I Built A Bridge!

[Teila]

Thank you Liz

Sadly, no air con and no garage but if LuLu gets too hot today, I may just have to think about putting her in the bathroom!

It is just past 9am and I already have the mister going, running around the garden with the watering can damping down their favourite spots; I need a double tap!

I will just have to be vigilant with the water changes and keeping the ground damp; I will be watching LuLu very closely!!

 

[tommysgirl]

Thank you Liz

Sadly, no air con and no garage but if LuLu gets too hot today, I may just have to think about putting her in the bathroom!

It is just past 9am and I already have the mister going, running around the garden with the watering can damping down their favourite spots; I need a double tap!

I will just have to be vigilant with the water changes and keeping the ground damp; I will be watching LuLu very closely!!

I had a girl on the nest in a heat wave 100+ for several days... I put ice packs like you would take on a picnic in an ice chest with her. I made sure they weren't touching the eggs but was able to slide them into the nest box along the edges on two sides. Kept her from panting and the eggs all hatched. Another time..when I had fewer chickens I just took a full on ice block and put it in the coop with her. That was a good hatch too.


So here is the update from round here.

I am saving Gracie Belle's eggs for Julie Taylor. She wore me down...They will be 3/4 Silkie, 1/4 D'Uccle. I have also put the word out locally that I am looking for fertile silky eggs or bantam.cochin eggs.

Norma is still acting broody in every way but the setting....Her timing is terrible. I would love for her to be broody on the 10th of December so that I can participate in the New Years Hatch a long here on BYC. any sooner than that is going to inconvenience one or the other of us.

I have let a girl wait twoish weeks for eggs never 3....that would mean she was sitting for 6 weeks and that seems too long. Any thoughts?

@ItalyChickie I too want to share my support and sadness at your losses.

I have a couple of chicks...all of them predominantly white, disappear while free ranging. I assume it was hawks because I didn't find a trace. It is so sad to loose a little life. You are a great chicken mama. It is so interesting to me that chicks can be so fragile and so resilient at the same time.

I went out the the coops on Wednesday morning and found that one of my New Hampshire pullets had wedged her foot between the nest box and the wall of the coop....in a space I never knew existed...and was hanging upside down, her body resting on the poop tray. Poor Mamie...She spent the day in a dog crate in the guest bathroom and aside from a lurching gate that is only visible when she runs she seems to have made a full recovery and the space has been filled.

I had to get eggs from a friend on Friday. Tom has them for breakfast every morning and supply was not meeting demand...why do I have all these birds???

JK If all I wanted was egg I would have filled my coops with sex links and leghorns...Chickens are so much more than that. I sat in the coops with the meal worms bag and made friends yesterday morning. Waylen is getting so pretty. Posey is still quite a little lady and Buster is a delight. He the friendliest of all. I will try to rehome him in January/February. Thinking of offering both of these boys as part of a package deal, only selling the girls to people willing to take the boys.

 

[ItalyChickie]

Thanks, IC! Now if only Jan would stop using secret nests! I haven't found yesterday's egg, yet, but I saw her looking for some place to lay it.

I am so sorry for all the loss you are going through right now! That must be heart-breaking. It's a terrible feeling to not know how to protect your loved-ones from whatever it is that is ailing them.
The only thing that occurred to me is when you mentioned losing your Aracauna, I remembered reading that they can carry a lethal gene, and wondered if maybe your babies had a genetic infirmity that was not letting them mature. Of course, that doesn't help poor Shakira! So very sorry to hear about her passing. I really hope everyone else makes it through this rough patch!

Thanks for the support of the Brahmarans, everyone! May I suggest it as a new breed? Perhaps you'd like a brahmarans roo? Big, fluffy, and colorful! So far, these boys aren't as docile as their brahma mom, but maybe that's just their adolescent boy phase. MM, just occurred to me, I can almost see you hoping for some boy with a few bucks and some pens to come by in a few years when your boys are teenagers! Adolescent boys are just trouble in most species! Cute story about the ice queen!

Good luck with the heat, Teila! My chickens are definitely spoiled by the consistently mild temps of the Bay Area.

Thank you Liz, yes, the not knowing what to do is the hardest... I had thought about something hereditary too - the other chicks were booted bantams, so probably not a lethal gene in their case - but I guess if I look for the one common thing it does seem to be that they were not growing as well as others, even though they were eating and active and everything - this goes for both the Araucana girl, and all but 2 of the banty chicks... so I don't know... at this point, I can only hope that it isn't something that can do the same damage to the better developed immune systems of everybody else.

Obviously, Shakira was a different story and most likely an accident of some sort, and I was most heartbroken about her... who knew a silkie/red star/dorking mix would turn into such a unique chick, and now I'll never know what she would have grown up to be like...

I think bramarans sounds like a great new breed, btw! would definitely not mind a brahmarans hen - no more roos for me right now though, need to rehome the existing extras first!

Hey Team

Everyone coped pretty well with the heat yesterday except LuLu, she was panting heavily, wings held out.

I had the mister going, frequently damped down the garden/dirt, frequent changes of water to cold from the fridge and watermelon available. With LuLu I damped down her comb, face and chest; the poor little thing even felt hot!

I am a little worried about her as it is going to be 8 degrees hotter today than yesterday expected to peak at 40C (104F).

I put out a call to the Aussie Thread asking what other signs I need to keep an eye out for and when I need to take ‘drastic’ steps and what they could be, like actually putting her in water. However, I have heard that this can kill them quicker but another Aussie on the thread mentioned that she lost two to heat stroke last year and saved the third one my putting it in a bucket of water.

It is going to be a long worrisome day; luckily tomorrow is predicted to be 10 degrees cooler than today, back down to 30C.

Oh no poor Lulu! I hope the heat wave doesn't last too long. We had similar temps back in June, shortly after the Cochins/Orps hatch - I still don't know how poor Bonnie handled those 13 fluff balls constantly jumping on her or snuggling under... I did constantly "flood" their playground area - basically just left the garden hose running on and off, which created some puddles, and they all loved pretending they were ducks and splashing around in them. Most big ones loved getting their feet in the water, too. Cenere did her signature statue stance in a dog water dish for hours at a time, that was fun to watch.

I didn't go as far as putting anyone in the water, but I think having lots of places with shallow water definitely helped. Hoping you don't have to do anything drastic!

I had a girl on the nest in a heat wave 100+ for several days... I put ice packs like you would take on a picnic in an ice chest with her. I made sure they weren't touching the eggs but was able to slide them into the nest box along the edges on two sides. Kept her from panting and the eggs all hatched. Another time..when I had fewer chickens I just took a full on ice block and put it in the coop with her. That was a good hatch too.


So here is the update from round here.

I am saving Gracie Belle's eggs for Julie Taylor. She wore me down...They will be 3/4 Silkie, 1/4 D'Uccle. I have also put the word out locally that I am looking for fertile silky eggs or bantam.cochin eggs.

Norma is still acting broody in every way but the setting....Her timing is terrible. I would love for her to be broody on the 10th of December so that I can participate in the New Years Hatch a long here on BYC. any sooner than that is going to inconvenience one or the other of us.

I have let a girl wait twoish weeks for eggs never 3....that would mean she was sitting for 6 weeks and that seems too long. Any thoughts?

@ItalyChickie I too want to share my support and sadness at your losses.

I have a couple of chicks...all of them predominantly white, disappear while free ranging. I assume it was hawks because I didn't find a trace. It is so sad to loose a little life. You are a great chicken mama. It is so interesting to me that chicks can be so fragile and so resilient at the same time.

I went out the the coops on Wednesday morning and found that one of my New Hampshire pullets had wedged her foot between the nest box and the wall of the coop....in a space I never knew existed...and was hanging upside down, her body resting on the poop tray. Poor Mamie...She spent the day in a dog crate in the guest bathroom and aside from a lurching gate that is only visible when she runs she seems to have made a full recovery and the space has been filled.

I had to get eggs from a friend on Friday. Tom has them for breakfast every morning and supply was not meeting demand...why do I have all these birds???

JK If all I wanted was egg I would have filled my coops with sex links and leghorns...Chickens are so much more than that. I sat in the coops with the meal worms bag and made friends yesterday morning. Waylen is getting so pretty. Posey is still quite a little lady and Buster is a delight. He the friendliest of all. I will try to rehome him in January/February. Thinking of offering both of these boys as part of a package deal, only selling the girls to people willing to take the boys.

Thanks TG! Yes, it is extremely sad, and sometimes I think this whole keeping chickens idea was not a great one. My husband convinced me, I was actually opposed to it initially because I know how I am with animals... But then every time they make me smile, I'm convinced that it was a wonderful idea after all... In any case, I could never have a laid-back uninvolved approach of "chickens are just for eggs" either. (In fact, I'm currently getting 2-3 eggs a day, so definitely know how you feel about supply not meeting demand.)

Poor Mamie!! That sounds extremely uncomfortable. Glad she is doing better though.

Aaaand speaking of broodies wearing down their owners... I think Chiocciola is going to end up wearing me down as well. Funny thing is, she turned into this super-sweet-but-super broody from her previous-hatch Broodzilla personality - she lets me pick her up without any fuss, happy to eat from my hand, will let me check under her to see if anyone laid an egg in there, anything at all... but it doesn't matter where I put her, she just sits there and broods whatever is available - rocks, ground, whatever... no sign of being broken. It's like she learned exactly how to get to me, and it definitely isn't by being a broodzilla. She's too smart for her own good!

In any case, I did see an almost-local ad for auracana eggs... and so, pondering. Probably not a good idea, definitely bad timing, but I did really really want those blue eggs... and the 2 Auracana mixes from that hatch that are female don't have the right comb, so yeah... blue eggs not very likely at the moment, unless I cave to Chiocciola.


That's about all the news over here. It's raining, just about everybody is molting, and I'm considering making some chicken-feather pillows or something with all those piles of feathers I am collecting in the coop.

 

[Teila]

Howdy Bridge Club

TG aaaw, poor Mamie, I hope she is getting better!

Oh no, having to buy eggs when you have chickens is just not right; been there, done that!

IC Cenere in the water dish is something I would love to see!

Sunday’s maximum did not get quite as high as we thought and peaked at approx 38C (just over 100F). LuLu again suffered a bit more than everyone else but everyone survived.

Today we are only expecting a high of 28C (just over 82F) and it has been pouring rain all morning. All the gals have a dry spot, including Blondie, but she seems determined to stand in the rain, even when I showed her where the dry spot was!

I have some news … at 5 weeks of age Bear has gone to her new home! Blondie wanted out of the broody pen to the point that she actually escaped! She also laid her first post hatch egg yesterday.

Anyways, she obviously wanted back in the flock as she was pacing up and down the joining fence, clucking up a storm. Because integrating Bear was never an option, I placed an ad on our equivalent to Craiglist, Gumtree and within 4 hours she had a new home.

A young vegetarian couple (obviously not going to eat her!) have adopted her. They seemed really lovely and she has just finished her studies for this year and will be home to look after Bear. They have 5 x 15 week old chickens and said that the first ‘orphan’ they saw they were going to raise it! Now, while Bear is not technically an orphan’ being a single chick is pretty close. It is a little sad to know that Bear is now kind of all alone but sadly, that was always going to be the case once we lost Allsorts. I warned them that a single chick was going to be very demanding and probably very upset at being alone and mentioned a teddy to cuddle and a mirror. They still seemed keen. Anyways, I do believe that Bear has gone to a good home and any time she wants for anything, she will have it. Sounds like she is going to get lots of love and attention.

So, after Bear had gone we tried letting Blondie out for a while with Cilla, Dusty & LuLu (we kept Tina and the Beans separated for this one .. baby steps). Well, as we have learnt to expect, it did not go smoothly. Lots of pecking and jumping on each other to the point that Blondie decided on top of the run was a good spot! We will get there though .. more baby steps!

I believe that Spot is a rooster and now I am just waiting for the crow to confirm it! Still do not have any idea where Gloria is concerned.

Cilla is still pushing the broody angle, along with Tina and both of them have been locked out of the nest boxes!

 

[lizgarf]

Hi folks,
I'm glad Mamie has healed from her nasty spill, TG! How many eggs does Tommy eat for breakfast?! I can't believe even you had to buy eggs with that big flock!

I'm glad you found a good home for Bear, Teila! So sorry to hear Spot is a boy. Maybe he'll never figure out that whole crowing thing, being such a pretty boy in suburbia and all.

I'm starting to crawl out of my funk over having dedicated the bulk of the past 3 months to chickens, only to wind up with 6 cockerels and precious few eggs and my vegetarian values turned on their head. I came up with a solid plan B for the boys - the woman I got my original pullets from said she'd take them for dinner for her family if I don't find lasting homes. I know she'll treat them well and her family is as deserving of them as anyone. This whole process of trying to be a vegetarian chicken-farmer has been both illuminating and depressing. I'm questioning why take life so seriously, when it's so rarely reciprocated? It's been an interesting philosophical/emotional ride, but I think I'm coming out of it with a little more humility and respect for the farmers who do the hard work for so little reward, and still pretty attached to my personal eating/buying habits.

In other news, after 12 weeks since the hatch, and 16 weeks since going broody, Grace is officially the fastest to break of all my broody hens! There was a white egg in the nestbox and a blue egg in a weird part of the coop (probably because Grace boxed Jan out of the nest)! I'm celebrating by baking with eggs for the first time in several weeks! I feel so decadent!
Now, here's something interesting: I'm not sure if I told you all about how weird my dog, Reggie, has been since the hatch. But, basically since a couple days before the hatch, Reggie has refused to go on walks. I can get her down the stairs to the street, and then she'll plant her butt and refuse to budge. Sometimes, I can't even get the leash on. A couple times a week, I can convince her to get in the car and go somewhere fun to chase the ball and be her "normal" dog self, but she wouldn't willingly walk away from the property. I suspected it had something to do with the hatch and the broody hormones (with Reggie feeling like she was desperately needed to stay close by to protect the flock), and I think I may have gotten my confirmation, because on the same day that Grace returned to laying, Reggie showed interest in walking down the street! I had already planned on taking her to the park, so I brought her back up to the car, and I don't really know for sure if she would have gone much further, but she seemed like she was in to it! Realize, this is a 4-year old Aussie shepherd mix with more athletic stamina and drive than a professional basketball player, so not wanting to go on a walk was very, very, out of character!

Anyway, I took some more pictures to update the ads before throwing in the towel. Everyone is getting along reasonably well, so I'll continue to wait until things get impossible, one way or another.

Diego. I swear he has lilac highlights, at times:


Brian:


Frankie, as photogenic as ever:





Most of the crew, with Frida back to being a single-mom. By the way, I changed some names. Alice is now Ginger, (Marsha's daughter in the back) and Madeline is Mary Ann. I figured I should branch out to other old TV shows and they matched too perfectly to not make the switch!


Lucy, showing off all the little feathers she's been busy growing:


And Jan, checking in on me and my work reading:

 

[ItalyChickie]

Howdy Bridge Club

TG aaaw, poor Mamie, I hope she is getting better!

Oh no, having to buy eggs when you have chickens is just not right; been there, done that!

IC Cenere in the water dish is something I would love to see!

Sunday’s maximum did not get quite as high as we thought and peaked at approx 38C (just over 100F). LuLu again suffered a bit more than everyone else but everyone survived.

Today we are only expecting a high of 28C (just over 82F) and it has been pouring rain all morning. All the gals have a dry spot, including Blondie, but she seems determined to stand in the rain, even when I showed her where the dry spot was!

I have some news … at 5 weeks of age Bear has gone to her new home! Blondie wanted out of the broody pen to the point that she actually escaped! She also laid her first post hatch egg yesterday.

Anyways, she obviously wanted back in the flock as she was pacing up and down the joining fence, clucking up a storm. Because integrating Bear was never an option, I placed an ad on our equivalent to Craiglist, Gumtree and within 4 hours she had a new home.

A young vegetarian couple (obviously not going to eat her!) have adopted her. They seemed really lovely and she has just finished her studies for this year and will be home to look after Bear. They have 5 x 15 week old chickens and said that the first ‘orphan’ they saw they were going to raise it! Now, while Bear is not technically an orphan’ being a single chick is pretty close. It is a little sad to know that Bear is now kind of all alone but sadly, that was always going to be the case once we lost Allsorts. I warned them that a single chick was going to be very demanding and probably very upset at being alone and mentioned a teddy to cuddle and a mirror. They still seemed keen. Anyways, I do believe that Bear has gone to a good home and any time she wants for anything, she will have it. Sounds like she is going to get lots of love and attention.

So, after Bear had gone we tried letting Blondie out for a while with Cilla, Dusty & LuLu (we kept Tina and the Beans separated for this one .. baby steps). Well, as we have learnt to expect, it did not go smoothly. Lots of pecking and jumping on each other to the point that Blondie decided on top of the run was a good spot! We will get there though .. more baby steps!

I believe that Spot is a rooster and now I am just waiting for the crow to confirm it! Still do not have any idea where Gloria is concerned.

Cilla is still pushing the broody angle, along with Tina and both of them have been locked out of the nest boxes!

Congratulations on finding a good home for Bear, Teila! Even though it's always a bit sad to send them off, and especially her being a single chick, but it really sounds like the best possible solution for her. I bet she's going to turn into one very spoiled pullet with someone to watch over her all the time.

I am sorry, but I don't seem to find a picture of Cenere in the water dish, even though I'm certain I took some at one point... I obviously have far too many chicken pictures that probably should be organized a bit better... and if I never manage that (which is likely), remind me when it's summer in our hemisphere and I'll take another one for you!

Oh, and for what it's worth - I've been convinced from the start that Gloria is a girl... I still am. No particular reason, just a hunch/rooting for her to be a keeper - I haven't even seen any latest pics, but just in case a vote of confidence makes you feel better.

Hi folks,
I'm glad Mamie has healed from her nasty spill, TG! How many eggs does Tommy eat for breakfast?! I can't believe even you had to buy eggs with that big flock!

I'm glad you found a good home for Bear, Teila! So sorry to hear Spot is a boy. Maybe he'll never figure out that whole crowing thing, being such a pretty boy in suburbia and all.

I'm starting to crawl out of my funk over having dedicated the bulk of the past 3 months to chickens, only to wind up with 6 cockerels and precious few eggs and my vegetarian values turned on their head. I came up with a solid plan B for the boys - the woman I got my original pullets from said she'd take them for dinner for her family if I don't find lasting homes. I know she'll treat them well and her family is as deserving of them as anyone. This whole process of trying to be a vegetarian chicken-farmer has been both illuminating and depressing. I'm questioning why take life so seriously, when it's so rarely reciprocated? It's been an interesting philosophical/emotional ride, but I think I'm coming out of it with a little more humility and respect for the farmers who do the hard work for so little reward, and still pretty attached to my personal eating/buying habits.

In other news, after 12 weeks since the hatch, and 16 weeks since going broody, Grace is officially the fastest to break of all my broody hens! There was a white egg in the nestbox and a blue egg in a weird part of the coop (probably because Grace boxed Jan out of the nest)! I'm celebrating by baking with eggs for the first time in several weeks! I feel so decadent!
Now, here's something interesting: I'm not sure if I told you all about how weird my dog, Reggie, has been since the hatch. But, basically since a couple days before the hatch, Reggie has refused to go on walks. I can get her down the stairs to the street, and then she'll plant her butt and refuse to budge. Sometimes, I can't even get the leash on. A couple times a week, I can convince her to get in the car and go somewhere fun to chase the ball and be her "normal" dog self, but she wouldn't willingly walk away from the property. I suspected it had something to do with the hatch and the broody hormones (with Reggie feeling like she was desperately needed to stay close by to protect the flock), and I think I may have gotten my confirmation, because on the same day that Grace returned to laying, Reggie showed interest in walking down the street! I had already planned on taking her to the park, so I brought her back up to the car, and I don't really know for sure if she would have gone much further, but she seemed like she was in to it! Realize, this is a 4-year old Aussie shepherd mix with more athletic stamina and drive than a professional basketball player, so not wanting to go on a walk was very, very, out of character!

Anyway, I took some more pictures to update the ads before throwing in the towel. Everyone is getting along reasonably well, so I'll continue to wait until things get impossible, one way or another.

Your crew is beautiful, Liz!

I understand the philosophical/emotional ride... even if I am not a vegetarian, I never could even think about one of my own as anything other than a pet. (I guess even that is a bit hypocritical of me, since I don't think twice when the chicken I never met is on the menu... yeah, when I put it that way, it sounds even worse, doesn't it?) But anyway... I also have far too many still-growing boys this year (and far, far too few girls!) and there is absolutely no way I can keep them all. I'm sure I'll be able to rehome the pure ones, but when it comes to the mixes, all I can do is hope I will be lucky. I have a standing offer similar to yours from a friend, who'd happily take any extra roos off my hands and who is super clear what his intentions are (and it's not to keep them as pets). And I have to say, I am considering it as my plan B as well, although I will try all other options first... It is depressing to think about, and I'm not really clear yet on how I feel about the whole thing because for the moment I am trying to convince myself it will all work out somehow, without that last resort... just wanted to say I understand that it must be even harder for you.

That is an amazing story about Reggie! I wonder if broodiness is somehow contagious to dogs as well? Now there's a scary thought...


The only bit of news I have is not a good one... I think one of my red stars is laying internally and I'm super worried... She hasn't in a while, and I thought it was just the season (the others were laying though), but she has been acting strange the past couple of days, and then I saw her pass what looked like cooked egg yolk.. I read that it's common in production breeds, and all the signs seem to correspond, and she's an older girl, was given to us by friends so not sure how old exactly, but probably close to 5, as we've had her for 3 years now, and she was already fully grown when we got her. I tried the spa treatment, which seemed to relax her a bit, but there isn't a stuck egg or anything, so I don't know if it really did any good..

Besides that, Chiocciola is still broody and everybody else is still fine... no other news and almost no eggs here (only 2 today)!

 

[Teila]

Good morning Bridge Club

Liz I am sorry that this experience has not been the best but pleased that you are still attached to your eating/buying habits.

You gotta love Reggie, she is one of a kind and pretty darn cute to match

Your boys are beautiful!

Jan! What can I say? So so much a little sweetheart

IC I will definitely remind you about that picture!

I am swinging towards girl with Gloria also; that comb of hers is pink and absolutely no wattles as yet.

Spot is still here, no crows yet but still very much a boy with his comb and wattles; maybe even some Silkie male streamers as well. I am going to be one very upset mum when he crows

I will try and get some up to date pics soon; they are both so very cute! This weekend is pretty much booked up with lawns, garden, integration and housework. Next weekend I should have some time to spend with the camera.

I am sorry to hear about your Red Star. Internal laying is what took Britney from me and I have also read that it is common in those breeds with high egg production. Sadly, all my research indicated that there is no cure. I hope that this is not the case with your Red Star and she comes good.

Work has been chaotic the last week. We have this newish Developer who has a knack for breaking everything he touches; that is OK if you work in demolition but not so much in IT!!!

I am feeling a tad overwhelmed at present; reintegration is taking it’s toll on me. Where I used to be able to let everyone out and enjoy watching them. Trying to reintegrate Blondie has been hard and I seem to spend my time snatching Blondie from the beaks of b*tchy chickens! I spend their whole free range time acting as Blondie’s body guard keeping Dusty and Cilla at bay. The first day they ganged up on her, jumped on her back and started pecking very hard. Today is day 4 and hopefully it will be a bit easier, each day they seem to be a little more accepting but on each day one of them has managed to corner her.

To try and sum it up … Tina is protecting her ‘babies’ (who are now bigger than her but her broody hormones have convinced her they are babies again); Cilla is ignoring the ‘babies’ but trying to pick on Tina. Tina is picking on Blondie but I can forgive that, she is just protecting her little ones. Dusty and Cilla are picking on Blondie and at present I only have one chicken who is not causing me angst .. LuLu!

Because of the above, their set up is still split into three sections and I wonder if I will ever, once again, have one happy flock. Being the weekend, I have two days of quite long free range time so hopefully there may be a light at the end of the tunnel!

One piece of good news .. I do believe, after 3 weeks of stamping her little foot, holding her breath and generally spitting the dummy, Cilla may just be on the brink of being broken from broodiness!! This has also been one more ingredient in my 'not a happy chicken mum' pie! Oh yeah, Tina also requires locking out of the nest box or she would sit in there all day with Spot and Gloria right by her side

 

[Pooman]

Haha the Teila chat thread lol.

Ive got heaps of new chickies this year. More poping out of eggs this morning.

Our oldest hen, first hatch was 3, 2 boys and this one i guess she is 10 weeks now

Stripey has grown in a beautiful boy and recovered from his losing fight.

Ive got some other stuff to show u soon too. Your gonna love my brooder

 

[Pooman]

Yeah some photos.

My brooder...

Wilma and Jess helping out with rooster house constructions

Norma and Dusty the failed co broodies are now with the main flock of hens

And have you ever seen such a puff ball... My my she was angry at me for taking her off the nest lol

 

[lizgarf]

Hi everyone,
Teila, I know that overwhelmed feeling!! I don't know why your girls are so nasty to each other, but sometimes even a handful of girls can be trouble in the springtime! I believe they'll settle-down soon, though - I hope so!

PM, I wondered what happened to you! Glad to hear you're still enjoying your chickens! Yes, that's an impressive brooder!

I had been feeling very overwhelmed with my chicken-situation myself, but I think things are improving. The past 2 days, all chickens were back in the coop by 3:30 pm!! And, as if more reward were needed, 3 eggs were laid today, for the first time since August!! Marsha returned to laying today, and as if she had been goaded into a pretty-egg competition, she laid a lovely 58-gram pink egg with white speckles. That's 10 grams more than any egg Jan has laid - even Grace lays bigger eggs than Jan! Oh well, maybe that blue-green color takes a lot of energy.
The other good news is that someone is supposed to be coming tomorrow to pick up a Brahmarans! I'm not quite as excited about this option as I was for the marans boys, but I didn't hear any real reason to turn down the offer. I'm going to have to put my faith in it that it'll work out for Brian. He might take two, but I think I want to hold onto the bantams and Norma a little longer. It's hard to say - poor Frankie is a bit more trouble than the others because he's such an outsider and sleeps in the nest with Rousseau, and I think he's the quickest to develop - he gave a little crow yesterday, and was rewarded with being chased by Desi all over the yard (no real attack, though, and no repeat crows yet). I would love to find Frankie a good home and let him move on sooner than later, but he's also so pretty, and he's Frankie, what can I say? And Diego, I'm going to try to hold onto as long as I can get away with - just too sweet and cute, and I can't wait to see what he looks like when all his colors come in. And Norma, I'm holding out for that 1% chance she gets to keep her name.

That's it for me - was feeling very self-satisfied for filing a brief, only to realize I forgot to prepare a motion I needed to accompany it. I guess that's what I'll be doing tonight!