My Rhode Island Red hens turned five years old today. Next to Double Dots, they are my oldest birds.
My Girl decided that her favorite chicken needed a little ‘present’ for her birthday, and so yes, Maicey is wearing a pretty necklace. (Don’t worry, we took it off after her photoshoot.)
There was also some left over fajitas from our Cinco de Mayo dinner, that Maicey generous shared with the flock.
On April 11, 2015, I became a first time chicken momma to seventeen little yellow rooster chicks, and their three little brown&yellow sisters. It’s been five years since then, and a lot has happened. I’ve seen chickens come and go, added a lot of different breeds, and watched mother hens hatch out lots of babies.
We still have one of the original flock, our beloved Double Dots, who celebrated his first birthday without his sister this year. She would have enjoyed the day. It was warm, with sunshine and new green grass. Dots enjoyed but for her.
He is starting to show his age. His crow sounds like that of a little old man. The feathers around his face seem more white (gray hair, chicken style?) than they used to be. But he still walks around the coop/run/pasture with an air of purpose band and determination.
On May 5th, the handful of Rhode Island Reds we have left from our second round flock will also turn five.
Happy birthday (belated and early) to all my birds!
It’s been a stressful week.
I’ve suspected for a while that someone (or more than one some one) has been picking on my Silkie rooster, Frost.
Frost is a timid little guy, smaller than my other roosters and a bit of a loner. Lately, he’s been hanging out a lot by himself. I’ve wondered at it, but with my new, full time job, I haven’t had a lot of time to sit and observe what’s going on. However, with Covid-19 shutting down basically every thing, I find myself on an every other day work schedule and time to watch them.
I still couldn’t pinpoint who was picking on him, but you know how it goes… Sometimes when one does to, more if them will, too.
Frost started hiding in the duck house and I’d have to put him in at night.
And then last night, I found him there, huddled in the corner and caked with mud … and blood. Looked like he’d been mud wrestling with a bear, and lost.
I brought him inside, tucked him away in a nest and began doing a head count. At the same time, slowly looking at all the possible culprits.
Our youngest rooster, Barry, a little one my RiR Maicey hatched and raised at the end of them summer… also looked like he’d been mud wrestling, but won. I am pretty sure he did it.
The pictures I am about to show are NOT pretty. And they are very heart-breaking.
I had to bathe him, which is hard because he has very brittle feathers where he’s been trying to grow them back.
So it was more like him standing in the kitchen sink while I sprayed warm water over him to get out the mud and blood.
His eyes are swollen and I’ve been treating them with Vetricyn spray. You can tell it stings him when I spray it, but it’s necessary.
He is currently residing in a dog crate on our porch. Until his eyes are a little better, I can’t risk returning him to the flock.
The bully Barry’s days are numbered. It’s time we decided who of the 8 rooster we were sending to Freezer Camp anyway, but it’s been decided that it will happen sooner rather than later. There will be four of them leaving.
Possibly five if Frost doesn’t get better. I’m worried about those eyes, but I have faith in my Vetricyn.
And DH is building a smaller, enclosed coop, that I can possibly put Frost and some of the hens who’ve been over mated by over-enthusiastic younger rooster and need time to regrow feathers. He’s doing this emergency build right now, in the snow.
I love my DH. He is awesome on so many levels.
On a happier and more exciting note, tomorrow is Day 21 for my broody Columbian Wyandotte, Winnie and her seven little eggs. I am nervously awaiting the first signs of new peeps. I will talk more about that as it happens.
Three years ago today, I became the proud Chicken Momma to 20 little sexlinked chicks. Seventeen little yellow roo-lings and three sweet little hens.
Weren’t they cuties? Looking back on it, we are pretty sure that the little rooster napping on My Girl’s chest is no other than Double Dots himself. He still loves to be picked up and cuddled, my little lap rooster. I suspect he discovered his love of hugs on that first night.
Of those original twenty, only two remain… Double Dots and his sister, Abigail.
I’ve talked about them a lot, because no one has personality than these two, Dots is, of course, my main rooster. He’s is a fierce protector, a gentle lover of his ladies, and an all around lovable bird. Abby is the quintessential ‘mother hen’ and the boss of the flock. She let’s Dots ‘think’ he is, but really, it’s her and always has been.
Here they are now, in pictures taken just this morning. For three, they are still healthy and happy, although Abby gets a little cross with the younger hens and Dots is always grumbling about the ‘little roosters’ who are helping him watch the flock.
Happy birthday, Abby and Dots! Here’s to many more!
So today is Pip’s birthday. He is 1 years old today!
Isn’t he handsome? I gave him banana for a morning treat. He shared it with a henny. He’s a good boy!
And now, for the bad news.
Abby is down to two baby Easter Eggers. I don’t know what happened to the other two. They were there with her yesterday morning. Little Dude and went to clean the coop after church and they were all there.
I took pictures of them for their 1st week-aversary post.
All FOUR of them.
This morning there are only two.
I can’t even guess what happened. 😦
One year ago today, Little Dude and I went to the post office and returned home with a peeping box of baby chicks.
That’s right… my Rhode Island Red girls are finally 1!!!
Why, why thank you, Momma.
In celebration, here are a few of my favorite pictures of the Reds.
And here they are this morning, gathered around their ‘birthday treat’ of scratch and dehydrated cranberries.
Such happy girls!
My Rhode Island Red chicks are one week old today.
They are still small compared to the sexlinks. I’ve read that sexlinks were bred to mature quicker, so I’m not too concerned about the size of these ones. They are all healthy, eating and drinking well, and very active little chicks.
I’m actually surprised at how active they were, right from the first day. The Golds spent their first couple of days huddled under the brooder lamp. It was early April, so that could be a factor, but that’s what they did. Huddled. They spent very little time exploring the box and rarely went to the other side of it at all.
The Reds spend very little time under the brooder lamp and they always seem to be spread out all over the box, playing with the bells or each other.
They also spend a lot of time doing weird little things that have me scratching my head and worrying that they are secretly staging a prison break, ala Chicken Run:
The reason I think that? Almost every time I go to check on them, feed or water them, I will find the little squirts lined up around the edges of the brooder box, pecking out a constant tap-tap-tap, tap-tap-tap, tap-tap-tap. All 25 of them. tap-tap-tapping at the walls and floor of the brooder box. They stop when I ask them what they are doing. A couple of them will look up at me with these cute little ‘who, us?” expressions and then the tap-tap-tap will continue.
Again, my Golds spent their first couple of days huddling under the red glow of brooder lamp. So this behavior has me curious. Should I be prepared to be over-run by little fuzzy chicks in the near future, or are they looking for weaknesses in the walls they can exploit?
Happy One Week-aversary to my little peeps! Look how much you’ve grown!
I’m starting to see a lot of personality in them. I’m also starting to think they need something to do other than race each other around the cage.
Can anyone recommend good toys or treats for chicks this age? I’m thinking parakeet toys from the pet store.
There a Chick 