Saturday, August 25, 2012

Carmen Makes a Friend

So far, Carmen has been tolerated by everyone (except Nellie, but we'll get to that later) but she has nobody that is really her friend. Today I noticed that Carmen was not only allowed to lay in the chicken pile, she wasn't chased, she wasn't pecked (only occasionally by Nellie), and most surprising of all she has a buddy! Usually when free ranging everybody pairs off so that everyone is close but, they always have a buddy who sticks to them. Up until today the pairs were Shirley and Nellie, Dot and June, and then Carmen was not welcomed into the general vicinity. But today Nellie had to flit between groups because Carmen and Shirley were inseparable!



Hopefully now that the boss hen has accepted Carmen, Nellie will have to shape up.


Poor Dot has so many physical problems. I think she has severe scoliosis because her neck is very crooked and wing droops while the other is held high. 


Dot is a sweetheart though - never minds handling or cuddling and coos when you pet her. She is really far behind developmentally - she is just losing the baby feathers around her neck! You can see a little fuzz in the picture below. She is starting to get speckles on her back and tail which is fun to see.




Shirley is a very good leader, in my opinion. She is always on the watch for predators, she doesn't pick on anybody, and she is good at finding spots for dust baths.


Shirley has gotten much more cuddly of late - it used to be she was practically as fond of being held as Nervous Nellie, but now she is much better. Let's hope that's permanent.



Carmen is loud. Not only is she loud, she sounds like a goose. I'm not kidding or exaggerating - I've had people ask me if I had gone completely nuts and bought a goose to accompany my chickens. I am concerned that the poor neighbors don't love her quite as much as I do.


Carmen is quite possibly just as bad as Nellie is when it comes to snuggling. She is fine when you get her, but that's only if you can get her! She is super quick and very decisive (no weak moments of indecision where you can easily grab her).


 Carmen is almost certainly the smartest chicken I have. Shirley is bright too, but Carmen seems to be an intellectual as far as chickens go. Carmen also refrains from panicking in situations where other chickens freak out (mostly referring to how Nellie panics when I come to pick her up - Carmen strategically selects the most secure hiding place in the bushes or the clearest path for escape)

 


Oh, Nellie. What shall I do with her? I love her dearly, I really do, but she is a bully and she spreads panic throughout the flock. She is also very talkative, which doesn't really add anything to her rather negative list of characteristics.


Nervous Nellie isn't actually afraid of me - she is afraid of being picked up by me. So she'll walk right up and peck my feet and stand beside me, but as soon as those terrifying, nightmarish hands stretch into out to mercilessly steal her from her beloved flockmates she is gone.


But everybody thinks she is pretty, so I suppose that is a plus.



June is absolutely brainless. I am sure she has no more than two neurons in that empty skull of hers, because she is entirely without any mental function beyond instinct (and even some of those are less than optimal).


I adore June. She is goofy, likes to be held, and she has a beard. Does it get any better?


But it does! Soon enough June will be laying pretty blue eggs for me! Just another 3 months or so... 


Honestly, June is very fun to watch in the yard. Poor June spent 6 minutes trying to get over a bush branch today. She tried to push it over, tried to fit underneath, tried to fly over (only to hit the bush), and finally, finally she stepped over it. Carmen wouldn't have had to try twice.


Don't forget about the babies! They went out today too of course. They look very similar, but they have more feathers on their backs at the base of their wings. But you won't get to see because I didn't take a photo that shows their new feathers!









The Babies Go Outside

Today I took the babies (Cora, Gwen, and Heidi) out to play in the yard! After a few moments of huddling with me, they decided it was safe to venture out into the great unknown! I had an umbrella out for them to hide under because my other batch of babies seemed to feel safer under one when they were younger.





Nobody left the umbrella's protection except to dart in and out when being chased by another chick. I was sitting on a towel because the grass was a little itchy, but Cora stepped on the towel and decided it would make a nice dust bath.




Everyone snuggled up and started bathing with her! It was really funny because they all acted like they were kicking up dirt stuffing it in their feathers, but not one realized there was no dirt! After their scooting and scratching and rolling they all fell asleep.





They are very adorable. These girls had around 60 friends when I took them from their big brooder, so now with only three they have to determine who is boss. I have a feeling Heidi is going to be at the bottom of the pecking order - she is such a sweetheart but I think that makes her less dominant.



Gwen and Cora are both very active and both seem equally dominant. This similarity in temperament creates an tough situation when determining the pecking order, one that they choose to solve by little baby pecks and attempting to be taller than each other (leading to a hilarious stand-off).





At nine days old the babies can't do much of anything to each other - their beaks aren't sharp enough to do damage and they aren't able to fly so they can't pounce on each other. So instead of worrying about Cora hurting Gwen and likewise, I can enjoy the goofy entertainment they supply. I think I ought to make a reality TV show out of these chicks (though the older girls really have much more drama).

The babies have such adorable tail feathers!



Their wings are pretty well feathered, but they aren't strong enough to fly yet. It's funny because they think they can fly but all they can do is flap! Cora and Gwen are enthusiastically practicing; soon enough they'll be flying the brooder!



I carefully showed the flock Cora (I didn't let her on the ground unjust held her do don't worry about her!) and nobody except Shirley showed any interest. Shirley came trotting over and warily approached the chirping fluff-ball. She eyed Cora and hopped into my lap to get closer (to my concern) and I decided that Shirley was done looking at baby chicks for today. I don't know whether Shirley's interest was motherly or friendly or "Hi there, I'm going to peck you to pieces."

I intended to post on the older girls too, but I ended up building a dust bath for them instead. Carmen is getting along better, but Nellie still rejecting her. I will try to get to them tomorrow!

Thursday, August 23, 2012

I'm an Addict!!

I got new babies! I couldn't help but miss the boys (now happily living on a ranch), and noticed that because Zella is no longer with us we have no white eggs. Thus, it seemed perfectly reasonable to purchase 3 more fuzzy fluff balls!


Gwen the White Leghorn, Cora the Ancona, and Heidi the Easter Egger! They were hatched on the 15th and I got them the 22nd (one week old). Gwen and Cora will lay white eggs and Heidi will hopefully lay blue eggs.

Heidi the Easter Egger
Gwen the White Leghorn
Cora the Ancona
Bringing the babies home!