and Roxanne are tentatively done with brooding again. I don't trust it to last, but they at least are not returning to the nests so far today. The only problem is, now they've been broody for almost 3 months and seem to have lost their standing in the flock. I kept them where the other birds could see them every day, so I'm not sure what's up with that. No one has been overly violent with them so I'm letting the birds work things out for now.

Also, the babies have been loose in the yard while the big chickens free-range for a couple days and they're finally having a blast with all the space now that it isn't scary and new. Freia loves to come flying out and use all the space she can to stretch her wings when I first set them loose. It's the cutest thing!

 

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I've just finished some more rearrangements on the flock page. This time, I arranged it so that the silkied Cochins have their own page, here, and I sorted the breeder birds by the pen they're in (or will be in) and the rest of them by their variety, with Abie and Dandy at the bottom because they're the only ones like them here. I also put Ottilie there and Freia on the page with the smooth Cochin bantams since they both have names. The others will be added as they're named, or at least once they're old enough that I won't have to change their pictures a million times as they grow.