Tuesday cluckle

Green eggs and ham?

Hah! Found a way to upload images by sneaking into Explorer... for some reason Firefox isn't working with Blogger's new post interface, go figure...

Anyways, here are some of my Easter Egger girls:

I just love their pretty, pretty eggs!

Plus they are too gosh-darn cute with those beards...

Now if only I can one day fulfill my dream of adding some BLUE egg layers and dark chocolate brown ones, too... ah! Someday :-)

Stupid blogger!

It's broken again...

I cannot add any photos to my posts (seem to be a wide-spread blogger issue) so I can't spoil you with pics of the flock goofing off - so annoying!

Anyone else having the same problem?

Well, that was a disappointment...

The two new girls, Millie and Confetti, are going back to their breeder on Sunday... They are just waaaay too wild and flighty and apparently come from a line of nervous birds so they won't calm down over time.

Such a disappointment, they are sooo pretty!

I have a hard time putting food and changing the water in their condo, they freak out and slam themselves against the walls, screaming and hyperventilating, feathers flying everywhere until they fall in a heap of exhaustion - even if I'm sooo gentle and slow and quiet - man it's stressful. I'm afraid they'll die of a self-induced heart attack FFS!

Never seen anything like this - ugh. And I had researched the breed beforehand, too - Mille Fleurs are supposed to be very calm and docile, perfect for children even.

Whoooa. Not these two.

They cannot be trusted in a cage-free environment and will stress out my other banties so back they go... The breeder was very understanding and is happy to get them back, in exchange I'll get two black production (laying) hens that are 6 months old, he assured me they were laid back and smooth. Perfect!

All part of the learning process, I guess...

-Technodoll aka Decision-Making Mama Hen

Tuesday cluckle - rated PG!

Newest additions :)

I think I'm all set now until next spring... or so I hope!

On Saturday I traded a bantam BLRW cockerel for these two pretty ladies, aren't they sweet colorful things? Flighty and nervous as heck though, but that's understandable as they have never been handled and lived in tight quarters with a roo all their lives...

They are Mille Fleur d'Uccle hens,
a Belgian breed:

I've named them Millie and Confetti :-)

They are almost 10 months old now.

One is bearded and one isn't but they're just coming out of a molt so we'll see how their feathers grow in... They've never had fresh greens or been outside so they've hit the jackpot here, that's for sure. I expect them to look (and be) in much better shape in a few months after eating mama's special breakfasts!

I do hope they mellow out over time though, they almost give themselves heart attacks whenever I stick my hand in their condo to top up the food bin :-(

-Technodoll aka Full House Mama Hen

Prepping for winter - yes, already!

Is it me or aren't the seasons just crashing into each other at breakneck speed?

Scary Mary!

We're soon getting near-freezing temps at night so one of my projects today includes winterizing the small coop where our banties sleep -

Remember the re-purposed ice fishing shack?

The windows have gaps all around them so they need sheeting with plastic to cut the drafts - I also need to clean up all the cobwebs near the tin roof and try to plug the gaps there with pink insulation fiber. That will allow me to use the 175W heating lamp during the night so the wee ones don't freeze when the temps dip below zero.

By end of October the flocks' new winter quarters should be all ready (I'm fixing up part of the stables for them), it will be sad to not see them free-range outside during the day but what can you do - it's gonna be cold, dark and full of snow until next spring so we have to adapt.

How do you deal with winter and your flocks?

Life of Henrietta

(picture clicks bigger!)

...and the girlfriends!

Since it wasn't fair for Ti-Lou to hog all the attention, here he is with Lola, one of his girlfriends (same breed, blue laced red wyandotte) - isn't she beautiful? I wish I could have caught her in sunlight instead of shade, I'll try to get better photos soon...

(pic clicks bigger)

She's as cuddly soft and as sweet as she looks!

Here is her sister Lady,
who has more red and less blue:
(click to see lacing details)

I love these girls :)

They both should start laying sometime in October, they were born in April but the breed isn't that fast to mature. No rush, I'm enjoying their eye-candy factor every day!

Happy Tuesday, peeps!

-Technodoll aka Proud Mama Hen

Meet Ti-Lou

This is one of my roos, Ti-Lou (pronouned tee-loo, slang for little wolf in french) - he is a Blue Laced Red Wyandotte, going on 6 months old soon:

(pic clicks bigger, go take a peek!)

Isn't he just so handsome?

He's the 2nd roo in command in the flock he lives with, a real sweetheart - so gentle, so afraid of me during the day (I can't get near him) but when night comes and he's perched up on his sleeping quarters with the girls I'm allowed a cuddle session, LOL!

He's not done growing and maturing yet, I can only imagine how amazing he'll be next summer - I'm so lucky to have him :-)

-Technodoll aka Proud Mama Hen

The deadliest hunter

Today I saw my sweet little tame Diva (a small white leghorn pullet with the biggest personality ever) running around with A DEAD MOUSE in her beak :-o

Of course she was being chased by a few other girls who wanted some o'dat tasty snack -

*faints*

I don't know if she found the mouse in the bushes or if she killed it but oh wow, I never expected to see that... I mean I've heard of chickens killing and eating mice and small rodents but seeing is believing, LOL!

I love my girls - they've got SKILLZ! :-D

-Technodoll aka Proud Mama Hen

Wednesday cluckles

When the heart breaks :-(

Losing a loved one is never easy - no creature is too small to mourn...

Our youngest little silkie girl, Pichounette, passed away this morning at barely five months of age, after a life-long battle with an enlarged crop - a defect she inherited from her mom.

She never developed properly and fit in the palm of my hand, her massive crop comprising most of her body weight. Poor little angel, she fought until the very end and I cannot help but shed hot tears as I see her last moments nestled in the tall green grasses, a tiny ball of fluff in the sun wasting away - she should have had a long and vibrant life but never had the chance.

I held her cold little body in my hands as she gasped her last weak breaths this morning. I never want to live through that again.

Mommy loves you, little angel... you will be missed very much...

RIP beautiful one.

-Technodoll aka Weeping Mama Hen

Ah! Finally over!

The week-long heat wave finally broke overnight and the flocks are looking mightily relieved, they've stopped panting like dogs and waddling around with their wings outstretched, hiding deep in dirt holes.

I hope to get more eggs soon!

Mind you, the heat triggered giant molts in many of the girls so it will be a while until their systems are rebooted, but still.

Eggs! Eggs! Eggs!