Apr 30, 2013

My Chickens: Chicks Out!


Zesty and Cranky's eggs!

So sorry if I missed anything my dear blogger friend have posted!!
First of all, I have not seen those dogs for three whole days!!
Second, Bluey, Zesty, Cranky, Chestnut, and some one else, are all laying!!!! I now get at least an egg an day. I have a have a half a dozen now! ( Not counting the ones I used already.) Zesty and Cranky's eggs look like torpedoes!!
Bluey's look like boulders; they're so huge!!!
I'm glad they're laying, but I wouldn't really care if they didn't because I only care that they're happy and healthy.
Well, that's all the news about the older hens! So let's get to the chicks, shall we? Today I put the chicks out side in an insulated rabbit hutch because they are just too naughty!!! I also put the heat lamp in the hutch to keep them warm because they're only four weeks old. Deadbirdie just stands under the lamp all the time. I feel bad for her; she really liked to cuddle with me at night. Poor chick. --- The chicks are so smart and know how to drink from the rabbit water things!! Oh well, so long for now. By!!!

 
Bluey's massive eggs look like this!






Apr 26, 2013

My Chickens: Bluey Is A Layer!

Bluey's eggs are SSSOOO ENORMOUS!!  She just keeps popin' them out!  And, Oh, those chicks...I can't get a nights sleep without Deadbirdie screaming! I'm starting to bring her into my bed and sleeping with her because in silences her! Oh! Gotta go!

Apr 24, 2013

My Chickens: Sorry Folks! The Virus Ate My Computer! / Dogs Again!


Save and sound.

To all my loyal readers,

I am sorry to report that my computer now has nine viruses. I will not be able to blog as much as I have been because I will have to use my local library's computer. At most I will blog once a week.
thank you for your understanding.

Your blogger, MADZ

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Here's the post :)

The dogs came back. They did not chase the chickens, however, because they were in the coop at the time.  BUT they certainly terrified me!!  I, once again, scared them off, but I am calling their owner!!

Then today, Bluey layed another egg! Quite a beauty! This time I left it in the nest; I want to see if she will be broody and sit on it after she has collected a clutch. Maybe she can be my incubator! Gotta love that! The chicks are escape artists. they can get out no matter what! The box they're in is taped, covered, and reinforced, but STILL they escape!!  *Groan* Crazy chicks! I brought them out side for a while. They loved it and had a lot of fun! The other chickens pretended to ignore them, but they were very curious about them and hung around trying to get a good look at them without seeming to be interested. SO funny! Well, my computer time is up, gotta go!

Apr 23, 2013

My Chickens: Isn't There a LEASH LAW?!

Well, first of all, my girls have been laying these HUGE eggs for me! So sweet of them!
Second of all, yesterday these two dogs, who always come around here, chased my sweet girlies!! One of the horrid animals was acting really weird and drooling strangely. Possibly rabid.  I chased them off with my trusty javelin* and kept an eye out for them the rest of the day.
*If you have seen my profile, you should know I have a javelin, which is like a spear.
If I see those dogs again, I'm calling their owner!
Anyhow, I should get another egg today. I'll go check, by!

Apr 21, 2013

My Chickens:People who like my blog.


Graph of most popular countries among blog viewers
My audience.

I guess lots of people like chickens!

Apr 20, 2013

My Chickens: Sorry to post again so soon, but...

I just needed to tell this to the world: My hens are laying again!!!!
I got one beautiful egg from Bluey!
It was huge!
Even bigger than the store bought kind!
(I held it next to a store bought egg and it's way bigger!!!) 
Hip-Hip-Hurray for Bluey!

Apr 19, 2013

My Chickens: A Good Morning.

I finally got to sleep[almost]the whole night. Deadbirdie didn't screech as loudly, so I could ignore her this time.  I do love those chicks. I love it when you rub their heads so much it leaves them looking like George Washington! So adorable!
I'm telling you, those chicks are going to be pretty tame for all the time I spend petting them.
I love this blog and read it this morning. It always make me laugh.
Isn't it great when people post things after you've been waiting for them to for so long[a couple of days]? 
Ah, it was a good morning.

Apr 17, 2013

My Chickens: I Loose a Hen/Bad Sweetiepie!

Today was hard for me. I went out to the hen house, only to discover my friend Spider is no longer with us. She had just died in the fenced-in chicken area when I came out.  I knew she probably wouldn't live much longer because she wasn't gaining any weight and she was acting strange lately. And to make matters worse, Sweetiepie discovered how to escape the box even with the cover on. I was kept up all night with Deadbirdie's screaming. Then when Sweetiepie got out, she was running around the room screeching at the top of her lungs!   Man, she can get loud.  
When I found Spider, I was so stunned, I just picked her up, all zombie-like, and buried her in the woods. I didn't even realize I had lost my friend until I got back inside and thought about it more. Spider was such a good, somewhat wild, hen. She just turned a year old last month. Such a bad morning for me. Big sad *sigh*. 



Apr 14, 2013

My Chickens: How Many Quail Hatched?

Zero.  What!?  You may be thinking, why none?   Well, it turns out the eggs were not fertilized after all. 
WHAT?!?!  Oh, shall I repeat that?  WERE NOT FERTILIZE AFTER ALL!!! 
I just found out today, when I candled them.
By now I should of seen a dark blob or something, but when I candled them eggs, every one of them, they were clear. Clearly empty.  Not even a dot.  Nothing. Zilch.  I'm a little more than a little disappointed.  NOTHING! NOTHING! NOTHING!    What a way to ruin someone's day.  That someone being me.  Also, the person who gave me the eggs was taking a wild guess that they were fertile.  They're no professional. Oh well. I never really wanted those quail anyway.
The chickens would of picked on them to death.  This is better for everyone. 
Better for everyone.

Apr 13, 2013

My Chickens: Big Big Chicks!

The chick are a week and four days old now.
They are so huge!
Deadbirdie jumped out of the brooder when I opened the covering on top. 
And already it's a couple days until the quail egg LOCKDOWN!
I'll have to write about when they hatch. 
I mean, if they hatch.
Gotta love the excitement!

I do hope some hatch, because they're so cute and little.
Quail never get big.




Soon I will write about How Many Quail Hatched.

Apr 9, 2013

My Chickens: The Chicks are getting Naughty!

Oh, boy. Today Sweetiepie nearly jumped out of the box! I put some fence-ish stuff around the rim of the box so she can't get out. (Also, I did a quick vent test, and most of the chicks are girls, except maybe Gracie-er, Grayson?)
Jackdaw is so lovable! Those big beautiful eyes! (I guess it's a she-Jack:)  I had to add more fencing, as Sweetiepie kept trying! I let them run around the room, and I made sure they didn't have any 'accidents'.  They're pretty good at going in their box, which I just cleaned out and is already messy again! Ah, such dolls.
 
I made up a funny poem for Deadbirdie, but it's pretty long. I'll just put in the first part. It's called 'Quta*'( cute-ah ).
 
Deadbirdie is quta, he's quta to me.
Deadbirdie is quta, it's easy to see.
Deadbirdie is perfect, in every way.
Deadbirdie is perfect, it's easy to say.
Deadbirdie is friendly, he says hi with a peep.
Deadbirdie is friendly, blah blah blah.....
 
And so on. There is so much more, but who wants to hear my stupid poem any how?
 
*quta: a made-up word that means 'cuter than cute'.
 
Soon I will write about Big Big Chicks.

Apr 8, 2013

My Chickens: The Chick Dress-up Show.

 From the beginning of incubation I had wanted to dress up the chicks.  And now that they're out, I did just that. I cut out some soft felt into the shape of angel wings and a halo, then got Sally. Sally is the most tolerant chick and doesn't struggle. I slipped the stuff on her and took lots of pictures. She did look like an angel! Hee hee! The poor little chick doesn't even know what I put on her!---Ah, well. I'll show her the pictures some time.

Deadbirdie the angel. Isn't he quta?!

Next I made a bride outfit. I put that on Gracie, and then Sally.  They looked sooo pretty! 
I even tried the costums on the boys[?]!!  Ha!   Oh, well.  I've gotta go!





Soon I will write about The Chicks are getting Naughty!!









Apr 7, 2013

My Chickens: Crazy Chick Personalities!

Ah, I love those chicks! They are five days old today(all but Sally, she's four)and can eat and drink all by themselves! 
Sweetiepie is starting to take interest in the perches I put in their brooder. She leaps up and over the perch, but can't quite get her little feet to grasp it. Sally likes to pick on Gracie; she pecks her feet when she gets up and walks to the feeder. Gracie is quite tolerable and doesn't peck her back.  Deadbirdie II is as loafy and funny as the deceased Deadbirdie.
And Jackdaw......he is the cutest, funniest, sweetest, chick in the world!!! He runs after the feather I pull on a string, and stares at me when I fill the waterer.  He has dark shiny eyes like Sally, and black feathers like D.B.  He is my favorite!
Well, I love them all the same. They are so clever, and learning fast. 


The whole hatch!

Soon I will write about The Chick Dress-up Show.  Read this blog too!

Apr 5, 2013

My Chickens: Just a thought.

I couldn't resist posting this thing a friend said to me in an e-mail:
A hen is an egg's way......of making more eggs.

Although, I have to disagree with a part of it---A hen is God's way of making more eggs.

Chicks can't shoot!
Were'd this pic come from?

Apr 4, 2013

My Chickens: LOCKDOWN Peeps.

Sweetiepie, the first hatched.
I candled the eggs for the last time before closing Mr.Untrustfull for good. (Well, maybe not really for good, but you know what I mean.)  Day 21 came.....and went. No pips*. I was sure I had done something seriously wrong to make them not hatch. Day 22, I was siting at my desk beside the incubator thinking about the book I was reading, when PEEP!PEEP!    I nearly jumped out of my skin! It was the chicks! I dashed over and looked inside. Nothing? PEEP! They were peeping inside the eggs!  They were going to hatch!! I was so excited!
Later, there was a pip. Even later, another! I could hardly sleep with all that going on in there. 
Then, at 4:23am, I woke to the loudest peeping I'd ever heard. A chick had hatched! By 8:00am, day 23, another emerged.
By night fall, I had 5 chicks. I called them Deadbirdie, Deanie, Jackdaw, Gracie, and Sweetiepie. They were the most beautiful chicks I had ever seen.
Day 24, two more hatched. They were Sally Sussex and Clicket. Sally was a speckled Sussex.  Clicket had trouble breathing and died in the night. *moment of silence*  The rest were okay as far as I could tell. I love them all. I held them on my lap today while reading a blog about chicks. Well, I'd better go play with them. By!

*the chick's beak sticking out of the egg.

Soon I will write about....I don't know yet, but I'll think of something. :)   
I think I may start another blog, which doesn't mean I'm abondoning this one.


Apr 1, 2013

My Chickens: The Eggs(Fertile[?]).

It was an early spring day when the eggs arrived. A friend had offered some fertile eggs, and I didn't refuse them.
I went out, got a incubator(the foam kind),and accepted the eggs.Two were blue Ameraucanas, one was a speckle Sussex, and the rest were Rhode Island reds. After fighting with the temperature(too hot, then too cold), I filled the water troughs in the bottom and set the eggs inside. They warmed up quickly and I watched to be sure the temperature didn't change on me. It went up and down and I kept adjusting it(which is something you should NEVER do). I was getting frustrated. 
I should of left it alone and done something else, but I was worried it would get too cold or hot. You can't blame me; I didn't know much about incubating.  Anyway, the chicks seemed to be growing and moving on day thirteen when I candled them. I didn't really expect any to hatch(but that's a different story).
I kept turning and adjusting and watching my chicks.
Praying for a good hatch.
The stinking incubator kept going up and down like a temperature roller coaster. I was a nervous wreak, constantly running in to check on it. I really should of left it alone. The dummy. I am embarrassed to admit that I even named the incubator   Mr. Untrustfull. Heh heh. I'm going crazy! Oh well, untrust worthy, or not, the eggs were fine.
They grew, and soon it was........LOCKDOWN!


Soon I will write about LOCKDOWN Peeps.  
To win a great candler, click right here and comment on Lisa's post about candling.