I am busy today, watching a pair of Cayugas show their newly-hatched brood of five ducklings around the yard. I swear I am not getting ANYTHING else done ...
This is the first time I have seen a drake participate in family matters. Guess it helps they were a bonded pair before she went broody.
In chicken matters, I am simply amazed at Punkin's ability as a momma. For the short month she went outside daily as a pullet before she went broody in the dog bed, she must have studied or something. She's a hatchery bird, never had no momma of her own but me, and yet she takes her 3 chicks outside every day to forage, and not just in the fenced garden. She gets all 3 of them back into the house and the dog bed every evening.
Sparkle's four Hooligans, on the other hand, like dust bathing in the garden, but they prefer to hang out in the house. I am constantly shooing them outside. There are two cockerels and two pullets. The cockerels are mommas' boys.
Sparkle is laying again, not all that interested in raising them any more. The biggest clue is she eats treats now, instead of dropping them for the Hooligans. She even snatches treats from them, if she can.
I found one of the cockerels on my vanity, frozen in a stare-down with its mirror image. (Photo proof to be uploaded later.)
This is the first time I have seen a drake participate in family matters. Guess it helps they were a bonded pair before she went broody.
In chicken matters, I am simply amazed at Punkin's ability as a momma. For the short month she went outside daily as a pullet before she went broody in the dog bed, she must have studied or something. She's a hatchery bird, never had no momma of her own but me, and yet she takes her 3 chicks outside every day to forage, and not just in the fenced garden. She gets all 3 of them back into the house and the dog bed every evening.
Sparkle's four Hooligans, on the other hand, like dust bathing in the garden, but they prefer to hang out in the house. I am constantly shooing them outside. There are two cockerels and two pullets. The cockerels are mommas' boys.
Sparkle is laying again, not all that interested in raising them any more. The biggest clue is she eats treats now, instead of dropping them for the Hooligans. She even snatches treats from them, if she can.I found one of the cockerels on my vanity, frozen in a stare-down with its mirror image. (Photo proof to be uploaded later.)
I remember telling my mother that I had met the nicest man. But..he had 7 kids, and there was no way I was going out with him again, we had already had one date when I told her this, and that's when the news came out that the had the kids. I told her, nice, but can't get serious with him because I couldn't imagine 11 kids together. Well, long story short of course...he really Was a good guy! No dating silly games at all. Sincere. Very kind. Well, that's all she wrote. Then we had one little guy together..so...12 kids. His, mine, and ours. Was it tough? Oh yeah! But today, those kids of his are so loving to me. They tell me that they are so thankful that I came along when I did. There were a lot of teens in that house at one time..whew! They are mine..that's all there is to it. What a blessing they are to me. When I married him, I got double the love ~ in the long run. They didn't know what to think of me at first, but they all tell me that they love me today..grown up and with children of their own. We now have 31 grandchildren, and one on the way. Lots of love!
