Good rainy afternoon!
Its a gray rainy day so thought I would work on the pictures I have taken of my 'kids' & realized it was a good day to write as well. Today I don't have anything really in mind that is important, just things running through my mind. Its sort of funny how much I have become attached to my 'kids'. I always thought I'd just get them, feed & house them & that would be it. It now seems I have favorites who have loving (?) personalities. OK, so I am going way beyond the realistic view of chickens, but you know the ones, who you can hold & look up at you with those cute chicken eyes then fall asleep in your arms? Those are the ones I seem to fall head over heels for & they make me realize just how important I am to their well being. I have some who are just chickens, they don't want to be near me except when I bring the feed, but others will come to me & jump up in my lap & talk to me. Bowzer, who had a stroke when she was young, still needs to come see me & tell me about her day. She is content to settle in my arms & just chat away. When she is finished, she will jump down & go on with her business most of the time. But sometimes, she follows me around as I work on the coop or run. May Belle, who never recovered the use of her leg after Chatty pounced on her too hard, is another that wants me to hold & talk to her. Even though she is over 6 months old, she will still worble to me when she is comfortable in my lap. I will sit & read while she sleeps or tells me she wants down. Voodoo Moon who is completely crippled by birth, has a little noise she makes when she is content, it almost sounds like a laugh. Even though she can eat on her own, she gets fed by me once a day with wet food so I know she is getting enough water. She lives in the ER playpen & has a big soft teddy bear she likes to be under. And yes, I make sure she has it over her when she wants to sleep! I have a new girl, Rosy, who came to me last week because she was getting all her tail feathers pulled out by the bigger girls. Now she is cute but very afraid of everything, which I don't blame her. Catching her takes 2 people but once I have her, she will relax & let me tend to her tail area. Last night was the first time she actually stayed in my lap without me holding her. She has never really been held so it will take time for her to become comfortable with me, I think. Well, it does seem I have a theme with all of this....if they have been injured or sick I get attached, guess its all the time spent with them. But I am the type of person who has to be involved or why do it? Sometimes I wish my rooster 'Cashmire' was nicer, but then I won't trust him to protect the girls, which I might add HE is very good at. But my poor 51 yr old legs are taking a beating with him, when he decides momma is too close. Now that Spring is in the air here, both boys have taken it upon themselves to be more aggressive with me at times. I am slowly (painfully) learning the signs from both of them when its time to back off. Even Chatty, my mild mannered boy, gets a little up in the feathers if I am near Scarlette. Can't wait to introduce him to the new girls I will be getting this weekend! I have a feeling I will need to stay clear for a bit until he calms down, if you get my meaning. My neighbor is getting a new batch of chicks & wants to thin out her older girls who don't lay as well anymore. They are all big enough that I think they will be good hens for Chatty to have. I am hoping to find a Silky male for Bowzer since she is so small. My 2 roosters are too big for her & the last Silky male I had for her was the perfect fit. Sadly he died last October so she has been in with Cashmire who leaves her alone since he has 4 big girls to play house with. but I really think she needs a mate again that won't hurt her. Its funny but Cashmire who is very aggressive with Chatty, will leave my male Silkies alone if they are with him. Plus I am smart enough to put the male in when he is small before he crows & that seems to help. I had this plan when I decided to raise chickens to only have maybe 3 to 6 hens & no roosters because I didn't want to hatch eggs. Well here I am 1 1/2 yrs later with 2 roosters, wanting another plus taking in any girls people don't want. The small hen house is now being re-designed from 4ft X 3ft to 7ft X 10ft with a wall down the middle so I can have both roosters on their own side. The 9ft X 12ft run is now also being extended & divided so they also have their own space without the fights. My wonderful art shop is now over run with chicken dust/dander, straw, feed & wood shavings. I keep thinking some day....I just might get to use it to create my stained glass & jewelry again, but for now the chickens get to have my wonderful space & I get to use the kitchen table.
Well until next time have a wonderful chicken day!
Its a gray rainy day so thought I would work on the pictures I have taken of my 'kids' & realized it was a good day to write as well. Today I don't have anything really in mind that is important, just things running through my mind. Its sort of funny how much I have become attached to my 'kids'. I always thought I'd just get them, feed & house them & that would be it. It now seems I have favorites who have loving (?) personalities. OK, so I am going way beyond the realistic view of chickens, but you know the ones, who you can hold & look up at you with those cute chicken eyes then fall asleep in your arms? Those are the ones I seem to fall head over heels for & they make me realize just how important I am to their well being. I have some who are just chickens, they don't want to be near me except when I bring the feed, but others will come to me & jump up in my lap & talk to me. Bowzer, who had a stroke when she was young, still needs to come see me & tell me about her day. She is content to settle in my arms & just chat away. When she is finished, she will jump down & go on with her business most of the time. But sometimes, she follows me around as I work on the coop or run. May Belle, who never recovered the use of her leg after Chatty pounced on her too hard, is another that wants me to hold & talk to her. Even though she is over 6 months old, she will still worble to me when she is comfortable in my lap. I will sit & read while she sleeps or tells me she wants down. Voodoo Moon who is completely crippled by birth, has a little noise she makes when she is content, it almost sounds like a laugh. Even though she can eat on her own, she gets fed by me once a day with wet food so I know she is getting enough water. She lives in the ER playpen & has a big soft teddy bear she likes to be under. And yes, I make sure she has it over her when she wants to sleep! I have a new girl, Rosy, who came to me last week because she was getting all her tail feathers pulled out by the bigger girls. Now she is cute but very afraid of everything, which I don't blame her. Catching her takes 2 people but once I have her, she will relax & let me tend to her tail area. Last night was the first time she actually stayed in my lap without me holding her. She has never really been held so it will take time for her to become comfortable with me, I think. Well, it does seem I have a theme with all of this....if they have been injured or sick I get attached, guess its all the time spent with them. But I am the type of person who has to be involved or why do it? Sometimes I wish my rooster 'Cashmire' was nicer, but then I won't trust him to protect the girls, which I might add HE is very good at. But my poor 51 yr old legs are taking a beating with him, when he decides momma is too close. Now that Spring is in the air here, both boys have taken it upon themselves to be more aggressive with me at times. I am slowly (painfully) learning the signs from both of them when its time to back off. Even Chatty, my mild mannered boy, gets a little up in the feathers if I am near Scarlette. Can't wait to introduce him to the new girls I will be getting this weekend! I have a feeling I will need to stay clear for a bit until he calms down, if you get my meaning. My neighbor is getting a new batch of chicks & wants to thin out her older girls who don't lay as well anymore. They are all big enough that I think they will be good hens for Chatty to have. I am hoping to find a Silky male for Bowzer since she is so small. My 2 roosters are too big for her & the last Silky male I had for her was the perfect fit. Sadly he died last October so she has been in with Cashmire who leaves her alone since he has 4 big girls to play house with. but I really think she needs a mate again that won't hurt her. Its funny but Cashmire who is very aggressive with Chatty, will leave my male Silkies alone if they are with him. Plus I am smart enough to put the male in when he is small before he crows & that seems to help. I had this plan when I decided to raise chickens to only have maybe 3 to 6 hens & no roosters because I didn't want to hatch eggs. Well here I am 1 1/2 yrs later with 2 roosters, wanting another plus taking in any girls people don't want. The small hen house is now being re-designed from 4ft X 3ft to 7ft X 10ft with a wall down the middle so I can have both roosters on their own side. The 9ft X 12ft run is now also being extended & divided so they also have their own space without the fights. My wonderful art shop is now over run with chicken dust/dander, straw, feed & wood shavings. I keep thinking some day....I just might get to use it to create my stained glass & jewelry again, but for now the chickens get to have my wonderful space & I get to use the kitchen table.
Well until next time have a wonderful chicken day!
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