Should I buy eggs or wait it out?

[Wishing4Wings]

Cheeka, after the day you had yesterday, sitting on a bus for 5 hours with 40 6th graders seems like a walk in the park. Well, if the park was full of screaming monkeys! We had beautiful weather and the docent that led our group was engaging and entertaining. She kept the kids' attention and was the best docent ever in 10 years of field trips. Even I paid attention!!!

A few scenes from the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum:

The 6 monkeys I was in charge of...
The grounds set the scene.



We had to kill time outside waiting for our tour, but it was worth the wait.

Cleopatra- real statue, not repro!

canopic jar to hold mummy guts


Looks like Mike Tyson got to this one!
All of these were actual artifacts.

baby croc mummies
ox head mummy, cat mummy, and cat coffin


Smile!






some great models to scale



Gives a new meaning to the idea of a Leatherman.

Poor little broken mummy tootsies.
Kudos to the awesome docent!



I searched and searched, but saw no references to chickens. Certainly no chicken mummies!

 

[animallover505]

Cheeka, after the day you had yesterday, sitting on a bus for 5 hours with 40 6th graders seems like a walk in the park. Well, if the park was full of screaming monkeys! We had beautiful weather and the docent that led our group was engaging and entertaining. She kept the kids attention and was the best docent ever in 10 years of field trips. Even I paid attention!!!

A few scenes from the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum:


The 6 monkeys I was in charge of... The grounds set the scene.



We had to kill time outside waiting for our tour, but it was worth the wait.


Cleopatra- real statue, not repro! canopic jar to hold mummy guts



Looks like Mike Tyson got to this one! All of these were actual artifacts.


baby croc mummies ox head mummy, cat mummy, and cat coffin


smile!





some great models to scale


Gives a new meaning to the idea of a Leatherman.


Poor little broken mummy tootsies. Kudos to the awesome docent!



I searched and searched, but saw no references to chickens. Certainly no chicken mummies!

that sounds like so much fun!!!

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Animallover, when you quoted all my pics came out the way I had intended, but my post came up in a narrow column, so I went back and edited it so the captions go with the pics. If anyone else quotes, it will look all messed up again! I think the kids really enjoyed it. Didn't hear any complaints, which is unusual!

 

[cheeka]

what a great place W4W! I love museums... all kinds, from Natural to Art... I could spend hours and hours, even at places that I know almost by heart ... I've got pics, but I've got to do some editing and then I will post... most need cropping to show the one non-blurry bird. don't know what's up, been having trouble taking pictures. don't notice any hand shaking, lots of my most recent works are not up to my normal standard. probably need new glasses.

but before I do go back to editing... I do have something to show you...


I think Peach is broody. She hasn't left her nest for 2 days so far. her door is open, the windowsill is available... she hasn't come out to greet me when I come in the room. she's not eating or drinking as much. she might have an egg under her, not sure, she growled at me when I reached in to pet her. I did pet her... and left her to sit... she's still missing feathers, but she's otherwise perfectly well.

I use straw in the nests, as you can see... it's easy to remove in one big pile. the entire floor of the apple coop is straw, but I use hay and leaves in the dome, hay on the floor of the store bought coop, straw in that nesting box section... I use shavings in the chicks crates.

oh yeah, at the Senior Center in Grand Gorge, NY (one town away from Gilboa, where I work...) there is a pair of bantam Cochins. they have been living in the parking lot and the side yard for about 3 weeks. the residents of the nursing home have been feeding them, mostly bread and bird seed, but they are hoping to find a home for them as they haven't been able to find the owners... they are quite cute, the hen looks like Peach, sans muffs and beard of course... and the little rooster is really handsome, whitish, brown and green. I left the camera at home by mistake, but I bet my pictures would have been blurry anyway... I stopped by after work to check them out, sure enough... they were wandering about... someone tried to net them a few days ago, so they are very skittish. I would take them, but the lady who cleans there told me her friend really wanted them... so I told her to wait til dusk, follow quietly and slowly to where they roost, wait til dark, and pluck them right up. unless they roost too high in a tree or something... she was happy to learn they could be caught so easily.

so... 3 eggs and maybe 1 more under Peach as of 3:30. I'll be back with chick pics.

 

[cheeka]

the crate in the photo on the right is closer to the window, totally different light... but the crates are side by side... I should turn the table lengthwise so they both get the same light... too heavy for me to do by myself... I cropped these shots so you can see them better, as well as have a few others... here we go!


my one surviving yellow chick has a white breast, but silvery black lacing on her back. she has a beard, and is sprouting tufts in her muffs.


this is (blurry) the back side of the white chick. she is still looking rumpless, I'll have to get better pictures later.


now that's a rump! all the rest of the chicks have tail like this one.












my beardless beauty, next to the best bearded lady!


in the upper right corner is my crooked neck girl, she's peeking under the roost... she's doing quite well, and is very active.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

What a nice looking bunch of EEs. I love the white Araucana looking one. The hatchery must put some into their breeding program to keep the blue eggs coming. Tufts will look really cool. You got a lot of silver (blk/wht) birds, which I like. No roos in the group? Lucky you! Sounds like Peach is broody. 'Tis the season. She may be giving you a few more chicks pretty soon!

I looooove cochins. If the plan for the strays falls through, you should get them!

 

[cheeka]

I would love to take those 2... they are quite pretty, and the little roo is just the right size for Peach too... I was quite surprised to see as the chicks were developing, that there are no boys... relieved too, as I never want to cull any... and I have the perfect minimum # of girls for all the existing boys...

 

[cheeka]

if I don't have to work tomorrow (on call...) I will take them out one by one and get pictures... probably take most of the morning... seems I have 4 golden red/brown, 4 dark brown, 4 silver, one dark blue and one white. all with nice patterns and markings... 2 of the silver are very close, but they can be told apart by the slight difference in head color... I'll put bands on them soon, they're almost as big as the original gang was when I slipped them on. Betty is the only one who doesn't have the band anymore. wonder what happened to it, and how she got it off. I'll have some repeat colors, but the birds will be selected for that, so it's easy to tell them apart. I still need to name them, the candy names were more of a joke...

MPC sells true Araucana and Ameracauna... perhaps one of the roosters hopped into the EE pen???? I hope she lays a nice true blue egg... knowing how many potential colors there are, and knowing that I"m not really a "lucky" person, she'll probably lay a brown egg.

 

[okallthis4eggs]

Can you see Roger in this picture?

Now can you see her?

How about now? Not the least bit camera shy.

 

[okallthis4eggs]

Fine looking crew cheeka. Peach is going to show you she could have saved you all of the trouble if you would have gave her eggs to hatch.