What did you do with your flock today?

[Smokerbill]

I have not been getting eggs despite the pullets having beautiful red combs, so I headed outside this morning to check all the corners, to see if there was a snake inside the hoop coop, eating the eggs. It was 43°, brr.

I did a pretty thorough search of the coop, no snake.

While I was doing that I also cleared out the clutter I had added when they were small and needed places to hide.

"Grape Lady made us a BIG new perch!"
View attachment 3691489

After digging out some of the composted litter from the front (to use in my gardens) I added more leaves.
View attachment 3691491

They all are active, seem healthy, why no eggs?

View attachment 3691493
Naomi

Most of the pullets have bright red combs...I don't get it.

Give 'em some more time. Looks like the comb and wattles on Naomi still need to plump up a little. Have any of them started squatting for you? That's a sure sign that eggs are imminent.

 

[kurby22]

@Smokerbill i am so sorry for your loss. I think you have handled it gallantly. Your necropsy and discovery sounds thorough and well done. Your baby lived a charmed life and hid her illness well. You did all you could do for her even in death


@ChicksnMore I'm sorry about Hops. I wonder if he has an infection. Taking him on was a long shot, one I probably would have taken too, to see if it could play out well in the end. Be gentle with yourself. You always give your best and are very commendable and impressive.

@PopoMyers , you are amazing! Tending to and healing your very wounded chicken (I knew you could do it!!!) I'm impressed!!! Bravo♡♡
Also, taking on and deboning a turkey... how'd it come out, was it worth the efforts and would you do it again?

@kurby22 You have some serious showing momentum going. Looking forward to photos and stories of this year's successes and lessons applied. I have no idea where you are able to fit in another breed let alone beeeebies! I just know that I don't have your energy and organizational skills or patience. I could not do all of that with kids, soccer, ft job, hubby and all of the travel inbetween. Id need a nap. You must make some REALLY GOOD coffee and take vitamins.

Nice lively crowd on this thread. I am enjoying reading everyone's posts ♡♡

Haha thanks I’ve learned thru a lot of therapy that I have adult onset ADHD and that is why I’m never happy unless I’m overloaded by things So I’m on meds and see a therapist to help me choose my boundaries and learn to say NO to things So believe it or not—my current schedule is a reduced one And I do drink a lot of good coffee!

Took a couple pics of the babies that got show baths last night—aren’t they purty??

 

[fuzzi]

Give 'em some more time. Looks like the comb and wattles on Naomi still need to plump up a little. Have any of them started squatting for you? That's a sure sign that eggs are imminent.

But I was getting 2-4 eggs daily in September and October. They started laying in mid August.

 

[kurby22]

I love it! Such a cutie What is the neck made from?

I've been winterizing our coops and run too. Putting some more wind breaks up today after grocery shopping. It's 1°C here this morning and set to get colder.

Funny coincidence! Ferdy has a very dry comb at the moment so he sat on my shoulder with it slathered in rosehip and sea buckthorn oil last night. He managed to stain himself, my face and white top bright orange. Think I'll be going back to Bria (it has the texture of Vaseline but it's plant based, no petroleum).

Your new Watermaals are gorgeous. With their 'not quite right' combs they remind me of miniature Shetlands or Cream Legbars. Good luck with breeding some baby bubs, can't wait to see the results! You know I have to satisfy my chick lust vicariously through you guys

The neck is a Snyders pretzel rod! Then I used whipped cream cheese to stick the eyes and nose to it

Yeah the rain hasn’t arrived in earnest yet, so I’ve been procrastinating the tarp hanging…but I gotta get to it!

Haha yeah I should find something better than Vaseline, but definitely prefer non-dying coloring as a treatment! I think my d’Anver boy Jager has a case of leg mites so hoping the Vaseline works on that as well. Hope the dry comb is all fixed now too!

I know, their combs are so funky! And they’re just the tiniest little things They do remind me a bit of Shetlands or Pyncheons. Chandler being beardless looks a lot more like a Legbar I’m happy to help feed your baby fix! I’ve enjoyed the time off from baby maintenance but I miss the FLUFFY cheeked beebies!

 

[kurby22]

Such fluffy faces! Seriously cute girls.

Must have been Ruby...I've never seen a face like that!

Yeah that Brahma head/face is super unique isn’t it?? The older he gets the more bulky his head seems to get! His eyes are getting lost in the face wrinkles

 

[Nomadicus]

But I was getting 2-4 eggs daily in September and October. They started laying in mid August.

At 43° all snakes should be hibernating for the winter. I finally don't have to worry about a rattler in the grass when I'm out after dark now closing up coops. If only foxes and coons would go into hibernation I wouldn't have to close the coops up.

 

[Nomadicus]

But I was getting 2-4 eggs daily in September and October. They started laying in mid August.

I would bet a few pennies your egg production has taken a nose dive to the shortened days of daylight. I don't need the eggs and will not add some extra light on the morning side of the day. If I did I'd add a couple of hours. I wonder how hens are able to lay in the land of the midnight sun.... Total daylight and then today darkness.... Got to be some really messed up hen clocks then.

 

[Aliceismad106]

Ii need to get this off my chest. I don't know wether to laugh or cry. When I locked up all the coops tonight, I found one of my boys had passed. Nothing wrong with him. No other birds show signs of anything. It looked almost like he fell off the roost and maybe broke his neck on the way down. I cleaned the pen and coop. Sanitized it and was taking the bag with him in it to the trash when I heard my big rooster going nuts. I look over and somehow one of my babies got into his yard and he didn't know who she was so he charged after her. I got her out but he was still charging. I had a stick in one hand and a dead chicken in a bag in the other.
I needed to get him distracted and I didn't want to hurt him because he really is super great so I made a split second decision and swung the bag at his side.
I hit him with the dead chicken. He stopped and looked at me as I realized what happened. And we just kinda stood there shocked. He turned around and walked to the coop while I was yelling I am so sorry buddy.!!
The little girl that got out didn't even run when I grabbed her. Maybe she thought she'd get nailed with a carcass too?

 

[kurby22]

Ii need to get this off my chest. I don't know wether to laugh or cry. When I locked up all the coops tonight, I found one of my boys had passed. Nothing wrong with him. No other birds show signs of anything. It looked almost like he fell off the roost and maybe broke his neck on the way down. I cleaned the pen and coop. Sanitized it and was taking the bag with him in it to the trash when I heard my big rooster going nuts. I look over and somehow one of my babies got into his yard and he didn't know who she was so he charged after her. I got her out but he was still charging. I had a stick in one hand and a dead chicken in a bag in the other.
I needed to get him distracted and I didn't want to hurt him because he really is super great so I made a split second decision and swung the bag at his side.
I hit him with the dead chicken. He stopped and looked at me as I realized what happened. And we just kinda stood there shocked. He turned around and walked to the coop while I was yelling I am so sorry buddy.!!
The little girl that got out didn't even run when I grabbed her. Maybe she thought she'd get nailed with a carcass too?

I wish I could react with a and face!

I’m so very sorry for the loss of your boy. The sudden deaths with no apparent causes are always the worst for me. Hugs!

It sounds like your rooster was appropriately put in his face and your sweet lost boy helped you out!

 

[ChicksnMore]

Haha thanks I’ve learned thru a lot of therapy that I have adult onset ADHD and that is why I’m never happy unless I’m overloaded by things So I’m on meds and see a therapist to help me choose my boundaries and learn to say NO to things So believe it or not—my current schedule is a reduced one And I do drink a lot of good coffee!

Took a couple pics of the babies that got show baths last night—aren’t they purty??