Still kickin' with the chickens!

I know it has been forever since I last posted, but here is a quick run down of events...

• We got 3 ducklings, reared them and then gave them back to Phil (our friend and handyman who originally gave them to us.) Suffice it to say that duck poop is GROSS and they take more water than I can provide! We almost ran the well dry trying to keep the baby pool clean and full so they could swim.

• Cleopatra the Egyptian Fayoumi died of an infection - I should get the necropsy report later this week. RIP Cleo. She gave us our first egg.


• The turkeys are huge! We have Turkey Girl (original name, eh?) and Lulu Belle and they give us wonderful eggs. But I would not recommend having Broad Breasted Turkeys unless you plan to eat them because they are genetically designed to have unnaturally large breasts (hence the name) and walking is difficult for them sometimes. I feel a little guilty I won't eat them and I dread having to make a decision that might be humane (killing them to put them out of their misery) but so far that is not the case. I don't expect them to grow old, though.


• Owl Face got to be way too aggressive so we let the neighbors have him. I think they had fried chicken... I asked for some of his beautiful feathers, though, and I try not to think about it too often...


• Our Silkies and Polish are setting now and their eggs are tiny! I love both breeds, but you have to be careful who you put them in with. Certain other breeds will pick on them.


• The 2 Black Australorps went to Phil with the ducks. They are a beautiful breed but they picked on the Polish way too much. Plus Phil wanted a couple good layers and those pullets really fit the bill!


• One our our Blue Laced Red Wyandottes, Mrs. Pickens, now known as Mama Pickens, went broody and out of 9 eggs she was brooding 6 of them hatched. They will be 2 weeks old tomorrow, November 3, 2008. That was amazing!


• Sophie, the Double Penciled Silver Rock has gone broody. I put 5 eggs under her on Halloween night and Nov. 1 morning, so in 3 weeks we might have a few more babies. I will try to stay up-to-date on the posts. I don't know how many eggs she is brooding because I have not seen her off the nest yet.

Keep checking back for updates... And here is a picture of Mama Pickens and her babies. I plan to name them this week.