The Front Porch Swing

[pysankigirl]

Found them!!!! not sure where they were hiding but all three are now happily waddling around like normal!

 

[chiqita]

Huzzah!!
With their fat little butts I'd bet its not in the trees!

 

[pysankigirl]

yeah...we have been trying to figure out how to let the chickens into the coop but somehow keep the little goat out. it is friggin impossible. I think they couldn't figure out the maze I'd created (not the brightest bulbs) so I need to try something else. honestly, I need to give the goat to someone who doesn't have chicken coops in their goat pen. he's a pygmy and can fit through anything a chicken can and the bantam orps don't fly too well so I cant use that to my advantage.

sigh.

but thrilled they are safe!!!!!!!

 

[pysankigirl]

I, um, might have bought 6 more bantam choc orp chicks....I sorta lucked into finding them locally and even though I found my missing Tweedles, I figured what the heck...destiny, right? and the lady is an absolute doll who I hope to keep in touch with. she loves the breed as much as I do! (honestly, though, anyone who has them probably would)

 

[chiqita]

Orphs are very charming. My jubilees are named after the creepy twins from the shining, Louise and Lisa ( people who name their RL twin girls rhyming names deserve to have their kids in the shining, lol) and they are sooo soft and fluffy with the tiniest heads! its like hugging a down pillow.

How big are the bantams?

 

[pysankigirl]

Mine look like they are the size of a soccer ball but when you pick them up it's obvious that most of that is fluff.

The female was missing again last night so this morning we did a search through the woods and found he sitting on 13 eggs. We didn't even know she was laying yet! little sneak!

so I took the eggs, put 6 of them in a nesting box and showed her where they were. nope, she went back to the original spot and sat on it. Not the brightest thing in the world, but I love her.

we will see what she does, but I am not letting her sit exposed all night in the middle of the woods now that I know where she's going.

the new babies are so cute and mellow...not flighty at all. I think they've been handled. I love them already

 

[chiqita]

When my hens sneak away like that I put them in a plastic dog crate for a few days where they were laying them move the crate and leave them locked in for another day or so . this mostly works.

 

[flocksalot]

I take sneaky broodies and lock them in a dark cage, coop, or even box. Anything to make it nice and quite for them to settle back onto their eggs.

I also use a greenhouse for over wintering. We started Eva and her siblings in the house in jan. when we got them and moved them into the greenhouse in March. The following winter we still had four of them and they wintered fine out there. The boys were getting rather hefty and not getting around so well, so they went the way of a tasty meal, but the girls were/are my pet. Last winter we moved them and the midgets into our old camper, but we are still using the greenhouse as a grow out. I think there are around 150 midgets roosting all over in the rafters. I love turkeys! Even though it looks like a major pillow fight happened on my lawn. Krazy how is miss Phyliss doing?

My Fidget recently became momma for the first time. She had been getting pushed off her nest each time the eggs were getting close to hatch and another girl became momma. Well after we lost Harvey I gave Fidget alltherest of Harvey's eggs. A few weeks ago one of those precious eggs got dented pretty badly, so I took it and another into the house to incubate. I used medical tape to protect the egg. On Saturday the other egg hatched and on Sunday morning I woke to cheeping. I hurried to help it as with the tape it could zip by itself. After breakfast i gave it to momma and checked her other eggs. All were pipped and at lunch time she had 5 precious little Harvey babies. I'm amazed at the scrappiness of that little dented one. Harvey was a survivor and she passed on some awesome genes. I think that was the last of her eggs. I will check under the other girls, but I'm pretty sure that was it, but we are blessed to have some of her special little poults. And with Fidget i can still play with the babies!

 

[chiqita]

In so glad your Harvey eggs hatched! Fidget is gonna be a happy momma!!

 

[krazykat0373]

glad you got some Harvey babies

Phyllis is doing good, she is finally on the mend from her molt....there for awhile she looked awful, lol. but new tail feathers coming in and she is looking more like her old self. still got one medium sized guinea keet running around with her, which I find absolutely hilarious looking.

I have a case of fowl pox making it's way through my flock. Mosquitoes were horrible this year from all the rain. Some got it last year, so they aren't affected but it was nowhere near as bad as it is this year, the turkeys look horrible (not phyllis) all over their heads and legs. It's worse on the little chickens and the OEGB roos that have been dubbed, the pox has nowhere to affect except their eyes and legs, and so far nothing on the legs, just the eyes.

I have lost 6 littles to it so far.

I ordered some vaccine, so after it runs its course, any new birds that will be hitting the ground this fall will be vaccinated, I feel so bad for the birds, and hope it doesn't last much longer. I will also be keeping vaccine on hand to do any other birds I keep from now on. Anyone else vaccinate? It says I can vaccinate day olds and up, but there isn't much wing web on the really young ones there to stick. Is there any other place to stick them?

Glad you found your bantams pysanki