In the Nestbox:
Out of 4 does due this week, I got 2 babies in 1 live litter. There was a big pile of DOAs! Jeez! Baroquen (1st timer) and Flashdance had 4 each. Baroquen built a lovely nest of fur...on the wire. Some of hers were born alive, but the cold night did them in.
I'm still waiting on Nyx but she's also a doe I don't trust. As of last night, she had put fur in the box, but all the nest material had been kicked out. She always does that which is why her kits haven't lived past a few days unless I foster them. She was being real witchy about my checking the nest. Luckily it's much warmer this morning, so maybe she'll have something for me when I go out there. I do have a promising fostered broken from her last litter and there will be a decision to make on whether to waste any more time on her.
So who got it right? Good ole reliable Honeycomb x Dot.com has 2 broken blacks. Not enough color but the kits are nicely sized and shaped so I'll let her raise them for the non-extension they are carrying, and I need her to take Nyx's if she has them.
In Guinea news:
It looks like the hen's nest was compromised. A predator must have found it before I could. That's what you get, my dear, for nesting "in the wild". I was all set to watch her closely (or try to) yesterday to find it, and then realized she wasn't going to go there. She hung out with the males all day, and didn't even leave the fence. She should lay again soon, and the game of hide & seek will start again. The eggs in the incubator are estimated to hatch within a week.
I thought I could keep guinea hens confined to the Summer House to force them to lay in a safe place, but now know that won't work. They're just too big to share the space with the bantams. I'm working out an idea for another penned space just for guineas.
In Bantam news:
I sold 6 excess birds at the rabbit show last weekend. That helped. There was just too many of them! I feed them morning and evening and they mob me until I do. After feeding them and then the rabbits out there, I take a moment to bird-watch. After they fill their crops, they go to the freshened water bowls. Then they relax so I can observe them putzing around. I bring in some weeds for them to pick through, and that's always fun for them and me.
Speaking of water. I think I have to invest in a chicken waterer. It's a hassle keeping them in clean water. They perch on the bowl rim and the dirt on their feet fouls the water too fast.
Spiffy, the spangled OE, has become my pet. I can touch him when he walks by my feet. He lets me pick him up and set him on my knee for petting. He has even flown up on my knee! I can't wait to see what he looks like when mature. He has so many interesting things going on in his feathers. Iridescent black peeks out from under white, brown and tan on his tail and wings. He is going to be gorgeous.
I had been hearing an odd noise coming from the birds, but couldn't see who was doing it. I finally caught Spiffy trying to crow! That was so funny, it's not a proper crow at all. More like something stuck in his throat, but he was all puffed up like he was somebody. He's only about 7-8 weeks old, and I didn't know they would crow that soon.
I still haven't sexed the Cochins, even the oldest 2. There isn't enough difference in their combs to give me a clue. I'll have to study some pix online to see if there's something I should be looking for. Same for the 3 partridge possible Wyandottes. They will have small rose combs so it will be hard to tell on them, too.
It got so cool (50s) for a few days, I had to turn the furnace on. It wasn't even warm enough during the day to warm the house. Also didn't see the sun for days! It was dark, dreary, and drizzly. The sun finally came out for a bit yesterday and it got to 70. Forecast calls for even warmer from here out, and hopefully more sun.
tnt
