Setting eggs today (3/30) anyone else???

[lucyboo]

Ok an update on everything. We decided to throw the 3 eggs that were left last friday sincehat was day 30 lol and she wasnt sitting on them anymore. Also all of the babies are doing great growing very fast though lol here are some recent picsfirst time dusting!!! OOh my gosh soooo cute!!!!
First time outside lol sooo cute once again lol
Yay for the fuzzy butts!!!!
How is everybody????
<3 kelsey

 

[mkcolls]

Soooo cute!! I love to see chicks doing grown-up chicken things. Robin is a beautiful hen. I count nine in the one outside shot is that your final number? Also I see your light chipmunk striped chick, can't wait to see her as she grows. Your pictures make me smile. Chickens relax me. I enjoy looking out the kitchen window and seeing them doing their chicken business, scratching, dust bathing, foraging, running.

Update:

Mama BO started squatting for DH, allowing him to pick her up, spending less time with her chicks, jumping in and out of the nesting boxes built into the room. So we gave her a choice. We opened the brooder room and the feed room doors that lead to the main barn coop.We stayed in the brooder with the chicks, she stepped into the feed room, saw the coop door open and flew out the door. She was done. The chicks didn't miss her until evening, then they huddle in the corner where she used to lay with them. They acted stunned. We did the same thing to the doors that evening to allow Mama BO back into brooder. She stayed at the far end of the barn, no interest in returning.
With Mama BO gone we were able to open the smallest brooder area to the larger area. The chicks in the small area have been thrilled to have access to the large area. So far, with a few exceptions, Mama BO's chicks stay to themselves. The others move all over, jumping, up on roosts, eating at the second feeder, sleeping under their heat lamp. We have spent enough time with them to know that they are working it out. Our weather is going to be warm, but wet this week so we hope for a few hours each day to get them outside.

Mama SS is doing a good job with her chicks, but she is vicious with the other chicks. There is a "screen" door DH made with fencing and a wood frame on her part of the brooder and if any of the older chicks get close to the gate she runs to the door to try to peck them. She is a rough scratcher, her little chicks have been stepped on, scratched up with her foot and sent flying several feet, and buried in pine shavings. But they are learning to stay out of Mama's way when she scratches.

Run, run for your life!! They are growing, getting their little wings, running, scratching, and dust bathing. We love to see them under the heat lamp, "sun" bathing.

Thanks for taking time to share your pictures, I will take more this week and share later. Good week to you.

Yay for fuzzy butts!!

 

[lucyboo]

Thank you! Your right our final total is 9 babies! Which is a great hatch rate considering last time lol!!!
Im soooo happy your chicks are ok with out mama with them. Mine flip out when we transport them to the outside pin and Robin isnt with them lol they screem on the top of there lungs lol!!! Robin does the same thing by stepping on them and scratching them up in the air and burrying them hahaha
The light chipmunk striped chick is the eldest and she is soo cute and Im eggcited about seeing her all grown up too! Chickens relax me too and so I dont understand when people that dont have chickens just think that its stupid and they are nasty because truthfully they arnt that nasty if you keep their coop clean lol people surprise me sometimes! I would love to see my chickens out side by themselves through the window but we have a lot of chicken hawks that sit in the trees and stawk my sweet chicken children lol. I wish that chickens didnt have predetors lol that would be awesome! We officially have 21 chickens and all have names lol I think Im crazy! lol but not too crazy to stop getting chickens lol hahahaha
The chicks names are: Chip,Dale,Spots,Lasey,Oreo,Baily,Cinna (a Hunger Games character lol),Cupcake,and Madea from all the Madea (sp?) movies lol I love those movies soo much and wanted to name a funny chick that lol hahahha! And the rest of the flocks names are in my signiture lol
Do you have a lot of problems with hawks???
Good week to you too!
Yay for the fuzzy butts!!!
<3 kelsey

 

[mkcolls]

Great chick names. I am reading book two of the Hunger Games series. It is a departure from my usual Jane Austen and I surprised myself but I really like Suzanne Collins' writing. I'm not familiar with Madea movies though, it is a perfect chick name.

Yes, we have hawks in the area, in fact we had a couple overhead this morning. We also have roosters. Our roosters put out a warning call for the hens and they all run for cover. This morning the hens gathered under a few trees we have on one side of the house while four roosters stood guard until some of the starlings in the area drove the hawks away. We never have the chicks out alone. The chick run is not covered. Last year we used a chicken tractor that DH built. It allowed us to have some chicks out, under cover, but on grass for short periods of time. We have not lost any chickens to hawks.

Roosters are a mixed bag, they are beautiful and can be the best. We have an EE roo that shows me hiding places a hen has laid an egg. He also gets after the hens if they don't come in at dusk. He will go after them. Our JG, Yeller, and BA, Zorro, roos each have several hens that they watch when the hens are foraging or dust bathing. Silver, a SLW is very protective of his hens, keeps them in line. They all will check out the nesting boxes when we clean them and change bedding, or add or move them. They give the Papa OK and the girls are good to go. Roosters can also be very mean. I was flogged by RooD, a Welsummer, twice yesterday. DH & I chased him down until he freaked out and ended up in the Brahma pen. Our Brahma roo, Brutus, cornered him until DH picked him up. He has one foot in my crockpot. The other roos made sure he was kept in his place today, and when I went to the barn this evening, the other roos chased him to the other end of the barn while I gathered eggs, filled waterers and feeders. RooD went willingly as soon as he saw me. LOL.

Mama SS was pretty frantic today. Six of her ten chicks had escaped through the fenced door and were playing with the older chicks. Everyone was playing nice, Mama SS was sticking her head through every opening in the fencing trying to get to them. A couple of the older chicks were pushing the little ones with their heads, not their beaks, back to their area. We had a few strong storms while I was in the barn. I stayed with the little ones to keep them calm. It was a good evening.

Yay for fuzzy butts!!

 

[lucyboo]

lol thanks! I love the Hunger Games series but I am on the second book too lol I have a SERIOUS crush on Peeta (and Josh Hutcherson the actor for Peeta) lol!! But the Madea movies are written by Tyler Peery if that helps, I dont know how to spell her name lol.

Wow I want your roosters then lol we had a rooster named Braveheart but unfortunantly our rooster hatering neighbors called the neighborhood sherif on us for his beautiful music in the mornings. He is at a new farm now and we can tell he loves it! We can see him when we pass by there farm
Im sorry about the flogging lol Braveheart never did that to me so I have no clue what it feels like lol but I assume its not the best feeling in the world lol
Oh and I find it amazing how God created roosters to be able to manage all the hens and be able to tell you where a hidden egg is lol AMAZING!!!

That is funny how older chicks know how to push the babies back through without hurting them lol!!
Yay for the fuzzy butts!!!!
<3 kelsey

 

[mkcolls]

Drama in the brooder coop.

Tuesday DH checked waterers & feeders in the AM, I did the mid day check, staying out for just a few minutes, then the evening chore time we were both out. DH came out of the brooder coop into the feed room holding the body of one of our older EE chicks. She had her head pecked through. DH found her body inside the Mama SS cage. She had squeezed through the fencing and then could not get out and Mama SS killed her. We know that Mama thought she was protecting, but this was crushing to find.

DH made the decision to remove Mama SS as soon as he had taken care of the body, so he went into Mama's coop, picked her up and took her out to the general barn coop. She was not happy, and tried to follow him into the feed room to get back to the brooder coop.

The little chicks were going crazy, crying, running around, and boy can they run. I just sat in their area, talking quietly, gave them so scratch, and they finally settled a bit. There was one who continued her search for Mama, PEEPING all the way. We lowered their heat lamp, since some of them still sleep under Mama, stayed with them for over an hour, then left. They did fine overnight.

Yesterday we had temps in the high 80's so when DH got home we opened the pop door to the brooder coop and took all of Mama's chicks into the run. We allowed the older chicks to come out if they wanted. Most of them ended up outside. They loved it! The babies were busy, eating, checking out the terrain, running, "flying". It was great. When it was time to start our evening routine, starting with the babies we encouraged them back in. After we closed the pop door, we were inside filling waterers and feeders, and DH said he thought he heard a chick outside, but we counted the babies, and after several count, they don't stand still for count,

we counted ten and decided it was a wild bird. We have two additional runs on the back of the barn, divided for different flocks. I was out checking the one closest to the brooder run and heard what I now knew was a chick. So we spent the next 10 minutes trying to capture this now freaked out chick. She is small enough that she could squeeze through the 2x2" fencing. We finally caught her, took her into the coop. Did another count of the babies, they were eating scratch, so almost standing still and both counted 10 chicks.

What we have learned:

Mama's can be lethal, it is the nature of the animal.

Counting chicks is not an exact science. Count once, twice, then count again. Then check our count.

If we think we hear a chick, we check right then.

We are still in Chickens 101 in Poultry University (PU). We had many failures this week. We are still studying and changing to protect our chicks and chickens. Hope you are having a less eventful week.

Yay for fuzzy butts!!

PS Just finished book two of the Hunger Games series. The twists and turns are amazing. Hope you enjoy. I plan to start book three this weekend, if there is time.

 

[lucyboo]

Awww Im sooo sorry about the chick and your week! But Im happy you found that chick! She will be happy with your family!
Mine has been okay, my dad built Robin and babies a new coop so they can be outside but protected and not stuck in the coop where the big girls are lol. They have been upset that they werent allowed into the coop lol. I defenatly have to count like 5 to 6 times lol I wish they would just sit still lol but its ok I love them soooo much and can deal with the having to count alot.
Im almost done with the book but I probably wont finish until next weekend because I have drivers ed this upcoming week and on top of that I am crocheting my mom two robins in a nest for mothers day and crocheting my dad fingerless gloves for fathers day lol Im going to be a busy bee.
So far I like Finnick for the book and Im on like page 390 so I dont what happens with him lol
I hope you dont have a eventful week again lol well maybe a good eventfull week lol but not a sad one
Yay for the fuzzy butts!!!!
<3 kelsey

 

[mkcolls]

We had a wonderful weekend with family celebrating a birthday and early Mother's Day.

The weather here is cool this week. We didn't even have the young chicks out today. The 5 1/2 week old chicks love to be out. Today when I went into the feed room the chicks heard me and ran to the pop door. I hated to tell them they couldn't go out. We had a 10% chance of rain until 30 minutes before we had the first of several downpours. Crazy weather, poor chicks. We'll have the heat lamps back on for the next couple of nights. I am ready for warm weather!

We spent part of last evening making a splint for one of our chick's twisted foot. I waited too long to research treatments, but found some information that supports treatment at any age. She was frantic when we started splinting her foot, but by the time we were half way done she was zoned out, laying against DH's chest with her eyes closed. When we put her down on the ground she worked very hard to remove the splint. This morning she was running all over the coop, like she didn't even realize it was on her foot. We have several more changes over weeks or months, but hopefully it will improve the position of her toes and give her stability. Two years ago I would never have believed I would be spending time researching and treating chickens. LOL Isn't it wonderful?

Have you finished book two of the Hunger Games series yet? We had a two hour drive to family gatherings so I was able to finish the final book. Whew, I think with all the twists and turns I was ready for it to be over. The word that I keep using to describe the book has been, disturbing. A world with so much control of every aspect of life is troubling. I pray that the imaginary world the writer present never materializes. It is back to Austen for me.

How is Robin and her brood? Are they growing feathers, scratching, hop flying, and growing almost by the minute? Aren't they fun?

Well, I have to turn eggs for the final time tonight. Lockdown on Friday, I just might get my Mother's Day hatch if one decides to hatch early. We set 5 turkey eggs and 39 chicken eggs. One turkey egg and four chicken eggs were not fertile. The brooder coop will be full. Peep, peep, peep.

Yay for fuzzy butts ( and they are getting fuzzier by the day) !!

 

[lucyboo]

Awww Im sorry about the hurt chick but Im glad you were able to splint it!
I unfortunantly have not been able to finish because of my drivers ed and being to tired afterward lol
I hope the book doesnt really happen too!
My chicks and Robin are doing great! All are kind of ugly right now because they are growing feathers but still have the downy feathers lol but still adorable. From what I can tell there are 3 roosters so far just by how they are acting and the way the do things lol I let Robin out with the other big girls by her self the other day and she got in a lot of fights when they came close the the "nursery" coop lol everyones ok though no blood thankfully
Happy Mothers Day!!!
Happy Birthday to whom ever you were celebrating for!!!
I hope you got some haching mothers day babies!
Yay for the fuzzyish butts lol!!!!
<3 kelsey

 

[mkcolls]

Our chick with twisted toes is amazing. We have named her Sassafras (Sassy for short). She complains off & on while we are changing her corrective shoe, just so we know that she is not cooperating on the inside, then she lays back against DH's chest and closes her eyes. Her toes are slowly straightening. She gets around just great and can do everything but roost on a narrow board or limb.

Our chicks are just starting their teen time this week, but I still think they are cute, even in this stage. It is just bad hair days. We take a couple of them out every day that is nice. Since most of them are still small enough to squeeze through our 2" x2" fencing and neither DH or I can run after them two are all that we can handle at one time. Although when they get out our roosters or some of our Mama hens will stand on one side of the chick while we scoop them up. We have great chickens. Would that make them chicken wranglers?

I know what you mean about the hens and Mamas, the Mamas will try to draw blood if they are protecting their chicks. So which of your chicks are looking rooish? I went back to your picture of Robin and the chicks outside for the first time. I see some roo-like body language, but too hard to tell for sure. Can you keep roosters?

Mother's Day was great, visiting with lots of family. We did not have any chicks hatch Sunday, but we had 11 hatch yesterday, 9 more so far today, 1 is zipping, and 5 more are pipped. They are soooo cute. This is the most quiet brood we have had so far. They quietly peep, chirp, and make their happy chick sounds. We had one hatch with twisted toes so she got a corrective shoe already. I hope that she corrects more quickly than our older chick.

How is Driver's Ed going? Our grandson is taking Driver's Ed, planning to get his license in August. He can't wait.

Got to go check on the incubator. I know they hatch perfectly well without me, after all God created a perfect design. I just like to watch them. They work so hard.

Yay for fuzzy butts!!