Pipd's Peeps!

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Those eggs are adorable! I do wonder if you could hatch a tiny chick from them. Maybe it's something for you to try in the future   Also the new locket looks lovely. Looks like it could be a chicken's wings.

It's actually really tempting, because they would be the tiniest, cutest little Cochin fuzzies ever!! But I'd be concerned that problems would arise just from how small they are. Also, the only roosters I have are either a LOT larger than them, or their brothers and dad, so I'm hesitant to have them with any of the boys. And I don't want to traumatize my sweet feather duster girls.

I liked that about the locket, too, the wings. It's just perfect. I really like it.

Also, sorry to hear it's still raining there! :/ We had a TON of rain last week, so I was beginning to think I was going to have to start asking for boats to be sent again. It finally stopped for us this weekend. Here's hoping you get some drier weather, too!

shadow rabbit don't ever get a golden sebright if you can't have hens that crow.  I too had 2 golden sebrights and they both crowed.  They didn't do it until they got older but they defiantly crowed.  

Pip those eggs are tiny.  I just wonder if that is the size they are going to lay.  I hope you did well in your finals.

The locket is gorgeous.  The wings on the front are so pretty.  

Have a great day everyone we finally have a day without rain.  

I almost forgot to tell you Mary Jane the guinea hen has now went broody full time.  I have her due date as May 20th so wish me luck that I only get  2 babies.  She is setting on 25 eggs.

Yes, I think all 6 of the Sebright hens I've owned have crowed at least once in their lifetimes. Not totally sure if Frannie ever did, but the rest of them did for sure. It must be a Sebright thing! I also have an Ancona who crows somewhat regularly, and another hen (supposed to be Speckled Sussex, but she's not quite right for the breed) who just sporadically makes these half-crow sounds when she's getting ready to lay her egg. Rowena joins a colorful crew, that's for sure.

Good luck with Mary Jane and your future grand-Guineas! Holy cow, that's a lot of eggs!!






As for my finals, I just checked this morning and couldn't believe my eyes on the organic chem final! I did well enough that not only did I pass the class, but it just bumped me up enough to give me a B in the class overall!! I'm stoked, because I went in there thinking I would get just enough to pass the class with the minimum score. I'm so relieved! My lab grade hasn't officially been entered yet, but my score is 89.98. If he doesn't round that up to give me an A, I might be a little miffed. No idea on the rest of it, but it has to be entered by tomorrow at noon, so I should know by then. O-chem was the only thing I was having any problems with, though, so I'm not worried in the least about the rest of it!





Edited for a spelling error...

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Okay, I finally took those pictures I've been promising! I figured I'd post them before the site update begins tomorrow so there's something to look at here, since apparently we'll be on read-only for a few days? (Those of you unaware of this update, check out this thread.)

For starters, the babies! They're about a month old now. Y'all ready for this? They're positively gargantuan compared to how they looked the last time I took pictures of them! Look at these gawky teenagers!!

At this point, it looks like 4 for sure girls, 8 for sure boys, and 2 that I'm leaning toward girls, but not 100% sure. The 4 for sure girls are officially named, so please let me introduce...

...Echo the Dark Dorking. Echo is everything I love about Dorkings. In spite of not having a lot of time to spend with these guys over their first month of life, Echo still couldn't wait to hop into my lap for cuddles when I sat with them today. She's a sweetie.

...Vida the Red Dorking. (Pronounced VY-dah; kind of like how most people pronounce the first part of 'vitamin', but with a d instead of a t.) Vida is a little more aloof than Echo, but she still comes over to check things out and has hopped into my lap a few times, too.

...Tessa the Dark Dorking. Tess is nearly identical in appearance to Echo in person, but unfortunately, Tessa is human shy from lack of contact with me over the past few weeks. :/ She's a gorgeous young lady so far, however, so if nothing else she'll be eye candy. (She was fluffing her feathers in this picture, so don't mind how ruffled she looks. )

...And finally, Perdita the Red Dorking! Guess who--that's right, this pretty little lady is the baby who's been having leg issues all this time! Perdi's leg sadly didn't heal right, so she still has a limp and a weird angle at her hock joint, but she's caught up in size with Vida and Echo (Tess is a little bigger than them) and isn't letting it slow her down!

The two that I'm leaning toward pullet on. One of the Black Copper Marans, the one I gave the purple spot to. As you can see, that's no longer there. But I can tell it's her. I'm only not sure on her being a pullet because other than the size of her comb, she's pretty much at even with the other two BCMs in size, especially the size of those FEET! I'm going to give it a couple more weeks before I decide for sure and pick out her name.

And the Wheaten Marans. A few weeks ago, I was sure by the color on those wings that this was a cockerel. Now, with all the brown rather than black as I expected... I'm just not sure. Again, I'm giving it a few more weeks before I decide. In the mean time, I'm digging the spots.

I didn't take pictures of all of the boys, but I did take a few more miscellaneous pictures of the group! Here's the little rose comb Dark Dorking boy, looking sassy.

Another Dark Dorking cockerel. This is the little fella that started crowing at 3 days old! He is SOOO handsome! This picture is actually pretty accurate to his color. His neck feathers are pure black, but the rest of his feathers are this really dark gray color. I'm really torn at this point because I wanted to keep one each of the Dark Dorking and Red Dorking cockerels, but I can't decide between this guy and the rose comb guy!

This is a terrible shot, but it's all I got for Echo cuddles. She's such a sweetie! She tucks herself into the crook of my arm and hides her face in my shirt sleeve.

Here's Tess giving me dirty looks for taking her picture while she was relaxing.

Vida on my lap.

She made herself right at home!

Here's the odd colored Red Dorking chick. I thought at first this was a pullet because of the feather coloration, but the huge comb and the brick red patches on the shoulders tell another story!

And lastly, this dinosaur was running loose in the brooder, too! Oops, that's one of the Black Copper Marans cockerels!

Next up, a few pictures of Abra and Rowena, my sweet li'l feather duster girls! They are the most uncooperative models for pictures!! All they wanted to do was either peck at rocks or weave around my feet and beg for attention! Anyway, here's what I got:

Abra, my sweetheart!

Look at this sassy girl!

And Miss Rowena, the princess of attitude (I'd say queen, but I think that goes to her mom, Donna )

This is how most of the pictures went. Ro running toward me, and Abra pecking at the ground in the background:

Y'all sick of pictures yet? I have more!! Here are a few of the big girls!

My Elly cuddles. I just adore my Dorkings!

Flury floofles trying not to be noticed. "Cochin? What Cochin? There are no Cochins here..."

Callette, being the absolutely gorgeous girl she is.

Flury again. She's awfully suspicious when I get near her. Look at all that fluff!

Here's Miss Kate the Barred Rock giving me an exasperated look for interrupting her foraging in the freshly mowed grass:

And last, but not least, Debra Jo, hardly bothering to look up for a picture.

I hope that makes up a little for the dry spell of pictures during these past few weeks! Not to worry, there will be plenty more over the summer!






Editing to add, if anyone needs me for any reason for the next few days, I'll be available over at the BYC sister site BackYardHerds.com during the conversion! My username there is just 'Pipd'. See y'all on the other side!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Hi, everyone! Here's a great big WELCOME HOME!! I hope everyone made the transition okay, and I can't wait to get back to posting again. That was a LONG week!

Things have been pretty normal over the past week during the conversion. I spent a lot more time with the girls since there wasn't anything new to read here. The girls were practically rolling their eyes to see me coming out to them by the end of it! I'd like to say I spent some time taking pictures, but to be honest, when I wasn't holding (read: harassing ) the girls, I was checking the site repeatedly for any updates! It was a looong week... I think the girls were glad to see me occupied here again today--I got nearly twice as many eggs today as I've been getting!!

Anyway, a few updates. I'm pleased to say that Abra and Rowena have made the move to the 'big girl coop' during this week! I moved them in with their mama, Donna, who is ruling over them with an iron wing! But Abie and Ro seem to have adjusted well and seem happier to be outside!

Their brothers, unfortunately, have turned into the biggest little buttheads I've dealt with in a long time. The least offender, Rigby, has begun grabbing the more docile girls and won't let go, so he had to be separated from the flock. Then Lucky (who is in the middle) and Ramsay (the worst offender) got separated after they'd been stalking me everywhere I went while outside. It finally ended in Ramsay attempting to flog me twice, once while I was walking through some deep grass and the second time when I went into the coop to get things around for the night. Both times, I've punished him for stepping out of line, but nothing I do seems to be deterring him. Unfortunately, I don't think I will ever be able to trust Ramsay in the flock. :/ Lucky will get a few more chances, but he's walking on thin ice. Rigby may end up the only one of the three whose temperament is suitable for flock life, once his hormones settle and he starts wooing the girls rather than grabbing and hanging on! It's disappointing, but I suppose I shouldn't have expected all three to be able to stay in the flock.

Meanwhile, the babies keep growing and growing! A few days ago, however, I noticed that little Vida was not herself, and that led me to discovering some kind of growth in her throat that has been preventing her from eating. I went on my best guess from her symptoms and began treating her with Metronidazole for canker, which actually seems to be doing the trick. In the mean time, since she hasn't had much luck getting food past that lump, I've been feeding her Pediasure twice a day after her Metronidazole treatments. She's perked up nicely as a result, and even seems to be regaining some weight. Keep your fingers crossed for the little lady--I'd be so upset to lose her, considering there are so many boys in this group and so few girls!

In other news, today was Callette, Lydda, Rooska, Izzy, Cazzie, Flury, and Umru's first hatchday! I haven't been able to get the supplies for their 'cake', however, so their party will come later this week.

And finally, during the conversion, I did take a few pictures of the Guinea fowl! This was their first time free-ranging for the year. Ranging the Guineas is hard because if I let them all out, they disappear into the woods. I learned a couple years ago that this is because the males will blindly follow the females ANYWHERE, and having a mostly blind Guinea hen leading the males off, well, doesn't end so well. So the boys all get kicked out, and the girls get to relax at home with freshly cut grass and other greens to peck at since they aren't able to go out to forage.

Here's how the boys reacted to free-range. Yep, that's the door to their pen that they're desperately trying to enter.

After a while, they finally began to understand the benefits of free-range. Fresh salad, anyone?

Yup, there's lots of greenery to eat out here...

Guinea boys just love roughhousing, and all this space makes it all that much easier to play!

This can get dangerous, however, as sometimes roughhousing leads to flying, and sometimes flying leads to getting lost!

And, well, Guineas aren't the brightest bulbs, so getting home isn't exactly easy, even when home is right within view... (I was standing next to their coop to take this picture...)

Even when not lost, there are many other dangers for Guinea fowl. You can never be sure if those chickens are trustworthy...

"Yikes, they're looking at me!!"

After all this excitement, all they want is to go home. Maybe if they plead to the scary, featherless one, they will be granted their wish...

Ooor, maybe not.

These pictures were taken on the 9th and they have been put out to free-range every day since. I'd like to say they're getting used to it, but... Guineas are Guineas.

 

[pattyhen]

I'm trying to get used this new set up. You just can't teach an old dog new tricks. I finally found your posts. I had your posts under favorites but I can't find my favorites now. By the time I get used to it they will change it again.

Loved all the pics and those babies are so big now. They are beautiful. Happy Birthday to the 1 years olds. Time has flown by I can still remember their baby pics.

I love your guineas. Mary Jane is still setting on the eggs. Her due date is the 20th so we will see how that goes. If she hatches more then 2 of those 25 eggs I'm going to scream.

Thanks so much for sharing the pics you have some beautiful chicks.

 

[shadow rabbit10]

Love the guinea pictures and the pictures of your other girls! I must admit this new set up will take some getting used to... Still trying to find everything.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I'm trying to get used this new set up. You just can't teach an old dog new tricks. I finally found your posts. I had your posts under favorites but I can't find my favorites now. By the time I get used to it they will change it again.

Loved all the pics and those babies are so big now. They are beautiful. Happy Birthday to the 1 years olds. Time has flown by I can still remember their baby pics.

I love your guineas. Mary Jane is still setting on the eggs. Her due date is the 20th so we will see how that goes. If she hatches more then 2 of those 25 eggs I'm going to scream.

Thanks so much for sharing the pics you have some beautiful chicks.

It's a lot to take in! Good luck! How's the hatch going?

Love the guinea pictures and the pictures of your other girls! I must admit this new set up will take some getting used to... Still trying to find everything.

And good luck to you, too! If either of you need any help figuring out the new site, let me know and I'll see what I can do. I've had early access because of my Golden Feather membership (now Premium Feather, I guess?), and with the semester finished, I've had lots of time to play around with things.





Nothing new really happening over here, other than what I've already posted. Ramsay did cross the line a couple nights ago and flogged my leg, so unfortunately he is out of the flock. Not sure what I'm going to do with him except maybe just keep him around in case something happens to the rest of the Silkied Cochins. He and Lucky have been living together in their own pen, so I'll likely leave Lucky in there as well just so they continue to get along and I don't have to figure out housing for an additional rooster, too. I had Roscoe out in the flock after I evicted the three little boys, but he decided to corner one of the hens (and one of my precious Dorkings, no less!), so I had to put him back out, too. UGH, roosters! Thank goodness for Reuben and Winter--at least they're good boys!

I've got the supplies for chicken hatchday cake and have been waiting for a nice, clear, non-rainy day to have their party on. Looks like tomorrow is supposed to be nice, so be braced for lots of pictures then!



Editing to add, playing around with the new system and practicing things, I made an article with a bunch of old pictures of Crashie! Enjoy: The Best of Crash Duck.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

As mentioned, the youngsters had their Hatchday Party today! It started with a couple hours of prep putting together a beautiful Hatchday 'Cake':

Of course, all that effort didn't last long once the party started!

The Dorking girls were the best for posing while eating their 'cake'. Callette made a mess of herself--but not as much as Wynne and Lydda in the foreground!

Lydda tried the innocent act on me. "Cake? What cake? I wasn't eating cake..."

Once the 'cake' had been thoroughly demolished, I got pictures of the Hatchday Girls individually. Umru, who is also a year old now, was not invited to the party for being a jerk so I didn't get any pictures of him.

In alphabetical order, here are the Hatchday Girls.

Callette the Silver Gray Dorking--isn't she just so sweet?

Cazzie the Blue Cochin:

Endymion the Easter-Egger, who didn't want to pose so I had to distract her for her picture.

Flury Floofle-Poofle Floofins the Splash Cochin:

Lydda the Silver Gray Dorking and her incredible tail!!

Rooska the Lavender Orpington:

And finally, Izzy the Blue Ameraucana, who couldn't be bothered to come out of the nests for her Hatchday party.

The party was in full swing with activities. The youngsters played free-range hide and seek. "Where'd she go?"

Meanwhile, the older girls much preferred to lay in the sun while they digested their 'cake'.

(Don't mind the mess--I swear, they find the messiest spots to park for pictures! )

Lydda was stuck with two of the hardest choices possible to decide between for a Dorking--eat more 'cake' or go have some cuddle time?

Flury had no trouble deciding--she even offered a scowl to make sure I knew cuddles were not welcome!

Endymion, Cazzie, and a few of the older gals enjoyed a nice preen with crops full of 'cake'.

And all the while, Elda, Marka, and Donna were sitting in the coop--all three have gone broody!

I grabbed some pictures of Crashie as well, but I'm so tired right now--will get them cropped and uploaded tomorrow!

 

[Cluckcluck1215]

Love the photos Pipd!
That first picture of Cazzie makes her looks more CHOCLATE then Blue!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Haha, wow, it does! That must have been the lighting where she was standing, because she's definitely blue. That being said, I LOVE chocolate, would die for a chance at getting a chocolate hen!


Here are a few Crash pictures from yesterday! Crashie says, "Hellooo!"

That classic Crashie smile. I was so mad when I noticed her feet were not in the frame on this picture!

And a lovely portrait.

 

[Cluckcluck1215]

Me to!My Pet Chicken sells those chick packs, and the Sexlink one can Possibley come with a Chocolate Orpington or Easter Egger, and BOY WOULD I DIE FOR THOSE CHOCOLATE EASTER EGGERS!

Crashie just looks tooooooo adorable I remember last year, two months after I joined and I saw your thread, I read every single page, And the baby Crashie pics where SO STINKING CUTE