Incubating time!

EGGS!

Temperature is adjusting...

Full 'bator!

I am all set and ready to go!

My Chickens-and Cat: Woah!! Sorry guys!!!

Well here I am!!   

My goodness!! I am behind!!    So anyway  Total updates........

I moved, Bluey got prolapse and died, someone dumped a cat-(who stayed), Cranky looks like a turkey with a bad hair-cut, Half'N'half nearly got lost in the neighbors cornfield, and I AM SO CHICK CRAZY!!!!

I really want to hatch chicks again!! Like, really badly!! I dream about them, I imagine them running around the yard, and i don't know who sells fertilized eggs around here!!

ARRRGG!  CHICKIES OUT OF REACH!!!!!

My Chickens: Jeannie and Speetiepie's leason.

Trick to teaching chicks to try new food:
Leave them alone and let them find out for themselves.

At first, the two chicks would run away from grapes,
thinking they were some thing bad, maybe.

Then, Jeannie decided to check them out.

 Sweetiepie followed and tried the treat.

Now they grab the grapes and take them into the shade to eat.

My Chickens:Funny Sweetiepie walk-around.

I put a necklace of Sweetiepie and stuck him in a tree to take this video.  Enjoy!

My Chickens: Never mind, I'll post it now.

Okay.
Sorry I haven't told you guys about my moving.
It will explain why I haven't been so up-to-date on your posts.

Moving...Is...Stressful.
For your pet and yourself.  The chickens don't understand that they'll be suddenly whooshed across the globe to a strange new place they'll have to call home.

So I have to help them adjust.

As my followers know, my chickens grew up here and, in the chicks' case, hatched here.
I hate the idea of them being confused and/or sad.  "They're birds, for crying out loud."
But they have feelings!

If you guys, and girls, have any ideas of how to help my hens and chicks with the moving stress, Please Tell Me!!!!

My Chickens: Jeannie's foot?/New Eggs!

Jeannie has recently started limping, badly.  She hops on one foot all the time.
I don't know how that happened, but Sweetie Pie is taking good care of her. He won't let her out of his sight!

Jackie. Don't you want to hug her!!!!

And a new bird is nesting in Cap's nest!  It's another Phoebe, but bigger than Cap.  It's eggs are huge, and there's only four.
I cant wait to have more chicks in there!

My Chickens: Jeannie, Zesty, Half'n'half, and a Whole Lot of Toothpaste!

First of all, Jeannie is so much better and becoming a doll! She loves me and it is very difficult to keep her from jumping out of the hutch to get to me!  I'm trying to keep her calm so her head will have a chance to heal, but what can you do to stop an affectionate chick!?

Second, Half'n'half(see below) is really getting rough with Zesty!

She has pecked her way to the top of the pecking order and sees to it that Zesty(or anybody else)does not have the chance to challenge her position!  She is pecking every one, but the two Ameraucanas are getting the brunt of her attack.  The only hen she doesn't bother is Little Lady, her constant companion.
Both Zesty and Cranky have bald spots on their backs, but Zesty's is worse, extending from nearly her neck to her stump of a tail.   Cranky has a huge, beautiful tail still and I hope she keeps it!

To save Zesty from being reduced to bones, I took a tube of minty toothpaste and lathered it across her back and Cranky's.   Surprisingly, it works!   Chickens DO NOT LIKE TOOTHPASTE!!!
When Half'n'half, or Little Lady reach over for a good peck, they get a beak full of sticky, nasty, minty goo!

My Chickens: Jeannie's Head, Continued.

Jeannie is alright.
She is still separated from the others, though, as her head hasn't healed yet.
She is peeping again, and even jumped when I tapped the wall and clapped.
I think she was only momentarily deaf.
Which I'm glad for.  
She gets so excited to see me in the morning, it's so sweet.
Her bald head reminds me of the guineas.

My Chickens: Jeannie's Head!!!

The chickens tore Jeannie's head open!  She isn't bleeding a lot and she's eating.  I separated her so they won't kill her.   She is sleeping now.  I'm not sure if she'll live; with that hole in her head, but I hope so.
I tried to sew it up, but she moved too much and I didn't want to hurt her any more.
I'm not sure if she's in pain(but I would think so!)because she won't say anything.
I found out that she is deaf, and maybe half blind, when I called her and she didn't even turn.
I hope her wound will heal and she'll be okay, even if she's deaf.

"Sorry, I did that."

My Chickens: Sorry My blog is So Gloomy, But....

Sal-er, Sammy Sussex passed away.   Morality was at work, I hope.
It could be the END coming back to haunt me.
That illness.  

Poor Sammy just vanished in my hands.  Even as he was dying, he was still peeping that whoo doo doo hoo sound of pleasure....just enjoying being in my lap.   I stroked his head until he was gone.
At least he died peacefully, and my friend.


So sorry I had to write this! So many sad things are happening around here!

My Chickens: Life or Death.

Sorry chicken pals, this is about Cap.

Today paid a toll on Caps three remaining chicks.  One, who fell from the nest but didn't die(I call him Buffy), had an obviously broken leg.  The one I called Flip is the only known survivor, but let me start from the beginning.
 When I climbed the ladder and looked in the nest, I frightened the chicks and the flew.  Buffy hit the side of the shed and slid to the floor. Flip was luckier, and flew out the door, landing in the yard.
The third chick also made it outside, only to disappear into the thick bushes, never to be seen again.
I rushed down and scooped up Buffy, who settled down and sat in my hand without a struggle.
Then I caught Flip and stroked him until he perched on my finger quietly.
I could not find the last chick.
I did look hard.
Really hard.
Cap was screeching and screeching in a tree. Flip flew to her, or tried to.  Falling short, he sat in the grass, peeping.
"Calm down, chickie," I picked him up and boosted him into the sky.  He turned in mid-air and landed on my shoulder.
"No! Go to Cap!"  This time, he zoomed across the yard and perched in the brush.  Cap and her husband swooped over Flip, encouraging him to follow them to safety.  He did.               I never saw him again.
And Buffy, poor Buffy, with a broken leg and no sense of balance,  could not fly and flopped helplessly around.  
He died a little while ago.  

Well that's the story of Cap's family.  I still do not know where that third chick is, or if he survived, but I hope he did.
Flip is most likely going to grow up.                                




In the words of the author of  Wild Animals I Have Known:
'The reason this story is tragic is because it is true. The life of a wild animal always has a tragic end.'

My Chickens: The Chicks Survived the night!

First of all, I've decided to call Sally, Sammy, just to clear things up. And Deanie is now Jeannie, Jackdaw is Jackie.  The chicks are big and covered in glossy, black(Sammy is white and brown, and Jeannie is red)feathers.
Last night I put them in with the big hens and they were bullied, as usual, although Sweetiepie tried to fight back to defend "his" girlies.  Sammy made no such effort and only tried to saved his own skin. Later in the day, when the hens started going to roost, the chicks were utterly confused and began to run around, searching for a way out of this strange, huge prison.  When I came in to check if they were sleeping, they ran to me and tried to cuddle in my lap. I sat with them for a while, then placed them up on the roost next to Zesty, who did not peck them.  Jeannie was content to sleep on my shoulder, but i managed to get her on the      roost. When they had settled down, I left.
At around 8:39pm, I ran out in the dusk to check one more time.
I saw THE sweetest thing in the world!  Gracie was perched on Zesty's back, sleeping!
Zesty gave me a look that said:
*groan* "The things I put up with!"
I love that hen!

Cute O!!!

My Chickens: Raced today/ Poor chick!

IT. WAS. SO. HOT. TODAY!  I had to get up eeeaarly to go run the Freihofer's Run.  It was ssoo deathly hot!! I finished in 29minutes38seconds, despite an embarrassing trip to the medical tent with the help of two race officials. :)

Ah.......the chickens only laid three eggs today. Wonder why.

Something really sad happened when I went to check on Cap's chicks.  One of the chicks had fallen from the nest and was on the floor!  It was hurt badly not to mention the fact that Zesty had stepped on it while she was pestering me. 

Its neck wasn't broken, so I returned it to the nest, hoping it would be okay.  But when I came back and looked in the nest, the chick was dead.   Poor Cap now has three chicks.  Hopefully the others will be okay.  Oh, and another bird(a house wren) is nesting in my bird house in the woods! I hope she hatches her chicks soon!

Well, bye! Here's some pictures of birds and chickens.

I just love this picture!

Nice.

Some chubby chicks!

Not my chickens

Half'n'half

                               

My Chickens: Rollin' Hens and Desperate Phoebes.

It was extraordinarily hot today and the hens were happy to lay in the shade or roll in the cool dust.  Zesty was, sadly, not very welcomed to roll with the others, as they pecked her continuously on her sore spot(the bare, picked area on her back).     She did get to roll for a while though. All the pullets, but Chestnut, rolled for a long, long time!! I had an enjoyable time watching them fight over the deepest dusting spots and lay with their legs stretched out. 

"Stay away from my dirt or else!"

That's what Half'n'half says to the others! 

Oh, and about Cap.   She was busy searching for food.  It is so hot, no worms were out and her chicks were hungry. When Cap left the nest to find food, I climbed up and fed the chicks some worms and bread. Okay, okay, I know I shouldn't of interfered, but Cap was having trouble and the smallest chick was starving to death.  I wouldn't want any of her chicks to die.   Anyway, in worked out and they're all fed now.  My chicks are huge and I'm working on introducing them to the hens!

My Chickens: I Need Your Help!!

Well, first of all, I had a great memorial day. I even held a flag in a parade!
But here's my issue.........Sally is a rooster!!!!  Sally Sussex is A ROOSTER!!!!
(So is Sweetie Pie, but I don't need to rename him.)
I need your help to think of an alternative name for "Sally"!

Well, now that that's taken care of, here's some pictures for you to enjoy. :)

Here's a good picture of Caps chicks!

Cranky....

And this pretty girl....

Um...wipe your beak, please.

And just a little something........

Gotta laugh!!

Bye!  "Sally" is waiting!!

My Chickens:Are CRAZY!!

One of my hens is scared of eggs! I always can tell when there's an egg, because I can hear her screaming as though there's a fox out there!! HA! She is CRAZY!!
And I checked on Cap. There are three chicks now!! One egg that didn't hatch. I told her congratulations!!  I couldn't get a decent picture of them, though. Sorry!! That nest is high!!

My Chickens:Cap's Chicks Have Hatched!!!!

Hi everyone!! I'm back!! And guess what!!!! Cap, the Phoebe, has hatched her chicks!!! Or chick.
I heard peeping that was NOT my chicks and went to investigate.  Then I realized the noise was coming from the shed! 
I climbed the terrifyingly tall ladder and ducked as Cap whirred out of there. She landed a short distance away and watched my warily, but I've done this every year for awhile so she wasn't too frightened. I had to use a mirror, but finally I saw what I'd been waiting for: A tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny chick!!! It must of hatched this morning, for the other chicks still weren't out of their eggs.  It was so cute-quta even!!! Regardless of the fact that it had no feathers or down, it was still adorable!!
Oh! And the chickens now lay seven eggs a day!! WOW!!

My Chickens: On Guard!

Those dogs are ruining my blog!  A friend of mine spotted the dogs passing my house this morning so it's....On Guard! 
I'm going to let the hens out though and those beasts won't stop me!  I wish I knew who owned them!!
Then I could call them!    
I will be going on a little trip in a couple days and those dogs better not bother my chicken sitter!! 
I will tell her about them so she will be ready to get the chickens in safely.  
The chicks probably won't need the heat lamp, but I may leave it on, just in case. 
I'll sure miss them all! I'll be gone four days, but I'll read all your posts when I return!!

My Chickens: Dogs and Brave Chicks .

I'm glad to have my computer back, even though it doesn't work that well.   Anyhow, THOSE DOGS!!!!  RRRRR! They have RETURNED!!!!!  And I thought my troubles were over. Ha!   Well, I had just let my sweet little girls out(I let them out really early because they are so good about laying enough eggs)when I saw a big, ugly, black, dog galloping like a hooligan toward my hens!!  Half the hens were over near the chicks and the rest were with me. I grabbed the nearest object(a shovel)and yelled at the dog. It stopped, thinking over the situation, then it ran back up the road.  I got all the chickens in the coop, just before the second dog arrived. I jumped into the hen house with my girls until it left.  What a morning!! But, I still got a ton of eggs, ever with the dogs frightening the hens, who are still not broody.  The chicks weren't scared a bit. They just watched disdainfully as the dogs wandered past their hutch.  Brave little sillies!! I bet they were braver then I was!

My Chickens: Some sweet chickens of mine.

Deanie is showing signs of being tamer than the other chicks. He lets me pick him up and doesn't run and hide like the rest. They are still in the hutch, but they're getting bigger and bigger!   Soon they will be with the big girls!  Puffylady is like a little dog! Following right by my side when I walk!  She is tamer than even Zesty!  I let her sit on Deanie, but watched her closely because she has pecked him before. Deanie loved it! So did Lady.  I haven't seen those horrid dogs for weeks!!!