Pipd's Peeps!

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I candled one last time tonight, day 7 for the last egg I set, and nothing still. I pulled the plug. Oh, well.




For a bit cheerier end to the post, here is lovely Fifi, who rushed over to follow me to the Guinea coop tonight and supervise coop closing. Isn't she so helpful?

 

[HuffleClaw]

So sorry about the eggs

 

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Thanks, Huffleclaw ❤ It's a bummer, but for the best, I think. Not sure that I want to keep chicks in the house until March anyway.


Even if I had already started dreaming of those precious little footsie-pajama-wearing tiny fuzzy peeper babies Spring can't come soon enough!!

 

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Look at this bunch of Dorks grabbing breakfast this morning I love these birds so much!

(Left to right, this is Lydda, Callette, Myrna, and Kita, with Perdita drinking in the background Lydda is blurry because she's very enthusiastic about food, okay )

 

[ronott1]

Look at this bunch of Dorks grabbing breakfast this morning I love these birds so much!

View attachment 2459560

(Left to right, this is Lydda, Callette, Myrna, and Kita, with Perdita drinking in the background Lydda is blurry because she's very enthusiastic about food, okay )

They look like they expect a treat!

 

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I was making all kinds of sounds while trying to get all four of them to look up, so they may have thought I had something good for them!

 

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It's a balmy 20° F here at the moment. That means that Fifi has gone into extra-poofy-beard mode! Here she is being her fabulous self this morning and admiring the shiny camera lens in my phone




EDIT: Oops, I missed another good one out of that set of pictures! Love this girl!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

We hit some pretty cold temps over the weekend, about 12° F on the night of Christmas eve, so I brought the tiny OEGBs in, just to be safe. I know they can tolerate a bit colder than that, but it's Sumi and Havie's first winter and I don't like to take chances on them in the cold. It was in the 40's on Sunday, so back out they went.

At about 2 PM yesterday, I heard all the birds rush into the coop over the monitor. I thought that was pretty weird, so I went out to check on them.

About 15 feet from the front door of the house, I saw feathers. Lots of them. Small, creamy-off-white feathers. Immediately, in my mind, all I could think was, 'no, no, no.'

I followed the rough trail of feathers to the corner of the garage. At the opposite corner of the garage, a hawk took off. My memory is hazy and I couldn't tell you for sure what kind it was, but all I know is that in its talons was little Havok. At that point, I was no longer just thinking it; I was screaming. "No, no, NO!!"

I ran after it into the woods, screaming and sobbing the whole way. I lost sight of it for a moment, but as I ran I guess I came close enough to it that it took off again, abandoning Havie there in the woods. She was limp, but I could still faintly hear her heartbeat. As I cradled her in my hands, though, she took one last shuddering breath, and then she was gone.

I'm so torn up about this, y'all. If I had just kept them in on Sunday, Havok would still be with us. Poor Sumi was nearly inseparable from her sister, and now she's all alone. The weather is not as cold as it was a few days ago, but the OEGBs are all back inside anyway, and inside they'll stay until the spring. I cannot take another loss like that.

Rest in peace, sweet little lady.

 

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Happy New Year, everyone!

...Here's hoping that 2021 goes better than 2020 did

 

[Fatimetta]

So sorry to hear about Havok RIP sweet girl! I’m glad she was with you in her final moments.

Happy new years too! I hope this year is MUCH better!