I am naming both my new BR pullets Barbara in her honor. What a funny bird. Barbara and Barbie maybe
The adventures of Barbara (BR)
- Thread starter MrsChickendad
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Aw shucks, you guys! You make me blush. . . .but not Barbara. A diva does NOT blush. (Thanks for the compliments, anyway!)
Due to the fact that the Chickendads are preparing for the giant Michigan Chickenstock Meetup on Saturday, Barbara will probably just have to entertain herself for a couple days. Mrs. Chickendad will have to go to Hatching Rehab (or to the Chicken Poorhouse) if she does not sell a bunch of Barbara's flockmates and the rest of the Barbara shirts and mugs! (Holler quick if you want one!)
The last hatch (I mean it this time, really, I do!) is in the incubator in lockdown, and we are waiting for mille fleur cochins and weird colored frizzles to wake up. There is also lots of sorting to be done, a challenge when the young ones are so undeveloped yet, but eating like the Big Girls! Ya' just can't keep them all, a fact which has to be explained again and again to Chickenboy.
There is a plethora of Little White Roosters with Big Butts (and some girls, too), some BLRW with humungous feet, lots of Silly Ameraucanas with their fancy blue eggs that make Barbara so mad, and a bunch of little Mille Fleur Cochin boys and girls with varying degrees of pretty speckles. At last count the Chickendads have hatched over . . . .300 . . . .this year. . . .time to STOP!
Due to the fact that the Chickendads are preparing for the giant Michigan Chickenstock Meetup on Saturday, Barbara will probably just have to entertain herself for a couple days. Mrs. Chickendad will have to go to Hatching Rehab (or to the Chicken Poorhouse) if she does not sell a bunch of Barbara's flockmates and the rest of the Barbara shirts and mugs! (Holler quick if you want one!)
The last hatch (I mean it this time, really, I do!) is in the incubator in lockdown, and we are waiting for mille fleur cochins and weird colored frizzles to wake up. There is also lots of sorting to be done, a challenge when the young ones are so undeveloped yet, but eating like the Big Girls! Ya' just can't keep them all, a fact which has to be explained again and again to Chickenboy.
There is a plethora of Little White Roosters with Big Butts (and some girls, too), some BLRW with humungous feet, lots of Silly Ameraucanas with their fancy blue eggs that make Barbara so mad, and a bunch of little Mille Fleur Cochin boys and girls with varying degrees of pretty speckles. At last count the Chickendads have hatched over . . . .300 . . . .this year. . . .time to STOP!
Wow! 300? Thats a lot of chick food. Why must chicken food cost so much. I am also going to a chicken gathering this weekend to try to sell some of my sweet babies. Common mama needs a new pair of shoes....well I guess diapers for the baby should come first. Aww Shucks!
300 is a LOT of babies!
And I thought I was completely mad with just the 5!
They are a week old now, and I'm pretty sure I have 2 boys and 3 girls
And I thought I was completely mad with just the 5!
They are a week old now, and I'm pretty sure I have 2 boys and 3 girls
I love this thread so much!
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The Stolen Child
The Chickendads have been busy, just like everyone else. Saturday they attended the Michigan Chickenstock in Lansing and saw lots of old and new friends. They took lots of birds with them to share with others, so the ride home was a lot quieter than it was going over. The roosters were busy serenading the girls at McDonalds drive thru, and buk-a-bukking at any tidbits they could score from Chickenboy, who was crammed in the backseat with cages all around. The young birds turned up their cuteness factor and charmed several people into taking them home. Several Barbara fans were there as well, and some wore their Barbara Tee shirts in her honor. Barbara did not attend, as she is still recovering from her horrific molt.
Sunday evening, Mrs. Chickendad went out to check water and feed and make sure the Big Girls were paying the rent. When she got to the Cochin Coop, one of the nest boxes was peeping. Since there are six nest boxes and six broody hens, she had to check carefully to see where the peeping came from. Two of the girls were in the same box, stealing eggs back and forth from each other. One girl was just cranky broody and had no eggs. But Frizzie, as in Poor Little Frizzie, the little red girl who molts down to her underwear, was proudly cuddling a beautiful yellow chick. Obviously, it was not hers. No, but two of hers were in the brooder, having hatched the day before.
Mrs. Chickendad scooped up Frizzie and her baby and installed them in the parrot cage broody house. It has a big plexiglass window in it. Frizzie took offense to this at first, but when she saw water and food just for her, she was distracted enough to settle down and mother her baby. The light bulb over Mrs. Chickendads head went offFrizzie will be able to mother her other babies as well! Three babies would be perfect for Frizzie to care for, and two less for Mrs. Chickendad to clean up after.
Frizzie was delighted with her new children and tucked them carefully under her curly feathers. Occasionally, the babies would stick their heads out and look around at the big new world, looking like little ornaments on a red fluffy Christmas tree. It was hard to get much work down after that, so Mrs. Chickendad just watched for a while.
On Monday, history repeated itself. Another nest box was peeping. This time it was Frizzabella, Frizzies little sister. Frizzabella was still in her broody coma, but she had hatched a lovely blue baby while she sat on four other eggs. Frizzabella was quite cranky about the situation, but Mrs. Chickendad thought perhaps she and Frizzie (who are good pals) could share the parrot house where no one would bother their babies.
After transferring Frizzabellas eggs to the broody girl who had none, Frizzabella went to the broody house with her new baby. She seemed astonished that there was a noisy baby following her about, and gave it a peck on the head. Mrs. Chickendad was uneasy about leaving her very long with it, so waited a short time to see if she would settle down. Peeking through the window, Mrs. Chickendad spied Frizzabella pigging out at the food dish. Her baby was nowhere to be seen, but Frizzie had a smug look on her face, or as smug as a chicken can get. Sure enough, the little blue chick was cuddled up under Frizzie with the others and was no longer peeping. Mrs. Chickendad tried to give the chick back to Frizzabella, but Frizzabella was still too busy eating, so Frizzie sweetly reached over and stole the unwanted child. She wanted it. This was her first chance at real motherhood and she was going to make the most of it. Someone has to look out for the little ones.
The Chickendads have been busy, just like everyone else. Saturday they attended the Michigan Chickenstock in Lansing and saw lots of old and new friends. They took lots of birds with them to share with others, so the ride home was a lot quieter than it was going over. The roosters were busy serenading the girls at McDonalds drive thru, and buk-a-bukking at any tidbits they could score from Chickenboy, who was crammed in the backseat with cages all around. The young birds turned up their cuteness factor and charmed several people into taking them home. Several Barbara fans were there as well, and some wore their Barbara Tee shirts in her honor. Barbara did not attend, as she is still recovering from her horrific molt.
Sunday evening, Mrs. Chickendad went out to check water and feed and make sure the Big Girls were paying the rent. When she got to the Cochin Coop, one of the nest boxes was peeping. Since there are six nest boxes and six broody hens, she had to check carefully to see where the peeping came from. Two of the girls were in the same box, stealing eggs back and forth from each other. One girl was just cranky broody and had no eggs. But Frizzie, as in Poor Little Frizzie, the little red girl who molts down to her underwear, was proudly cuddling a beautiful yellow chick. Obviously, it was not hers. No, but two of hers were in the brooder, having hatched the day before.
Mrs. Chickendad scooped up Frizzie and her baby and installed them in the parrot cage broody house. It has a big plexiglass window in it. Frizzie took offense to this at first, but when she saw water and food just for her, she was distracted enough to settle down and mother her baby. The light bulb over Mrs. Chickendads head went offFrizzie will be able to mother her other babies as well! Three babies would be perfect for Frizzie to care for, and two less for Mrs. Chickendad to clean up after.
Frizzie was delighted with her new children and tucked them carefully under her curly feathers. Occasionally, the babies would stick their heads out and look around at the big new world, looking like little ornaments on a red fluffy Christmas tree. It was hard to get much work down after that, so Mrs. Chickendad just watched for a while.
On Monday, history repeated itself. Another nest box was peeping. This time it was Frizzabella, Frizzies little sister. Frizzabella was still in her broody coma, but she had hatched a lovely blue baby while she sat on four other eggs. Frizzabella was quite cranky about the situation, but Mrs. Chickendad thought perhaps she and Frizzie (who are good pals) could share the parrot house where no one would bother their babies.
After transferring Frizzabellas eggs to the broody girl who had none, Frizzabella went to the broody house with her new baby. She seemed astonished that there was a noisy baby following her about, and gave it a peck on the head. Mrs. Chickendad was uneasy about leaving her very long with it, so waited a short time to see if she would settle down. Peeking through the window, Mrs. Chickendad spied Frizzabella pigging out at the food dish. Her baby was nowhere to be seen, but Frizzie had a smug look on her face, or as smug as a chicken can get. Sure enough, the little blue chick was cuddled up under Frizzie with the others and was no longer peeping. Mrs. Chickendad tried to give the chick back to Frizzabella, but Frizzabella was still too busy eating, so Frizzie sweetly reached over and stole the unwanted child. She wanted it. This was her first chance at real motherhood and she was going to make the most of it. Someone has to look out for the little ones.
Cute story! Motherhood isn't for everyone I guess.
You go Frizzie. You are the sweetest looking chicken mamma.
Frizzie sounds like she's going to be a great mother.
You just can't beat a broody mama!
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