Happy Harvest Blog
Puff Mommy is fine
Yikes! Puffycheeks gave me one hell of a scare. Even though I had seen her walking around thirty seconds earlier, she looked stone dead on the path. I saw her eye, though, so the cold chill surging over me passed, and I got the camera to capture the dead bird pose. Then she hopped up. It's hot, it's just really hot! She is molting a bit, getting patchy and sparse around her neck. Beards are definitely hot in the summer. Galahad and the keets visiting the chicks. And Philippe visiting the chicks.
Oiseaux Tableaux
The Famous Five. These didn't grow up together (different Silkie moms), but they have found each other. They clearly share genes. These are the smallest of the free chicks (they grow up so fast!), and they're very adventurous. There once was a time when chickens perching in low branches was a novelty. Now it's de rigeur. The tweens. At least one of these culprits is starting to practice his crowing. Little Pepper is still in this mix despite getting quickly outgrown (Silkie/Barred cross) by the big Chanticleers.
Hens and their chicks
Daisy's chicks have the greatest outfits right now. Worthy of Björk. Silver is still special cottons chicks are little screamers. Always yelling, no apparent reason. They're moved up to the big Silkie house with the grownup hens. Making the rounds of the dish, literally. Feisty's chicks are the newest. Foxy's four: And Galahad's chicks! Monopolizing a feed dish.
Birdland
Ketchup and Mayo, hangin'. They're so mild. I think it was from being raised by a Silkie hen. They won't leave Silkieland, even though they can. They come and go from inside to out, visiting the roosters on the outside, but always back in at night. There was a hummingbird trapped in the greenhouse, zooming back and forth, stopping to refill at tomato flowers. I thought it best to not interfere and hope he got out.
Close call and a happy ending
I had a rough-ish day and came home wanting to just eat and go to bed, but then had unexpected visitors that disrupted my usually smooth bird closing procedures. With the delay and tumult, Galahad and his keet fleet failed to get back into the greenhouse! That they spend nights in the greenhouse is the only thing that allows me to sleep - it's a hard-won habit, as guineas usually want to roost outside, and inside is what keeps them safe from owls and foxes.
A fleet of broody Silkies
Everyone is outside today! First day out for Foxy and her full-size chicks. She's overdue for it, but it's been rainy. Cotton and Daisy know all about out but have also been in for a bit due to weather. Ten to one one of these hens (Cotton) is going to fly out and go big world today. And tonight, one set of them has to go to the big house - move in with the other hens in Silkieland. That means the hens will all scrap to sort out their order again, but the chicks will like that a lot.
The look you get when you walk in on someone in the bathroom
I didn't know she was in the bath. I thought this pine tree was unoccupied and I walked right up to fill a water bowl. I was definitely interrupting. I think I got a bigger start. She had the pine tree spa all to herself and was enjoying her privacy with wild abandon. She got over it though. *Foxy has four! Her last egg hatched a couple of hours after I was taking pictures of the three new chicks,
Three new chicks
Foxy has managed to hatch 3 of 4 chicks. She somehow broke all her first eggs, and I gave her a second batch, so she has been setting longer than usual. She's used her confinement productively to start regrowing her moulted feathers. One. Two. Three! They're full-size eggs and chicks, looks like two Ameracauna crosses and a Chanticleer. Seems like the danger zone. Foxy is notably the least good-looking of all the Silkie hens, always grubby and making no effort at all. Just a slovenly chicken.
Baby beefin'
Staredown! The little roosters are beefin' again. Until one of their sisters runs up, then they're suddenly an unconvincingly casual. Pepper's found a new perch. She's not going to miss any water fountain gossip. Cream Puff jumped up in the walnut tree for some alone time. Way up in the tree. Fluffing herself up, walking back and forth on the branch. Higher than chickens normally go. Chris got nervous. She came down in her own time, just when he started to look like he'd go up after her.
Itty bitty feather slippers
The little Silkie chicks are ridiculously cute. There's five of them; these two and Daisy has three, including the late silver arrival (who's doing very well). It's nice to have Silkie chicks under Silkie moms; I got used to seeing them with the fast-growing, out-sized "regular" babies. The moms are so doting, and fierce! The five are all still tiny fuzzballs, even ten days old, and you can see their feathered feet. I can already tell that this little brown one comes from the "extravagantly feathered feet" stock.
Premature vocalization
THIS little guy was crowing today. It sounded like someone stepped on a squeaky toy. I think he was appropriately embarrassed and didn't do it again. Hope he puts that project on the back burner for a few months. I wouldn't have thought it possible if I weren't looking right at him.I'm like, You! You are barely 12 inches tall at your full stretch. You have nothing to crow about yet! The teens are so cute!! Bright yellow, big feet, that they have yet to grow into, like puppies.
So it's come to this
I knew it was a thing. I didn't know it was an industry. (Totally worth the click). I missed my calling as chicken seamstress. I have a couple of hens who would be really into that tutu (I'm thinking of you, Cheeks). I believe hens have enough self-awareness to have a sense of pride in appearance, and it would feel like an extra nice tail. I remember clothing changing the demeanor and status of Jean Jacket.
A lot of pictures, for a day I didn't take any pictures
All the things I didn't take pictures of today: Moving the piggies into some lush new jungle land. I paid for it in bug bites, but they're piggy pleased. Chris and Cream Puff canoodling. They really are always together. Two new chicks, little Silkie chicks. Two new broodies, and wooo Nelly, one of them is vicious! This one was broody without eggs. I wasn't sure she was broody because she was sitting, but not on eggs, and she didn't know what to do with herself because she didn't have eggs,
Romeo's first day
Chris started his day with fights. The Silkie roosters took him on one at a time, from the top of the pecking order down. While he was distracted, another one chased Cream Puff and grabbed her by the tail. Hugely indignant, she escaped to the top of the coop, all ruffled up, to watch the fights. This was crazy! I was like, what are you thinking!!? This little rooster taking on the giant is like when your unsporty desk job friend has a few drinks and wants to fight the bouncer.
CHICKEN LOVE STORY
Cream Puff is back! To catch up, I sold some chicks, and thought it would be in everybody's best interest for Mom to go with the chicks. So Cream Puff (The Fierce) went along with all her chicks to a new home, and the plan was that once her chicks didn't need her anymore, she would come back to me. Updates filtered back: the same day her sister Perchick, still at home, turned up her beak at her chicks and went on an extended date with Philippe, Cream Puff dropped her chicks, and embarked on a romantic holiday with their rooster, Chris.
Cuteness is a full time job around here.
The rooster is making himself comfortable in the food tray. I’m just gonna lay down right here. The three pine trees I pruned up are seeing the use I imagined. Ursa and her chicks are under this one, and the teens have decamped from Pine Tree One (leaving that one to the grownups) to their own clubhouse tree, where they are cuddling (too much!). All the trees now have established dust baths, too. There’s a new addition! One teeny tiny little silver chick.
the melon doesn't get anyone excited.
Usually, melon rinds are a huge hit. I thought this one was just fine, but the chickens took a big pass on it. What is it, Mom? Is it good? Is it? Actually, not really. And they all moved on. This little one really wanted to try some, but I was too close for comfort. Every time I reach for it there's this loud clicking noise!
Friends
Apples and Sprout - inseparable. I'm pretty sure now Sprout is a hen, so they should stay friends for a long time. Cheeks and Galahad. Both are a little more adventurous than the rest of the Family, who are never far away. They are plucking the seeds off the ends of the dry grass together. Ketchup and Mayo. Ketchup is developing some scrappy cheeks, so she must be part Ameracuana. I gave up trying to teach them that they sleep in the big coop.
Perching faithful
Interest in the new trees was muted. There was some investigation and hay scritching, but the first tree is still the crowd favorite. I do mean crowd. I mused "Why is it always the chicks that are so excited about the trees?" And HW said it makes sense; kids usually enjoy climbing trees more than adults. The winter is going to be interesting. I'm going to have to build some serious multi-level structures in the greenhouse this year. Somebody left me a nice feather in the garden.
Instagram.
I may not make a blog post every day, but at least I Insta.
Bite size.
