It's beginning to look alot like Christmas!

Thought I'd post a picture or two from our chicken photo shoot. Ahhhh, the glamour!!!

This is Cinnamon, the Silkie.

Beautiful Fall Photos!

We got some cute shots of our flock pigging out on pumpkin.

Here's Cookie. It looks like the pumpkin is eating HER!

And here is a group shot: Lou is one handsome rooster!

Doom!

It is "Day 21" as they say in the incubating world. Hatch day! I don't anticipate any hatch at all. We are down to 4 out of 24 eggs. I have little hope for these... We have not seen any movement in them. In fact, I think all the eggs were "fried" by a temperature spike early on in the process. We opened some eggs this week & did not see so much as a tiny 7-day sized embryo.
So we did what any senseless chicken farmers would do: We put more eggs in the incubator! Insanity it is!
Oh, and I am considering allowing R. to purchase some of the Showgirl birds that we tried & failed to hatch... I am weak.
Here are some Showgirl photos - for the uninitiated. They are a Turken/Silkie cross, ugly as sin.
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/ShowGirls/BRKShowGirl.html

Incubating is a PAIN!

A psychic pain.

We have been incubating eggs - our Silkies, Lynda's Silkies & Mr. S.'s Showgirls - for nearly two weeks. (Don't ask who these other people are. They are internet hookups...) This incubating thing is supposed to be easy: set it up, establish the temperature & put the damn eggs in. It has been a daily struggle of adjusting the temp in the face of weather changes & household appliance temps. I wanted to chuck out the entire lot on Thursday & now I have hope! Sigh! I feel like a loser for wishing this.

But then Rose says, "Billy SHOULD be a daddy!" and I melt... Billy (above) is the most humanly cuddly & sexually aggressive thing - ever. Yikes.

Sex & the Silkies

We now have four Silkies. One, Ginger, is laying eggs. Rose & I just had to go get ourselves a gently used incubator. Now we are trying to hatch eggs in the basement. "It is science class for homeschool," we rationalize. Our menfolk are not amused.

Silkies are too cute!

New squawks in the flock.

Our nice new friend - M. - was so happy to get two new Silkie roosters for her flock. She reciprocated by giving us Angel and Cinnamon - two young Silkie hens. These girls are super-petite, true bantams. For now, they are in isolation in the polebarn. (Dad is none too happy about that!) After they are quarantined for awhile, we will introduce them to the flock. I think that our sole Silkie roo, Billy, will be happy to (finally) have two chicks that are smaller than him.

Roo too many!

This is Blue, one of our re-homed roos! He will be happy on a farm in Lapeer.

We are sorting out our flock, finding homes for roosters, since SIX was way too many. We were able to sell a pair of Polish, last month. This morning, Rose and I found a new home for two Silkie roosters (thanks, M.!) and were gifted two new pullets!

Summertime & the living's easy!

I don't know whether the "catfish are jumping," but the garden is high and the chickens are looking healthy and big. No more baby chicks, here. Lou, our Andalusian, is clearly the man of the Hen House. He started crowing last week, little raspy baby-boy crowing! Gosh, he is handsome!

Rose and I panted the coop, yesterday. We transformed the plain cinderblock and old yellowed garage door into a barn-red chickie palace!

Back from Vacay.

We went to Hawaii for a week. Came home to GIANT BIRDS!!! There's Helena on the left. She has sprouted a mohawk; looks really different than "Baby Helena." On the right is Queenie, the cochin.

Hittin' the one month mark.

The "kids" are four weeks old, today. They are out in the coop and enjoying their 30' x 14' run. We are down to 28 chicks. It appears that the hawks knew that we planned to put up our netting Sunday, so they came "for lunch" on Saturday. We lost one chick.On a positive note: We lucked out with our Turken, Elvira. She is responding well to antibiotics and healing from her injuries.

Settling In

We are settling into our routine, which is odd with over two dozen chickens in the basement. One difficulty we have had centers around Elvira, our Turken. Her flock-mates have taken to pecking on her bare little neck. It is all scabby & roughed up, so she is in the "isolation ward." We were able to erect a baby gate in the chick brooder, so Elvira can be with the others without being nibbled on. I posted some questions about Elvira on Backyardchickens.com. One thing I learned is that it is common for Turkens to be targeted for abuse. One woman even sent me pictures of a pen she created to keep her two Turkens from being injured by the rest of the flock. I just dunno... The prospect of building a second coop & run for this girlie does not excite me.

They are a week old, already!

R. & I have been on full-on "potty duty," meaning we have been cleaning the brooder CONSTANTLY. Our babies have doubled in size since we picked them up last Wednesday morning. Some are much larger than others: Our big, dark chicks (which might be Austrolorps or Jersey Giants) tower over our petite Silkies. All are growing wing feathers.
Oh, and the hatchery made a little mistake. They sent NINE goofy, bantam (small sized) Polish birds instead of the TWO I ordered. It's like getting parakets.

Day Two

This morning, I saw the grey Polish in the brooder. I picked it up. I rubbed it behind its head. It was so comfortable, it fell asleep in my arms. This grey Polish hen is so cute. I has a furry face, big cheeks and fuzzy feet. It made an adorable snoring sound when I held it. Her name is going to be Helena.
R.H.

Day One

Early A.M. We drove to the post office without waiting for them to call us. Found the lobby closed. Followed a worker to the back entrance & pleaded our way inside. Yes, they had our box, right there by the door: "peep! peep!" Box of chicks rode home on R.'s lap. We were so excited!
Got home: 32 chicks (one deceased). Four are clearly Polish, with their pale yellow tophats. One really, really weird girlie; she has no fuzz on her neck, up to the ears. A Google search told us she is a Turken, a breed from Transylvania. So, I (D.H.) insist that she will be named Elvira, after the cheesy 1980's comedianne. R. is not familiar with Elvira, but goes along with the name. One chick named, "only 30" to go!