Counting eggs when they hatch....

WOW WHAT A FEW DAYS!!!  

Wednesday evening we started hearing baby chickies saying hello....

By thursday morning we had Bacon (Baby #1) then came Aegs (eggs, baby #2)

and then and then and then......but we are waiting for 1 more..not looking hopeful I found it on the edge of the nest barely under her and it was room temp...we'll see though...its not due to hatch till tomorrow (it was the last one laid)

 Bacon







                                                                       Aegs

Climbing on mama

Snuggle time

Snuggle time

Tandem climbing on mama

I found the food guys!!!  Come on out!!

And then there was 15.....

SERIOUSLY.......

after a ridiculous day of phone calls, accidents and police from different areas....I come home and my sweet little black silkie "Flo-Rida" was laying lifeless only 4 feet from the coop....about a foot away was a new crime scene with feathers everywhere and large, "bird-like" scratches on the ground...poor little guy was missing from his lower beak all the way down to his legs.... 

Proud of myself that I didn't cry until I called Nate, but I totally cried like a 2 year old....then put on my big girl panties and  cleaned up the mess....


*poor sweet Flo-Rida* ...Your babies are hatching next weekend and will never know you...we'll tell them you died a heroes death...in combat...probably with a hawk or eagle....

What's that sound?????

...What sound???  I don't hear any....OH, THAT sound!  That my friend is my long lost buddy....the sound of silence....and its glorious let me tell you...

After dang near a week of crowing inside my house (downstairs hallway to be exact)....the silkies have flown the coop...

well, I put their fuzzy buts back outside...

The weather broke this week and we had glorious 70 degree weather...and tomorrow too!!  I took the opportunity to get them out!  Even "holey face"....the scab looks great, well seated, very firm.  I watched to make sure no one was bothering him and went out to check in on him here and there during the day and his face looks great, no one seems to be pecking at it.

Tonight, the hubs reported that everyone was snuggled into their usual places in the coop which is a relief.


**JAZMINE UPDATE**

Well, mama dumped her water yesterday or the night before and pooped on the eggs so I had to clean that up and wipe off eggs and give her new nesting material...and of course swung by "The Chicken Chick's" facebook to check in to see if i possibly killed the babies in the process....i didnt BUT there was one silkie egg sticking out from under her and it wasnt too warm (i totally shoved it under her), but the chicken chick bought up a fabulous point about owning an incubator.....I probably should order at least a small one just incase i get a mama who cant keep up or kicks someone out....  *insert evil grin here*  I'm totally gonna order one next payday ...teeheehee....

Other that pooping on her babies, she seems good...stinky poop and all.....I kept the food and water away from the nest all day, i sure hope she decided to get the heck up and eat, drink and for heaven's sake poop somewhere else!!!

Hope to have pics tomorrow night of candling !!

cock-a-doodle WHO????

I should have known.....but still...are you kidding me???????   GAH!!!!    Rapunzel....has been....crowing...alllllll day....

Whenever Flo-Rida crows indoors, or Campbell crows outside...."Rapunzel" crows too....figures....


SO....  Rapunzel needs a new name....

1.) RuPaul (Suggested by Jen)
2.) Prince Charming (Suggested by Sydney)
3.) Flynn Ryder (suggested by Sydney)
4.) Eugene (suggested by me...it's Flynn Ryder's real name)




**Wound update**  Scabbed over now so i'm just watching it and letting it heal naturally....I'm not reapplying anymore ointment, just making sure it stays clean...

more pics in a few days ----would be great to put him outside tuesday ...its gonna be in the 60's!!  My chance to get the other 2 silkies outta my house!!!!

** Mama Jazmine update** 

 Candled her eggs last night...totally saw something MOVING inside one of the silkie eggs...may have been 2 things moving and I hope i was just seeing things because I can't handle twin silkies my first time hatching eggs!!!  I'm not even sure you're supposed to see anything moving or not, but it seemed to move on its own.  I think we are on day 8 on 5 of them and day 7 on 1 and day 6 on 1....I'm not sure how to count it if she laid 2 more eggs after she started sitting....

And then there were 16...

OK SO,  After much deliberation, a few videos, some questions to chicken pro's, a few shout outs for homes, and yes a few tears.....we decided the smartest thing to do was to kill/process the troublesome trio....

Of course I was not going to do it, so the hubs and my oldest son, Andrew, went down the road with the boys to his friend Gary's house who is also a chicken owner.  I don't have details...I do know it was quick and humane and I do have some helpful you tube videos of the process that he used.

It has always been the plan to consume any of our animals that were a problem or any roosters that were "extra".  They couldn't be rehomed since they were aggressive towards other birds and would cause problems in any flock.  They could have easily killed Jazmine and Rapunzel and they could seriously injured any of the birds...they were out of control. 

We still have 3 standard size roosters as well as at least 2 silkie roosters (possible 3rd)....so, its not that we don't like roosters.  

We aren't veggitarians, we eat chicken...why buy it if its in my back yard & its a problem bird no one wants? 

Since we've decided not to buy more than a couple of chicks we are going to hatch our own and the roosters  that become a problem will go to the freezer as soon as large enough...we might be going to a pet bird/meat bird housing situation if we can...or a holding pen with a shelter or something to separate them....we'll have a chicken village i suppose : coop w/run, silkie coop w/run, maternity coop w/run, quarentine coop w/run and possible "meat coop"...we'll see....



Chicken processing links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy_vutu5qO0&feature=youtube_gdata_player
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHqxnkaCgkk&feature=youtube_gdata_player





Another link that was posted in one of the chicken facebook groups i'm in that is really nice:

http://youtu.be/ICxR5KEHuu0

Poor little Rapunzel....

Poor little sweetie.....

She's lonely in her tote all alone...but she's eating and drinking, interactive when we talk to her, and she's having fun conversations with the dogs.


Cleaned her wound out again today...she didn't like that much.  It was a little bit pussy (very very small amount deep in there) so I made sure to irrigate all of the area I can see.  Used some 2x2 gauze pads to blot the area and no puss was visible after irrigating.  Reapplied some antibiotic ointment, cleaned her box and put her back in.  The skin is just hanging...if its not more healed by monday I'll consult the vet just down the road...I'm assuming they will be able to help, the practice and the private home are on the same FARM!  :) !!  YAY!  Fingers crossed.....



some pics...Sorry about the snot feather...totally should have gotten that for her BEFORE taking her pic for public display....

An assault most FOWL!!

My CSI/Law and Order watching days are gonna pay off let me tell you....

One of my sweet, tiny, white silkies was attacked today!  In the face!!!  None of the witnesses are talking, but I am collecting my evidence and will solve this mystery!

******

+In the criminal justice system poultry based offenses are considered especially heinous.  In my back yard, the dedicated detectives who investigate these  vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Schlaud Chicken Victims Unit.+

.... (don-don)....

just for those who watch law and order too...tee hee hee....

 

Today was a day like any other in the Schlaud Chicks Chicken Coop....except that an attack on a small, helpless sweetie was being planned!

The chickens did not venture more than a foot or two from the front of the coop today as it was below freezing and snow had fallen....the loving chicken owner brought food, water, and scratch to the chickens never knowing an evil doer was busy hatching his plan....

The victim: 

 Rapunzel (if she turns out to be a boy he will be Flynn Ryder...those of you with little girls will understand)

 her wounds.....

THE SCENE:  

The Medium velocity spatter in a downward direction indicates her attacker was taller than her, bigger, stronger and meant business.  This type of pattern is most often associated with blunt force trauma or cutting/stabbing actions.*

The sunset making it next to impossible to find more evidence of the brutal attack, but rest assured evidence collecting and forensic testing will continue.  INCLUDING but not limited to: beak swabbing of each and every bash brother member, wing and breast feather swabbing...and if they won't talk, I'll water board the lot of them!

For now she is in the safe house awaiting medical care  with the other silkies ready for witness protection agents to give them their new identities....

Medical care....well, I'm assuming I'll have to clean it..but I'll totally be hitting up The Chicken Chick on her facebook page or her blog for medical advice...she seems to need stiches, but hopefully not since I don't think i can do that....All bleeding has stopped and she is clotting normally.....

....To be continued....

*blood spatter info help....just that one line but i dont wanna be sued cuz i'm broke...the other part of the blood spatter was totally made up....

http://hemospat.com/terminology/index.php?cat=projected&sub=MVIS

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.....

HEY LOOK.... SNOW!!!!  Finally!  I know its not much, but its something!  

Went out to let out the chickens because the sound of 8 crowing roosters is really super annoying.....this is what I found...

 

Please mama, please let us out.....we want to run!

And then ....

...wait...what the heck is that????  

Followed by....

Hmmmmm...maybe...

And then...after I shoveled a path to the water....

Hmmmmm.....I know I have more chickens than this....

Oh...yea...here you all are.....pansies....OH, BUT LOOK!!  the easter egger young ladies are checking out the nesting boxes!!!!  Maybe some new eggs in the near future????  I HOPE SO!!!  WOOOHOOO!!!  And hopefully we'll get some green or blue eggs thanks to their daddy being an ameracauna!

Poop watch

I am a frequent stalker of the Chicken Chick :)...well, her blog. LOL....today's topic is poop!  We are trying to determine if Jazmine is leaving the nest to eat/drink ....my main source of help is Kathy the chicken chick :) ! 

Here is her page on POOP!  Viewer beware...lol...

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/02/whats-scoop-on-chicken-poop-digestive.html


Now for the Jazmine update:

she pooped in her flippin nest...so I got to clean that out.  Checked on her eggs and they all look good!!  I tried taking photos of my candling, but they suck so I will try again in a few days...this time with help...You cannot successfully take pics while holding a flashlight with an egg on top and disposable gloves on....but here they are...

Ok...you can kinda see where the "spider webbing" is...kinda, but i can totally see it in person....like i said, the pics suck...

Here...let me draw it in a little....

Here you can see more spider webbing.

Jazmine pics for today :)  

here she's readjusting after I took her off the nest for a few minutes.....                                                       

Jazmine-gate

WOOOHOOOOO!!!  Jazmine is sitting pretty...although I'd like to know that she has gotten up to eat and drink...  she laid 2 MORE eggs!!  So she is sitting on 5 silkie eggs and 2 barred rock eggs!!!  We candled them and we see growth activity!!!  

update for today.....1/20/2013

First....HAPPY BIRTHDAY #3!!!  My son Benjamin turned 8 today and really has been great all day....he is waiting for his birthday dinner till the big kids come back from their dad's next weekend....so cute!

Second...broody booty!  Little Miss Jazmine is doing great...saw her roll eggs today and she shifted the direction she was facing a bit, but I still haven't seen her eat or drink or poo...I'll be concerned if i dont see disturbed bedding or droppings by morning.










And last but not least...

I think the girls are back in the swing of things!!  We have 4 barred rocks left that were laying before winter...went down to maybe an egg a day...now we are back to 4 eggs a day every day for the last 7 days!!!!  Thanks girls!!!!

New pics as promised!

Here are some great new pics of the flock...

What are YOU lookin' at????

 The Bash Brothers....and Fozzie (far left used to be "the Cranky Princess & the far right used to be "the other princess"... apparently they are indeed boys...horny teenagers to be exact) 

 The infamous "Escape"  thought she was a girl, still might be...but might be a boy....

 Campbell on the left and Flo-Rida on the right

 the white silkies "Cinderella" and "Rapunzel" .... and the speckley sisters "Glitter" and "Sparkle"

 Diego (AKA "the Cockrel formerly known as Princess")

 Princess ...starting to get some really pretty speckles! 

 Princess and Penguin face

 Buddy...such a pretty boy!  As long as his temperament holds, we're keeping this guy

 the part of the Bully Brood

 Penguin face having some play time on the wood pile

 Better shot of buddy's colors

Chickie poo....oh that is nasty....

Poor little Jazmine!  Not only is she broody and I won't let her sit on eggs, BUT those rotten horny teenage boys won't leave her alone!!!!  They are constantly taking turns pinning her down and ...well...you know... and they weigh at least 6lbs a piece to her 1lb.  On top of all that, this morning she was lethargic/limp, unresponsive and had nasty sloppy poo all down her backside.  I brought her in and popped her in Josie's crate with a towel, water w/electrolytes (see bottom for link to the fabulous chicken chick who directed me to the info).... within a few minutes she "popped" out a giant pile of nasty poo.....way bigger than what should probably come out of a tiny little silkie girl.  OH MY how rank that was....bleh.  She seems great now, still I will keep her inside and give her a bath later (she is covered in her poo, another chickens poo, and boy-chicken-nasty...again, bleh!)  

 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the chicken chick and her blog of helpful info!

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/07/chicken-heat-stress-dehydration-and.html

The Chicken Chick: Clever Chicks Blog Hop #17 AND Secret Chili Recipe...

I LOVE THE BLOG HOP!!!  HAD TO SHARE!!!!

The Chicken Chick: Clever Chicks Blog Hop #17 AND Secret Chili Recipe...:   GIVEAWAY,  The Chicken and the Dog  children's book ! This book is a fun-filled story that follows the adventures of backyard chic...

Update!!

Update!!  Pics to follow this weekend.....

Apparently I needed more silkie chickens....so I got 2 white young "ladies"...they are supposed to be girls, but we'll see.


One of the black silkie "ladies"...Flo...is now known as Flo-rida for she is a he and is crowing up a storm.


The brood of 9:  thought we lucked out and only got 2 males in the whole group and that the rest were all girls....surprise surprise surprise!!!   "the other princess" and "the cranky princess" are actually BOYS...grrrrr!  They are taking turns gang-raping the little black silkie....


EGGS:  the egg situation was grim, dark even...yesterday all 4 barred rock ladies laid eggs!!  OH and the black silkie is laying eggs too!  Almost every day!  She is also trying to go broody....which sucks.  We added white x-mas lights to help with the lack of sunlight, i think that helped since we definitely get 2 full size eggs a day and a silkie almost every day.

Roosters:  Campbell is a good little fella now, not giving any problems to anyone but the dog.  Diego, however, is becoming a feisty little buggar and is constantly challenging me and he bites....he's gonna be dinner soon.  Buddy is a sweet little guy who still keeps to himself.  The newly noted boys "the cranky princess and the other princess" are excitable and trying to hump every female in the flock.  Silly boys... 

*pics of the coop lights and new pics of the growing brood to come!!!!