Pipd's Peeps!

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

EDIT: The dust has settled, and it looks like I may have overreacted. Don't mind me...





To start my day, naturally, Crashie had to wake me up. So after listening to her for a while, she finally quieted down to her excited chatters she does when she's sure I'm getting up, and then I heard a gentle, "Baaaw?" I looked over to Elly's pen (which Elda is back inside of due to the returning cold temps, ugh), and there she was looking out at me, as if to gently ask if I was awake yet. Such politeness. She then crowed three times after she saw me sit up.

I went out with the other girls, and I spent such a long time just standing and watching them, a little bit out of fatigue but also out of just enjoying their morning routine of rushing around as if checking out what they missed in the chicken yard overnight. Tilde was all hunched on the upper shelf of the nest boxes, so I went inside and talked to her for a bit. She had nothing but complaints, by the way. It's too cold. I was messing with her feathers. All the good perches were taken.

Rangi was peeking guiltily through the opening between the addition and the main coop while I was filling the feeder in there. She kept wanting to kick the monitor around because for some reason, that has become the place to scratch, and I kept having to tell her NO so that she wouldn't unplug it or something. Rangi has such a meek, frowny face and I simply can't scold her much, jokingly or not, so she also got hugs and I scritched her wattles and checked on her pin feathers while I was at it.

Dear Margaret was on the nest again this morning, and this time she seems serious. She even has a patch warming up on her belly, so I think the time is drawing near! With the weather looking to get much colder in the next few days, I'm hoping she holds out, or at least stays broody long enough, so that I can set the eggs under her on Sunday, when it's supposed to start getting warmer again. That would also put the hatch date on the Sunday at the beginning of my spring break, such a perfect time for it! (P.S. Pattyhen, you're totally right, it's like she knows I want her to brood this time and has been dragging her feet. She's a fickle little butt. )

After class, I went upstairs to get my blanket so I could cover up down in the living room, but Crashie and Elly were giving me looks and I hadn't been giving them much attention, either, in spite of them being in my bedroom, so I sat in there for an hour or so and let them run around on newspaper again. Elly's over her fear of Crash, if anyone wondered! Today, she was being a real thug! Of course, Crash was kind of pushing it, too. Elda was standing in front of me for attention, and Crash walked right up, casual as can be, and started nibbling on Elly's wing! No surprise, Elly gave her a good peck right square on the head! Anyway, after a couple more times of Crash getting too close and Elly flaring up at her, I started keeping them apart a bit more. Elly does weigh 5 times as much as Crash, after all...

Elly and I had our cuddles during that time, too. Oh, what a big sweetheart she is to me! She spent some time stretching her legs and scratching around the newspaper, and then she hopped into my lap and spent the rest of the time preening while I hugged on her and stroked her feathers. She took aim at my teeth a few times, but I caught her every time and stopped her before she could take a swing! I guess she's not feeling poorly anymore from her molt!

I swear by chicken therapy. They get me through everything, all of them. Every time I think I can't live without one of them, another steps up to say, "Hey, I'm here, too!" They're just a bunch of loves, the lot of them. I'm not sure what I would do without them.

Anyway, speaking of the girls, I probably better get out to the coop and get it shut for the night! Good night, everyone!

 

[shadow rabbit10]

Sorry to hear you've been feeling bad. Haha the Elly and Crash drama did brighten my day (night)! It's amazing what animals can do for people. Take it easy and I hope you feel better!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Oh, yeah, Elly and Crash, what a set they are. I need to remember to grab my camera the next time I have them out like that, they are hilarious.

(P.S. I edited that last post; things aren't as rocky as they seemed yesterday, so I should be able to be on here as often as usual.)




This morning, I am actually feeling a little better, but got very little sleep last night due to a bout of insomnia, which was just what I needed. Anyway, I woke up with my alarm for class, decided I didn't feel well enough to go in again today between the coughing and the lack of sleep, so I got up solely to take care of the girls and then go back to bed. Got out to the coop and got everything around, when I noticed that one of my little Silver Sebrights, Frannie, was hunched and limping on one foot. I'm probably overprotective of the Sebrights because they are so eensy, and especially the silvers because they came from such a horrible place, but I went ahead and brought her in because I wanted to make sure she would be okay. I still had the laundry basket pen set up from when Elly was in it, so I fortunately was prepared for another bird to come in.

For those unaware, this is Frannie. This picture is a few years old, but she's so skittery that it's the best one I have ever gotten of her:

Frannie is not human friendly, which I can understand due to her previous home, so she is terrified whenever I enter the room. She has already perked up and started eating and drinking since being in, though, so I don't regret that decision. It looks like she may have gotten some food stuck in the corner of her beak that has caused a bit of a sore, so after she's calmed down some and gotten used to her surroundings, I'm going to have to try and clean her up. I don't know if that is what had her glum or not, but she doesn't appear to be limping anymore, so it's the only real thing I have to treat. Fortunately, she should be back outside in a few days when the weather warms again, so she shouldn't have any pecking order worries or anything. I'm sure Scooter, my other Silver Sebright, will be glad to see her again when she returns. Poor Scoot, she already lost Vespa last year and now I've taken Frannie from her! If I had the pen space inside, I probably would have just brought her, and maybe Rosie the Golden Sebright as well, inside to be with Frannie.



So anyway, I got her set up, had the birds outside taken care of (they're all running around in the snow like crazies, so they must be fine ), and finally was able to lay down for more sleep, when Crash remembered that she had a duty as an alarm clock! And then Crash settled, and Elly started pacing at the door of her pen and clucking desperately at me because I was in the room, so that means she should be allowed out! And then Elly settled down, and Frannie set into the egg song for no reason! And then Frannie calmed down, and Elly picked up again! So, I guess I'm awake.




Margaret, by the way, is at, like, 70% broody mode at the moment... Oh my goodness, it's happening!

Oh, and 94 days until the ordered chicks arrive. It's gonna be baby central here for the next few months!!

 

[pattyhen]

I hope you get to feeling better. I love your stories about your chickens and your ducks. Elly and Crash are real characters. We used to have sebrights a few years back. The goldens were alot tamer then the silvers. Both of my golden sebright hens crowed and these were the only hens I've had that crowed.

Margaret will be broody before you know it. Silkies make the best mothers.

Take care of yourself and I hope Frannie gets better soon.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Wow, that's my exact experience with the Sebrights as well! Of course, my Silver Sebrights came from a horrible man and showed evidence of being abused, so I have always assumed that's why they were so shy. They are okay with me walking around them now, but totally freak if I try to touch them at all. The goldens never liked hands, but would always tolerate me holding them occasionally. And two of the three goldens I've had have been crowers. Rosie, who's the last of the three goldies left, crows after every egg she lays instead of singing the egg song! She's actually the oldest hen in the flock now, going on 6 years, so I don't expect many eggs or crows out of her anymore. Oh, well!


I hope so on Margie! She was not on the nest at roost time, but had laid another egg during the day. URGH, make up your mind, bird! On the plus side, she did look quite adorable perched next to Reuben on the very highest roost tonight.

Little miss Frannie is settled down finally, but did spend a lot of the day working herself up into the egg song for no apparent reason. She'll be fine in a few days, I'm sure, once she's back outside and away from the scary people.

 

[TheChickenQueen]

They look so cute! <333

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Don't they, though? Margie is looking especially cute this morning, though, sitting on the nest..!

Also, in regards to crowing Sebright hens, guess who woke me up bright and early by belting out a few little high-pitched crows this morning? So I guess Frannie can join the crowing hens club, too! My flock seems to be full of 'em!

 

[TheChickenQueen]

They will have such cute chicks <3 has Margie hatched chicks before?
I have a few people coming to my local chickenstock who will have silkies... The temptation is real.

That sounds kinda cute

I've never had a crowing hen before, but with multiple roosters I think that is a good thing.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

No, Margie has never hatched before, as much as she has tried! I did set eggs under her a couple years ago after I lost Po, my bantam Cochin rooster, but it had been too long since he died and none of the eggs were fertile. :/ She sat really well the whole time, though, to the point where I had to make sure she was coming off the nest to eat and drink every day!


Don't you think a cute, fluffy chicken would make the perfect addition for your flock? Tempt, tempt, tempt...

That could be why I have so many crowing hens. When we first got chickens, it was because some back road farm had shoved 7 baby roosters on my sister, so we had a lot of crowing way back when. Recently, though, I've only had 2, maybe 3 roosters at a time, and in the past year or two, that number went down to just one. Hopefully there will be a few more this year. At least one for sure among the hatchery babies, but hopefully at least one will hatch under Marge, too!

If she ever goes broody, that is. (Trying to be patient is hard when there are babies to be had!)

 

[TheChickenQueen]

Aw, hopefully she'll get to hatch something this time, she looks like she'd be a good mama to some chicks.

They would but I'm wanting to have mostly LF birds, the colors that catch my eye are silver/silver partridge and paint

and people might have some there. They wouldn't be the only bantams though because I have a OE named Chocho who's dad was a Phoenix bantam and I think my bantam birchen cochin has taken a special interest in the dainty girl. My dad doesn't like bantams but I will have them!

That could be a reason why they crow. I love when roosters crow but not all the time, I had 6 roos this last year; I'm at five but I'm looking to sell a couple that I really don't need and my brichen doesn't count as a full rooster(spring is coming up soon and I need those spaces just in case I get attached

). Good luck getting her to start brooding! It would be kind of funny if she started sitting the day I set eggs in my incubator.