The Old Folks Home

[pennyJo1960]

We are really set for halloween James the son has been collecting for ever

 

[Wickedchicken6]

I hope I have more time this year to do the same thing. I getting a decent collection as well...lol. I haven't even put some of it away...yet.
The spiders and skulls are still out... I'm ahead this way!

 

[microchick]

I'm having a crazy day, My OEGB hen hatched out her first chick last night. I checked on things this morning and another had hatched. Last night I had blocked off her nesting box so she wouldn't be disturbed and thought she was safe.I went back at noon to check on things and found one chick dead, another wounded and the hardware cloth barricade folded over. Momma had an extra egg so I figured out what had happened. Another hen forced her way in to donate an egg to her cause and attacked the new babies.I can't figure out how she got to them though given they were under mom so I gathered up babies and egg and rushed them inside to check them over. I will be very surprised if the injured chick lives. It has a large nickel sized wound and the skin at the top of it's beak is torn off. Luckily it is alert and the last egg is candling as still healthy, So I gave them both back to her.

Mom was a little unnerved, with good reason probably, but when I pushed her towards her new nest and gave her the remaining egg back along with her chick she settled right down.

My only other mature hen really blind sided me. She has been co brooding these eggs with 'Sparkle' since day one and never a cross word between the two of them. I never expected this from her.

I told my husband that the only way to look at this was as a learning experience. What I've learned is that Little Dove the attacking hen, isn't mommy material and therefore will never be allowed to set eggs.

What a tough life chickens have, tho.

I hope the rest of the weekend goes better. It's been pretty down hill so far.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

I'm having a crazy day, My OEGB hen hatched out her first chick last night. I checked on things this morning and another had hatched. Last night I had blocked off her nesting box so she wouldn't be disturbed and thought she was safe.I went back at noon to check on things and found one chick dead, another wounded and the hardware cloth barricade folded over. Momma had an extra egg so I figured out what had happened. Another hen forced her way in to donate an egg to her cause and attacked the new babies.I can't figure out how she got to them though given they were under mom so I gathered up babies and egg and rushed them inside to check them over. I will be very surprised if the injured chick lives. It has a large nickel sized wound and the skin at the top of it's beak is torn off. Luckily it is alert and the last egg is candling as still healthy, So I gave them both back to her.

Mom was a little unnerved, with good reason probably, but when I pushed her towards her new nest and gave her the remaining egg back along with her chick she settled right down.

My only other mature hen really blind sided me. She has been co brooding these eggs with 'Sparkle' since day one and never a cross word between the two of them. I never expected this from her.

I told my husband that the only way to look at this was as a learning experience. What I've learned is that Little Dove the attacking hen, isn't mommy material and therefore will never be allowed to set eggs.

What a tough life chickens have, tho.

I hope the rest of the weekend goes better. It's been pretty down hill so far.

They do keep us guessing. So sorry to hear things are not going as planned.
I got behind...but noticed you hadn't been on.

 

[chickisoup]

If I had a large rooster...I'd dress him up for Halloween!
Maybe for every holiday.

Hadn't thought of that!!! That sounds MUCH cooler than all those concrete geese those suburban folk have on their porches usually in their little rain coats except on holidays and special occasions. Hmmm? That would push my DH from "thinking" I was a crazy chicken lady to "knowing"!!!

 

[chickadoodles]

Scg your cat looks so sad. Poor baby.
I hope you and dsqard have a great time.

 

[chickisoup]

I'm having a crazy day, My OEGB hen hatched out her first chick last night. I checked on things this morning and another had hatched. Last night I had blocked off her nesting box so she wouldn't be disturbed and thought she was safe.I went back at noon to check on things and found one chick dead, another wounded and the hardware cloth barricade folded over. Momma had an extra egg so I figured out what had happened. Another hen forced her way in to donate an egg to her cause and attacked the new babies.I can't figure out how she got to them though given they were under mom so I gathered up babies and egg and rushed them inside to check them over. I will be very surprised if the injured chick lives. It has a large nickel sized wound and the skin at the top of it's beak is torn off. Luckily it is alert and the last egg is candling as still healthy, So I gave them both back to her.

Mom was a little unnerved, with good reason probably, but when I pushed her towards her new nest and gave her the remaining egg back along with her chick she settled right down.

My only other mature hen really blind sided me. She has been co brooding these eggs with 'Sparkle' since day one and never a cross word between the two of them. I never expected this from her.

I told my husband that the only way to look at this was as a learning experience. What I've learned is that Little Dove the attacking hen, isn't mommy material and therefore will never be allowed to set eggs.

What a tough life chickens have, tho.

I hope the rest of the weekend goes better. It's been pretty down hill so far.

I REALLY hate those kind of lessons.

 

[drumstick diva]

Some say "Crazy," like it's a bad thing. I revel in it. I always thought , "do what you do well," and I surely do.

 

[chickisoup]

Well, at least for most of today hopefully. Already got an early morning trip to town in to pick up some more 2x6's and a couple sheets of roofing steel plus a few more supplies for the coop addition, DH has the steel cut and one of the walls framed while I got the tomatoes, cukes and some more herbs planted. Now we both just slapped a coat of paint on the finished floor platform (it's going to be covered in vinyl but a little extra protection never hurt). It's nice to finally get at least a bit more work done on the coop. It's starting to cloud up but I'm thinking I should still have time to get the paste tomatoes planted next to the greenhouse before dark.

 

[microchick]

Thanks Wicked C. Between chickens, garden and home I have been meeting myself coming and going.

We just ran down to the neighbor's daughter's graduation party and discovered that a fox wiped out their entire flock of chickens with the exception of one hen. Everyone has seen the little fiend running around but nobody has gotten a shot off at it.

This makes me glad that I don't free range my birds and it makes me sad because two of the birds that were murdered were roosters I had given to them earlier in the year.