Pipd's Peeps!

[TheChickenQueen]

Go Elda! Gotta love when they scare you like that

I hope you are alright and that your health is well/getting better <3

I'm sure that they love the attention Crash is giving them, cute little duck

Sweet! Chicks are so amazing, good luck with the waiting!
I love the thought of getting new chicks... Still trying to narrow down what breeds I want for next year

the girls had better step up their laying game come spring so I have the money for some of those other breeds, and I plan on hatching some chicks from my own flock as well. Maybe I should look into making a outdoor brooder with a mama heating pad...
Why is it that chicken people always start planning on what they are getting next year when there is normally snow outside and scheduled for the next several months?

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Hey, ChickenQueen, it's been a while!

Gotta love when they scare you like that

Haha, yeah. She's lucky I love her so much. Really lucky after this morning! She kept flicking her head and throwing her medicine everywhere instead of swallowing it, and I was getting so frustrated! Then, when I told her she needs to take her medicine, she gave me the eye because my teeth are so shiny and they mesmerize her, apparently. Her face was so funny! Ah, I'm just glad she's coming around. I don't know what I'd've done if I lost her, too.

As for me, I'm okay. It was just a couple days and now I'm recovering as well.


Sounds like we're both suffering from severe cases of chicken math. Good luck picking! About 7 is my limit, I think, and narrowing it down to that number is the hardest part for me! Along with the two Dorking pullets, though, I've decided on two BBS Cochins (I'm hoping at least one is blue ), a Light Brahma, and I'm thinking an Easter-egger to add more blue or green eggs to the egg basket. Well, IF she ends up laying that color.

I guess ordering now and getting ready for chicks in the spring makes the winter feel more tolerable? Or, maybe it's like I said--something to look forward to, especially when there's snow everywhere and it's nasty and cold!

 

[TheChickenQueen]

Greetings! I've been mostly lurking lately

I'm sure she found it entertaining to watch you get frustrated

It's good to hear that she is doing better.

That's good!

The chicken math struggle is so real, people just don't understand that there are all those other breeds out there and the list just keeps getting longer, and longer... 7 is a good limit, I'd never be able to handle such a small amount.
Cochin are such nice chicks <3 I have one LF black pullet and a couple of big bantie roos(blue and birchen), I'd like to hatch some chicks from them and keep some pullets; it might just be easier to just go get some pullets though.
I'd bet you'll get a blue one!
I keep forgetting about Brahmas... I've heard such great things about them and they have fluffy feet!!

Better go find a reason to remove those from next years list...
I currently have 5 EE pullets, 2 OE pullets, a phoenix bantam OE mix pullet, and a white legbar pullet. All between 32 & 24 weeks old and naturally none of them are laying

Yes I understand that it is cold out there, but a bunch of the others are laying.

Those are both true for me, I tend to get kinda down in the winter even though I love it, and sometimes I just need a little something that reminds me that spring will come to keep going. And Spring is the chick season so it only makes sense.

 

[shadow rabbit10]

Glad to hear Elda is better. And I hope you start to feel better too! Must be exciting to be ordering new chicks! Can't wait to see what breeds you pick and to see pics when they finally get here! And Easter Eggers are a tossup. I have two and they both lay green/blue eggs, but a friend of mine got one and it lays brown eggs.. At least if you get one and it doesn't lay blue/green they're pretty birds.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

The chicken math struggle is so real, people just don't understand that there are all those other breeds out there and the list just keeps getting longer, and longer... 7 is a good limit, I'd never be able to handle such a small amount.
Cochin are such nice chicks <3 I have one LF black pullet and a couple of big bantie roos(blue and birchen), I'd like to hatch some chicks from them and keep some pullets; it might just be easier to just go get some pullets though.
I'd bet you'll get a blue one!
I keep forgetting about Brahmas... I've heard such great things about them and they have fluffy feet!!   Better go find a reason to remove those from next years list...
I currently have 5 EE pullets, 2 OE pullets, a phoenix bantam OE mix pullet, and a white legbar pullet. All between 32 & 24 weeks old and naturally none of them are laying  Yes I understand that it is cold out there, but a bunch of the others are laying.

I only limited myself to 7 because 42 birds is the absolute most my coop can hold and I like to leave a little wiggle room (there are already 33 hens in there, plus Reub, I suppose). I guess that means I can go to 8 at the very most, though, if I seriously can't decide...

The only Cochin I've ever had was my little banty rooster, Po, so I'm excited to get some girls to love on. Po was much too manly to allow for that. And Brahmas, I've always kind of wanted one. It seems like it's one of those breeds you just have to own at some point. Those and Orpingtons, everyone has Orpingtons. I wish Meyer Hatchery had something other than just Buff Orpingtons at a decent price. I think that's the only reason I haven't gone for Orps yet, I just don't find the Buff variety that visually appealing and I don't want to shell out for the fancier varieties.


Well, if it makes you feel any better, the only one laying in my flock right now is Margaret, and she's bound to go broody before much longer. So I'm heading into an egg drought as well.

Glad to hear Elda is better. And I hope you start to feel better too! Must be exciting to be ordering new chicks! Can't wait to see what breeds you pick and to see pics when they finally get here! And Easter Eggers are a tossup. I have two and they both lay green/blue eggs, but a friend of mine got one and it lays brown eggs.. At least if you get one and it doesn't lay blue/green they're pretty birds.

Heehee, you know there will be plenty of pictures! I say again, is it May yet?!

I've had good luck with Easter-eggers as well, all of them I've ever owned have laid either blue or green eggs. I've never gotten any from Meyer, though, and a couple people at the Meyer thread have said theirs lay brown, so we'll see. I'm kind of of the mindset that if I'm getting a brown egg layer, I might as well get a brown egg breed that I know I want, you know? I need more blues or greens in my egg basket! I'm down to 5 EEs and my Legbar for blue shells, and the EEs are getting older...











SO, the unofficially official possibly tentative list of chicks for next year is:
3 Silver Gray Dorkings (One cockerel and two pullets. Yep, I can't help myself.)
2 BBS Cochin pullets (C'mon, blues!)
1 Easter-Egger pullet (C'mon, blue eggs!!)
1 Light Brahma pullet
And we'll see if anything else finds its way on my list between now and May.
They're all paid for and reserved, so now it's just the waiting game!

 

[TheChickenQueen]

My coop is kinda large but no one can free range because we have two dogs, next year I plan on finding a way to let them free range. And I have another building I can turn into a coop if it really comes to that, but my dad is having surgery this Saturday and is off work so chicken stuff is rather tight at the moment. Ah chicken math how we love and hate you...
I plan on doing some projects come spring so I guess that is a good excuse with falling in love with new breeds?

I had a black bantie roo who was just the sweetest thing, sadly I sold him because I didn't need 3 bantam roos but I'm still regretting it. My pullet was nice when she was younger, now she avoids me at all costs

Brahmas do seem like that don't they?

Everyone seems to have a Orp at some point in time too, my dad grew up with his grandma having buffs so he likes them; I am also not that big of a fan of the buffs. If you don't want to pay their price I suggest asking around on your state thread and maybe any facebook pages for your area for poultry, I'm pretty sure someone would probably have some for a decent price(5-6 dollars seems to be what BBS orps go for). Big fluffy orpingtons are so beautiful!

My entire flock is under a year old currently so my family is getting more then enough eggs, next winter when they aren't as young will probably be pretty rough.


The Dorkings though <333

 

[autumnhearth]

Those and Orpingtons, everyone has Orpingtons. I wish Meyer Hatchery had something other than just Buff Orpingtons at a decent price. I think that's the only reason I haven't gone for Orps yet, I just don't find the Buff variety that visually appealing and I don't want to shell out for the fancier varieties.

SO, the unofficially official possibly tentative list of chicks for next year is:
3 Silver Gray Dorkings (One cockerel and two pullets. Yep, I can't help myself.)
2 BBS Cochin pullets (C'mon, blues!)
1 Easter-Egger pullet (C'mon, blue eggs!!)
1 Light Brahma pullet
And we'll see if anything else finds its way on my list between now and May.
They're all paid for and reserved, so now it's just the waiting game!

I whole heartedly approve of the Light Brahma. I adore Pema, my husband's pick again (Victoria the Dorking was his first). Oh and a Dorking trio! How exciting!

I've never had Cochins, since we have such a small flock we have to focus more on eggs, but we love our snuggly Buff Orp and Light Brahma and they both lay well.

I get the buff color thing, but they do look nice in a mixed flock especially when you have other warm colored girls like stars/comets, Welsummers/Brown Leghorns, Easter Eggers etc. Not to make anything more difficult That list sounds great!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

My coop is kinda large but no one can free range because we have two dogs, next year I plan on finding a way to let them free range. And I have another building I can turn into a coop if it really comes to that, but my dad is having surgery this Saturday and is off work so chicken stuff is rather tight at the moment. Ah chicken math how we love and hate you... 
I plan on doing some projects come spring so I guess that is a good excuse with falling in love with new breeds?

If you don't want to pay their price I suggest asking around on your state thread and maybe any facebook pages for your area for poultry, I'm pretty sure someone would probably have some for a decent price(5-6 dollars seems to be what BBS orps go for). Big fluffy orpingtons are so beautiful!

My entire flock is under a year old currently so my family is getting more then enough eggs, next winter when they aren't as young will probably be pretty rough.

Hope your dad comes out of surgery just fine! I know what it's like, we went through a rough patch with funds this year. I actually reached the point where I was having nightmares that my parents decided to get rid of my flock for extra money! Luckily for me, in reality, they adore the girls almost as much as I do.

I know a few people that have Orps in my state. At least one has Lavenders, and another one even has chocolate and chocolate cuckoo Orps! Only thing is, they're straight run. I can't blame the breeders, of course, but I unfortunately don't have room for many more birds and don't want that room taken up by a lot of roosters, without being able to rehome them with the MG here. :/ So, hatchery birds are really my only option at the moment so I can be relatively sure I get the number of pullets I want.

Ah. This is our first winter in a LONG time that we haven't had young pullets coming into lay beforehand, so we're pretty scarce for eggs as a result. I keep getting one egg from Marge every day, though! I was getting one egg either from Tilde or Mako every day up until a couple days before Thanksgiving, and then they quit suddenly. Luckily, we stored a bunch in the fridge for the holiday!

I whole heartedly approve of the Light Brahma. I adore Pema, my husband's pick again (Victoria the Dorking was his first). Oh and a Dorking trio! How exciting!

I've never had Cochins, since we have such a small flock we have to focus more on eggs, but we love our snuggly Buff Orp and Light Brahma and they both lay well.

I get the buff color thing, but they do look nice in a mixed flock especially when you have other warm colored girls like stars/comets, Welsummers/Brown Leghorns, Easter Eggers etc. Not to make anything more difficult That list sounds great!

Hey, good to hear from you again as well, Autumn!

Sounds like your husband has good taste in breeds. Glad that your Brahma has worked out well for you! I know a few others have gotten them from Meyer and haven't heard a negative thing about them yet!

A lot of people talk about their lovely Buff Orpingtons, and my mom has really been vying for one for a while... Hmm...












So on to the flock, I'm not sure if I should be concerned yet or not, y'all, but Elda didn't have much of an appetite today. Today and yesterday, I've given her roughly 2 cups of soaked feed to eat, given in small amounts throughout the day to prevent her from overdoing it. Yesterday, she ate every little scrap of it, as well as the two doses of soaked feed / probiotic mixture. Today, she ate her probiotic mix just fine, but she only ate maybe a third of the soaked feed. :/ She was hungry tonight when I gave her her Nystatin dose, and she looked at her empty food dish rather expectantly when the light came on in there. I gave her a hand full of dry pellets--it's what I had on hand and I wanted to see her eat, darn it!--and she ate it like she ate her food yesterday. So she still has an appetite intermittently... I'm hoping this was a fluke and she eats plenty tomorrow. Should be interesting, though. I'm in class until around 3 or later. I hope she eats, but doesn't hurt herself in the process!

I really should get to bed for said classes now. Sigh... I'll be sure to post any changes in Elly's condition when I get home tomorrow.



Edit 12/1: Elly's not eating very much still. Not sure what else to do... She still seems fine, behavior-wise, but not much is going in and not much is coming out. I did notice that her pin feathers have begun opening up again. I wonder if her molt could be slowing her appetite? She does eat some, just not very much... I just don't know.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Still not sure with Elly. She is off the Nystatin now after a 7-day round of it. She had some improvements from it, but her crop is still not emptying as it should and she is not eating very many of her pellets over the day, resulting in loose and off-colored droppings. She has not lost weight, beyond what she lost during her impaction treatment, and is not acting sick in any way. She's actually not been anything but her usual, vibrant, lovey self the entire time she's been in. It's puzzling.

Tonight, since it was a bit warmer than it has been and poor Elly seems so lonely in her hospital pen, I took her outside with me to see her flock again for a short visit, just to see how she would do. Kit saw me coming and came running, but then froze when she saw Elda. I stepped into the free-range area, Elly in tow, and carried her a few paces past the chicken yard just in case some of the older girls decided to be territorial, especially since no one had seen Elly in over a week. Almost immediately after her feet were on the ground, Kit was right there beside her. Elly saw her chance to scratch and headed off into the woods, and Kit was right by her side the entire time. It was so sweet. Made me teary-eyed to see. Eventually, Mabel and Georgie joined in as well, all sticking with Elly, but Kit was pretty much glued to her side the entire time. Elly got a couple shoulders from the older girls (you know, that threatening pose they do when they're looking for a fight?), but no one so much as pecked at her the entire time. I guess they remember her well enough to know she belongs there.

So, just a couple pictures of the Dorkings together. Such sweeties. They're crappy cell pictures, but I had to share the sisterly love. Have I mentioned lately how much I adore Dorkings? (P.S. If anyone wondered, Elda is on the left in the first picture and on the right in the other two pictures. And Georgie snuck into all three pics as well.)

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Okay, confession time.

So with Elly going back and forth with her health, I've been a little bit depressed and sad and very worried, and I got thinking about my chick order and Meyer's Orpingtons and such, and decided to spoil myself. Except when I got looking at Meyer's different Orpington varieties, I realized that they have another breed, one that I've always, always wanted and that I'm willing to accept hatchery quality on knowing that it's the only way I have a chance at getting a day-old pullet of that breed. Since I was having a moment of weakness anyway, I decided to splurge on that breed instead. I guess the Orpingtons will have to wait another year. (Well, unless I have another moment of weakness, of course...)



And SO, the current officially tentative chick order for next year is...
3 Silver Gray Dorkings (1 male, 2 females)
2 BBS Cochin pullets
1 Easter-egger pullet
1 Light Brahma pullet
AND... 1 BBS Ameraucana pullet

I don't know yet if I'll regret spending $20 for a single chick or not... But that's chicken math for you.