Should I buy eggs or wait it out?

[okallthis4eggs]

TWO eggs 2day!!

TWO

TWO......TWO Eggs, Bacon, and Toast.

 

[okallthis4eggs]

Sorry for the delay. Windows 8 is so stooopid.

(Or maybe it's just me.

) So, with lots of help from hubs, here are my new incubators bantam Cochins.

This one is mostly light blue with a bit of red on her head and some red lacing on her chest. Very sweet. Jump on your hand to be held.



This silvery one is prettier than the picture shows. Very sweet also. Loves being pet. Look at that face!



This is the blue's fluffy patootie.

The third girl is a little older. Red with blue in the tail. Very pretty, but not so nice to the others.

She pecked their combs on the ride home, won't let them eat or drink without challenge, chases and intimidates. She would not let the little girls roost either. I had to help them after dark. She is only 2 weeks older. I have already spoken to the breeder about possibly returning her.



Things seemed a little calmer in the morning. They got to eat some lovely grass and enjoy the sun.



Not as much pecking from the red one while outside. She is obviously dominant, but I don't like the mean streak. She is also very unhappy, constantly walking the fence line, looking for a way out. She was jumping up and hitting the top of the cage too. It's like she really wants to go home. I can just see the headlines: Desperate Chicken Walks 80 Miles to Return to Beloved Home.



Later in the day, hubs caught the red one pulling feathers out of the other 2 and separated them. The decision has been made. The red one will be returned and possibly exchanged for another younger one. There were actually 2 others that I was interested in, sooooo maybe a little chicken math will come into play.

I don't think the red one is so much mean as unhappy and is taking it out on the others. I kind of feel sorry for her. She is very sweet when you hold her. The breeder and I thought maybe she was low in the pecking order in her coop (housed with about 20 Cochins, including roosters) and so does not know how to handle her new found position of power. I think we will all be happier if she goes back home. Grumpy chickens are a bummer. Next weekend I will have to show you the new girl(s?).


Overall I am super happy with the other two and actually excited at the prospect of getting more.

Pictures came out great. Birds look awesome. Do you heat with wood?

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Quote:
Haha! I feel your pain. Hubs is a planner too, and we get bogged down in the details and agonize over decisions. I'm a terrible waffler! Just try to pin me down! ha! However, he has a heart of gold, for I now have 2 chicken coops on 1.2 acres, and we are planning an expansion on the second. Luckily for me, he has fallen under the spell of the chickens (outside pets are the best, he thinks!). The absolutely delicious eggs don't hurt either.

Hey, show your hubby the really cool stuff in the BYC coops section. Maybe he will be inspired to plan a chicken Taj Mahal or something.

 

[chickenlindz]

W4W what is that green stuff on the ground???? We use to have it too in the distant past but it's been so long I forget what it's like!!!!

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Pictures came out great. Birds look awesome. Do you heat with wood?

Thank you.

Yes we heat with wood, but not always. We live in a little rural neighborhood that was a planned retirement community in the 60s, and natural gas was piped out when it was developed, about 3 miles from the edge of town. So we have a gas furnace and central heating, but would rather do other things with our money than give to the gas and electric company. We use the wood stove as much as we can, but there are NO BURN nights in the Bay Area because the inversion layer traps the smoke at ground level, and it can get pretty bad in some areas. Occasionally we cheat because the stove is newer and cycles the smoke around to be reburned before heading up the stovepipe. Once it's burning hot, there's no visible smoke coming out the chimney.

Gee, ask a simple question....

Many congratulations on your perfect dozen day!

Editing to add:
Just saw your comment about trading for Roger! Uh, yeah, I'll get back to you.

I will have to track down some pictures of mushrooms. The chanterelles that grow on the hill behind our neighborhood are an overall golden-orangey-yellow, have flat tops and ridges on the bottom side of the cap (as opposed to gills). The ridges extend slightly down the stem. There are a couple of other edible species up there too (oysters, lion's mane). For the really good boletes, mini-hedgehogs, and black trumpets, we have to drive almost 2 hours up the coast. Haven't been hunting in a couple of years, though. No rain, no mushrooms. Coccoras are my favorite.

The red one is harassing the others. Much distressed squawking. Must intervene!

 

[okallthis4eggs]

Quote: I find that very interesting. I totally heat with wood. My highest utility bill this frigid winter has been $60. something dollars. Roger eats more than that a month. I hear friends and family complain of $400. dollar a month bills in the past few months due to the extreme cold. I cut my own wood I don't buy it. A little bit of work but I consider it exercise and enjoy being outdoors. On about my 14th or 15th rick of wood and still a way to go. I have more than enough this year but need to get busy in the spring. I knew California had tougher laws regarding wood burning stoves.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

I find that very interesting. I totally heat with wood. My highest utility bill this frigid winter has been $60. something dollars. Roger eats more than that a month. I hear friends and family complain of $400. dollar a month bills in the past few months due to the extreme cold. I cut my own wood I don't buy it. A little bit of work but I consider it exercise and enjoy being outdoors. On about my 14th or 15th rick of wood and still a way to go. I have more than enough this year but need to get busy in the spring. I knew California had tougher laws regarding wood burning stoves.

I could not pay a $400 utility bill on principle, but folks around here pay that routinely, and our average nightly winter temps hover around 40. Just not that cold. We cut our own wood too. Can't imagine buying it when my 80 yr old dad still does his own! California is an awesome place to live (especially here in northern cal) but there is quite a price to pay. (Sooo many people, sooo many rules!)

Hey, go back up to my original post about this. I edited and added some mushroom info on there.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

W4W what is that green stuff on the ground???? We use to have it too in the distant past but it's been so long I forget what it's like!!!!

Hehe! Amazing what a little rain will do! First time I've seen green stuff since early June! It's been so brown and crunchy. The hills are just now showing a hint of green. Should be 2 ft of grass on the range lands by now. The cattle auctions are very busy around here.

In what part of our great nation do you live? Or is that a state secret? (Get it? State secret!

Very punny!!!)

 

[okallthis4eggs]

Quote: I saw the mushroom information. Don't sound like the same thing we find in the mountains. I think the proper name is "Morell" mushrooms that are so common around here. However everybody has their own name for them. Especially people in the mountains. I have heard them called "Hickory Chickens".....don't ask me where that came from...lol I suppose because it taste somewhat chicken with a hint of hickory or something like that. No way will you find a mushroom where I live at. Deer eat them as fast as they pop up around here. On my four wheeling trips up into the mountains I always take a little time to hunt mushrooms. Deer are not so abundant in the mountains(Bears and rattlesnakes are) so I get a better chance at finding mushrooms.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

There are supposed to be morels around here, but I've never seen one. They're darkish and have a very wrinkled looking, rocket shaped cap. They are the most prized, and people who find them won't tell where. Secret goes to the grave!