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: 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: Oh, Deadbirdie!

I miss that angel!

Deadbirdie the chick has....died. Oh, I can hardly keep from crying when I think about how she peeped at night because she wanted to sleep with me!   She passed away this morning.   I thought she might not make it. Yesterday, she was being really droopy. I miss her already! You will find a poem about her here.  I just hope the END has not come back!   Why do all my chickens die?  I'm not that bad, right?  I love them and [try to] tame them and feed them and do everything for their good.  Why do my chickens die?   I miss, miss, miss my little Deadbirdie number two!  She was [and now is] an angel! 

She probably would of been a lovely layer!  Why Deadbirdie?    It's like the name 'Deadbirdie' has a curse, or something, and when you name your chicken that they become dead birdies.  Suggestion: DO NOT USE THAT NAME EVER AGAIN!!!  Oh, Deadbirdie. How I miss that doll. That angel. That puff ball. That little thing...... That chick.