Pipd's Peeps!

[shadow rabbit10]

Really nice pics! Gosh your Sebrights are just the cutest little things! Crash looks great! And it's been a while since we've seen pictures of your guineas. Gorgeous birds.

 

[pattyhen]

Love the pictures. You have so many different kinds of chickens. I love all the pics but the one of Freema giving you the cold shoulder is a hoot. They all have their own different personalities that's what I love about them.

Tell Marge I have her due date marked on my calendar. Marge 10th I can't wait. I'm as excited about this as you are. Please take lots of pics I love the baby silkies.

Thanks for sharing your beautiful chickens, ducks and guineas with us.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

It is with deep sadness that I must post that Marama, Miss Attitude herself, jumped the fence into the dog yard during free-range this afternoon. She didn't stand a chance. I'm going to miss being sassed by her every night while she waited for me to put her to roost in the rafters like she liked. I can't summon up enough words at the moment.

 

[shadow rabbit10]

I'm am so sorry... So heartbreaking.

I loved seeing pics and stories of her. My heart goes out to you.

 

[pattyhen]

I'm so sorry for the loss of Marama. I know she had a wonderful life with you and she was loved. Sending you big

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

It's still coming in waves, but I'm mostly okay now. I have a headache from crying, though, and I just keep thinking about her. Her dark eyes, her constant look like she was sizing you up... Her croaky little voice that she always sassed me with when I talked to her... The way she's prod my shoulder like she was so indignant whenever I picked her up, and yet, if I stood by the feed shed, she was more than happy to climb up onto my shoulder... She just had so much life, so much personality, and it's hard to think that that's all gone now. Sigh... Trying to keep it together.

I spent a long time outside with the girls today even though I probably should have spent more time studying and doing homework. Freema and Kate were more than happy to occupy my lap, smushed together as I hugged on them. I just wanted to sit there forever, cherishing them, all of them. The last two losses have been so blindsiding, and it's really sobering to think that at any point, I could lose another one to another similarly unexpected event. We try so hard to keep them safe, but things just happen that are out of our control...

I do think I know what caused Marama to fly into the dog yard, at least. Due to the HPAI outbreak last year, I fenced off the driveway so that the girls can't free-range across it anymore for biosecurity reasons. Well, this creates a 'pocket' where the girls get stuck because they go all the way around the house to the other side of the driveway and don't know to go back around. They can see the coop from there, they just can't figure out how to get to it. They usually pace along the fence until I come out to rescue them, but I think Marama may have tried to fly over to go home, and hopped the wrong fence. I went ahead and trimmed Ihi and Tiwhiri's wings because they seemed the most likely to try to do the same thing. I think tomorrow I may do the same to Rangi and Roha, even though they aren't as much of fliers, as they're both kind of lightweight and springy and could feasibly get over that fence if they wanted to. The rest of the big gals are too hefty to fly over a 6-foot fence like that, and the bantams never leave the general area of the coop, so I don't think I have anything to worry about with them.

The hardest part right now is looking at the dogs after seeing what they did to her. I try my best not to take it personally when a predator kills one of my birds, but somehow it's harder when a pet kills another pet. I guess part of it is knowing that they are fed enough that they killed her just for the fun of it. It hurts my heart to think about.

I am trying to remind myself, though, that odds are she was killed quickly, and it may have been a kindness considering she had that lump in her side. Who knows how much time she had before that started causing issues, and that could have potentially led to a slow, uncomfortable demise. This way, at least she didn't have to suffer for very long...




On the positives... I have been very upset since finding her, and in this time made a decision out of weakness. Even though it's early to do so, I candled just one of Margie's eggs tonight at roost time. We have at least one baby developing. I didn't look at any other eggs, but there's at least one baby under her. That gave me one bright note to end the day...

 

[TheChickenQueen]

That's awful

I'm going to miss hearing about Marama and her sass as she has strongly influenced my decision to get a Fayoumi this spring, I'm so very sorry for your loss

 

[pattyhen]

Just try and remember the happiness she brought you. She wouldn't want you to grieve over her.

I'm so glad you candled an egg and it was fertile. Marge is doing great she'll make a great mom. Silkies are the best.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Thank you all for the support. It's been so different without Marama here to sass me about this or that. I deeply miss her, especially at roost time, but I'm not sure if I can stand to get another Fayoumi. With the recent losses, there is now the possibility of adding another chick to my spring order, and there are Fayoumis available for that day... But I don't know. It's like I was saying a few pages ago about Frou-Frou, any new Fayoumi would just have too big of shoes to fill and I don't know if she'd be able to... I'm at least going to wait until Margie's babies hatch before I decide on whether or not I want to add another chick of any breed, just so I know how many birds I will end up with from that.

Speaking of, I'll be candling the rest of the eggs either tomorrow night or the day after! Hoping to see more babies!



I hope you enjoy your Fayoumi, ChickenQueen! It'll be interesting to see if yours will be as sassy as Marama was.

 

[TheChickenQueen]

I understand how you feel

I've had that feeling with a lot of my pets that have passed, I'd just wait and see what happens with Marge's babies.
Hopefully they will be developing! Please let us know the results.


I think I'll enjoy it, I have been eyeing them for awhile and with a feed store getting them I might as well go for it!