Pipd's Peeps!

[pattyhen]

Yes it sounds like Marge wants to keep those babies all to herself. She doesn't even want another hen to look at them. That's good tho I would rather see her protecting them then ignoring them.

I got the keets some millet today I've read that is their favorite food. They were scared to death of it. They circled it like I had put a snake in with them. I even pulled it off the stick and put it in their food bowl. They still wouldn't touch it. I guess they will like it once they get older.

Thanks for update and have a great day. Give the little ones a hug from me.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

That's Guineas for you! Obviously, this is evil, scary, killer millet that you've gotten for them, you just didn't realize. I have a picture somewhere of the Guineas acting horrified because I put a slice of 'killer watermelon' in their pen with them--I'll see if I can find it.

In the mean time, I finally got up the nerve to boot Mama and the babies outside this afternoon. It took some juggling, though! I put Mama out, and she came right back in. Then, I put Mama and Bennie out, and Mama came back in, but Bennie stayed out because he was too scared to find the door! Then I put Mama and another baby out, and again she came back in! Once three of the babies were out, she finally stayed, and I just had to get the last baby and pop him out the door with his siblings.

Mama was cautious at first, and so were the babies. She started pecking around after a few moments, and that caught their interest.

Finally, they started to loosen up as Mama showed them the ropes.

I think Indigo and Winter were attached at the hip at first.

I don't know if Winty was hot or just scared, but he was panting a bit. Indi just looks fabulous in this pic, though.

Sweet Indi

Mama Margaret decided it was safest in the bushes, and so away they went. There was a lot to find under there, though!

Mama showed them what to look for...

...And then they started looking all by themselves. (Marka looks so cute in this picture!! )

Ah, the look of successfully foraging chickens!

Here are the babies demonstrating that natural Silkie camouflage. Hard to spot, aren't they?

Daddy Reuben showed up to help Mama Margaret keep watch, too. My little Silkie family!

 

[pattyhen]

Absolutely gorgeous pics. I love all of them. It looks like they all had a good time once they got used to it. Love the one of Rueben checking out Momma and the younguns. Thanks so much for sharing the pics with us. It made my day to see all of them out and about. Momma has a busy schedule now with the outside training of the little ones.

 

[shadow rabbit10]

They are adorable! They look like tiny yetis...

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Eek, little yetis!! I love it! Here are the little yetis today, 6 weeks old! I took some comb shots, too, while I was at it. You can really tell the two for-sure boys in the crowd now!

Benjamin:

Indigo:

Marka:

Winter:

If you couldn't tell by Winter's picture above, they started out outside when I began taking pictures. Mama takes them outside almost immediately when I open the door, and they come and go as they please now! Here they are, foraging!

Benjamin in the grass. I adore his eyes!

And his fluffy bum, too!

Marka giving me looks from a branch behind Mama Margaret:

They must have thought I was herding them along or something, though, because they soon went back inside. Or maybe it was just supper time?

Here's Marka being a cutie. I love how creamy Marka's feathers are coming in, almost like Margaret's but not quite.

Winter would like the world to know that he is extremely fierce, and don't you forget it!

Mama hopped out the door behind me, but the babies weren't sure if they could go. These were the looks I was getting as a result. Bennie's right in front here, with his lovely eyes.

And finally, I just thought this was too stinking cute! Benjamin and his daddy, Reuben, posing together! Look at this little guy!!

In other flock news, Crashie laid a 'real' egg again, finally! She actually was not in distress about it, either! She chirped at me and was building a nest when I woke up, and had laid it and moved on by the time I got home this afternoon. Yay, Crash!!

It looks like the crappy shade cover may be able to be put to rest for good sooner than expected, with something that'll bridge the gap between now and this summer's construction projects... Stay tuned on all of that.

And we are within a month of the hatchery chicks arriving! e I believe the actual day count is now 25 days!! Can't wait!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Crashie laid another shelled egg today! e I took her in to have a bath earlier this afternoon, then put her back in her living room pen, and at some point in the 20-30 minutes that I was doing homework after her bath, she laid an egg! No complaints, no struggling, no problems! Yay! I'm so relieved for her! I kind of figured she was getting ready to lay one because she had been 'WAK-WAK'ing all morning! Noisy little ducky! It wouldn't have been that big of a deal, but my grandmother's physical therapist was here and trying to get all her information down, and the little ducky's voice carries.



In other news... Margaret has begun talking in her normal voice every once in a while (as opposed to the constant broody 'cluck-cluck-clucking' all the time), and has even squatted a couple times now when I've talked to her. She's still sheltering the babies and showing them goodies in the yard, but... This does not bode well for the happy little family...

 

[pattyhen]

Way to go Crash laying hard shelled eggs. I'm so happy she is laying normal now.

The babies are growing way to fast. Tell them to slow down.

Their precious I love them all. I hope Marge stays with them longer then 6 weeks they still need their mommy. I wonder if Marka is going to look like her mom. I see the different colors of feathers coming in. Ben is a ham for the camera. The one of him and his father are just too cute.

Thanks so much for sharing their pics with us. Have a great weekend.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Updates for the week. This is dead week for me. Just have to do a lab practical tomorrow, finish homework before Friday, and spend the weekend studying for my finals (which happen to all fall on Wednesday, hooray), and then I'm done! Unfortunately, one piece of the remaining homework is a lab report and I have to collect the last bit of data for it on Thursday, so that night I will be writing. So I thought I would let y'all know that the babies will have their 7-week pictures taken either tomorrow or Friday afternoon instead of their usual Thursday pictures, unless I finish that report quicker than I expect to. Either way, it will happen!


I'll also have to get pictures of the flowers at the same time. The pink-centered daffodils that I planted for Frou-Frou have started opening up, and the pure white ones are beginning to bud as well. I was a little disappointed by the pink-center ones because they bloomed white with yellow centers instead of pink centers like the picture showed! I like that color of daffodil, too, though, so I was fine with it. After a couple days bloomed, however, the yellow centers turn pink! They're so pretty, and I don't even like the color pink that much!


The babies are doing well, going outside every day with Mama. Mama hen is still taking care of them, but she's also squatting for me so I expect she'll come back into lay soon. I wonder if that will effect her mothering at all?


Crashie is laying normal eggs regularly now, too! She seems much more normal now. Instead of getting mopey and quiet whenever she needs to lay an egg, she gets chattery and antsy! Then she drops out her egg with what seems like minimal effort, and she's good to go!




So, anyway, I'm almost done with the semester and then I can be a lot more active and it'll be all chickens, all the time--with some duckies, of course, and maybe even Guineas. AND more chicks, in just 20 days!! We're getting things around for building projects, too, so there will be pictures of those! Gonna be a busy summer--I can't wait!!

 

[shadow rabbit10]

Yay! Are you graduating school or just finishing up for the year? Can't wait for all the updates. And wow that chick date came up fast!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Just finishing up. It looks like I have at least another year before I graduate. I neglected my physics, biostats, and chemistry, so I have to get all that done in the fall before I can take any more bio classes. Yay.

I know, I feel like it wasn't that long ago I was posting that there were 70+ days to go on the chicks! I still don't even have the brooder set up, and I usually have it set up 4 months in advance! Luckily, I had the presence of mind to give myself a week after finals to prepare for them.




(I did get some homework done, I swear. I'm not putting it off completely to check BYC. Okay, maybe a little...)