Stella's Social Club

[ronott1]

The more personality they have the harder it is to see them go.

Love all the wonderful garden pictures. As soon as the ground thaws the lettuce goes in. Can I put onion starts in if frost is still a possibility?

Chicks cheeping in the incubators - such a lovely sound! Ron I hope you are right about the Arkansas eggs, no pips yet and I am a little anxious.

The Arkansas Blues will drive you nuts!

I hope they hatch for you.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Judge Judy was a beautiful youngster, who knew she would grow up to look like the Judge one day.

This made me chuckle.

So, I have had a Marans broody for about six weeks. She's been run off the nest, had her eggs broken and eaten. I moved her to an empty coop and she abandoned the eggs and paced the fence line to get back in the other coop. Finally she settled in on a few infertile Marans eggs. When I thought it was safe I gave her five Icelandic eggs. Yesterday they were on Day 11 when I found three had been eaten without a trace and the other two were quitters. I checked in on her this morning and she was hunkered down on nothing.

So I called the feed store before they opened and asked if they had any day olds. They told me they just picked up 30 Americana pullets at the post office. They asked how many I wanted, I said two. I also asked about a special order for feeders for my oyster shell that I placed a week ago. They were in so I said I was on my way down for my order and two day-olds.

I got down there and they said, oh sorry, another lady called and wanted all 30 chicks and they were holding them all for her. What? You couldn't call and save me a trip into town? Then I told them I was no longer interested in the feeders and that I had to drive all over town looking for chicks. The owner heard the discussion and came out and told them to go get me two chicks. I still didn't buy the feeders but did order some different ones. Gosh I hate stuff like that!

Then I get home with two cheeping AM's and get them settled in a brooder until I can slip them under the broody tonight. I go outside and she's off the nest, stumbling around outside in the run obviously dehydrated and emaciated. I don't know if she'll go back to brooding, die, or what. I may get stuck brooding two Ams that I didn't even want!

Dang broodies!

Hope she is okay, goes back to her nest and you have good luck grafting the babies on her.

I have some stupid broodies, too. Some are doing well, and others are being ridiculous. Some are hatching and killing. Some are stealing chicks. Some have abandoned midway. Others want to sit all the time and not leave to raise the babies!

I agree...... crazy broodies!

Hey, I've had those too. My English Orp was the one that didn't want to raise babies. Then she went all whacko, and started clucking to her "invisible" chicks.

I hope she never again goes broody.

 

[The Sheriff]

The big switcheroo has begun. I moved her to an empty coop and took the batteries out of the auto pop door so they will be locked in for a few days. I built a little step up into the brooder egg with junk for the babies to get over the lip.



You can barely see the little yellow chick under Mama's breast in this pic.



Oh, I hope this works!

 

[Happy Chooks]

 

[kathyinmo]

I hope it works, too !

 

[drumstick diva]

mama looks serious

 

[1muttsfan]

Yes she does have the evil eye

 

[speckledhen]

She sure does. My black Rock hen, Emily, has the best evil eye I know of. She's a beast when she's broody, but thankfully, she hasn't been for quite some time.


Well, LH is supposed to be leaving for GA in a few minutes but last night, something happened that would have made me think twice about leaving my birds. Two hens, Nutmeg, who is Suede and Meg's daughter, one of her others, are in their 9th life, is the way she put it. Chaos broke loose while she was at one of the coops and she went running toward it, finding a fox on top of Nutmeg. When she yelled, it hopped off and Nutmeg scrammed and then it went after Leaza, who unfortunately, in trying to get to her mom, crossed in front of the fox. It thankfully only got some back feathers and she escaped. LH ran it toward the blackberry thicket and it hauled butt, but it turned to gauge whether it could get around the crazy woman to grab another chicken. Eventually, it gave up and ran off. Poor Lancelot was stuck behind a portion of fencing they'd been putting up, trying to run around to get to his hens so he wasn't in this fray, not this time. Nutmeg hid and it took an hour plus to find her.
On top of that, the blacksmithing apprentice her husband has who also helps with the chicken chores can't get there this week due to vehicle breakdowns so her DH is left to watch the birds by himself, and that is not a good thing, him having to process a deer hide order at the barn on the other side of the house from the coops. So, LH may be coming, but I know she's really afraid to leave. She said, "Grrrrrrr now I know why I never leave home. Sheesh." I'm a bit afraid myself.

My husband said first thing this morning he saw two humongous rabbits on the Orps' coop ramp. So, we now have Godzilla rabbits, in addition to what LH calls vampire bunnies that freak out the flocks all the time. I swear, we need to really start hunting those and learn to cook them well. Free meat may be the only kind we can have in the future.

 

[The Sheriff]

Cyn, I hope Ladyhawk is able to get away. That must have been a chaotic scene! I am glad the birds survived but they say a fox will be back. Scary. As for Godzilla rabbits, ew.

This morning! Little yellow AM peeking out.


Little brown speckled AM peeking out!



I am happy and relived but still will watch cautiously. This broody Marans which I am naming the Divine Miss M is a sweet broody. Minimal growling and no pecking whatsoever, no matter what I do to her. I think her mellow attitude is why the others ate her eggs and pushed her off the nest. She got the last last. She's not in a 5x7 coop all to herself with two little chicks. We'll see how it goes. ThanKs to everyone for the well wishes!

 

[speckledhen]

I love sweet broodies. Most of mine are that way. Dottie is an angel.