I got more chicks since the last post. There's now 9. First there was another Silky/Cochin and another patterned white. I raised them alone until they were big enough to join the week older chicks in the big bin. That went well. The S/C is different than the 1st one, more gray than brown. It's so cute! There's just something about it. It kinda reminds me of a dwarf. Round fluffy head and big eyes. I think it's the sweet eyes that are getting me.
Then I found another Silky/Cochin the same color yesterday. Just one. The poor little thing cried and cried all alone in its bin. Hoping for more real soon so it can have clutch mates. In the meantime, I moved the 2nd S/C back to keep it company. It will teach the little one where the water and food is, and if there's more, that one can do the same.
The oldest S/C is now looking like it will have Cochin feathers, but with the head pouf. That should be adorable! Can't say for sure what color it or the others are, but I'm going with birchen for now. The white patterned ones, I don't have a clue. Their wings and tails are coming in dark and patterned. Pretty sure about the buffs, but not so sure about the lightest one. It could turn completely white. It's a good thing showing birds is not my goal. My goal was a pretty flock of varied colors and I got that.
I'm starting to guess gender based on comb and wings. If that's correct I only see 1 or 2 roos. Good ratio. The silky things are probably going to throw a wrench in that. I have no idea how silky combs develop since they are so unlike the cochin combs. And there's that pouf to hide what's happening.
I've talked before about how I give does more chances. Many breeders are strict in their "3 strikes and out" rule. I'm not and it usually pays off. Babe is the latest doe like this. No, she hasn't yet given me a litter but she almost did this time. It was her 4th attempt. She had 3, one was alive, and I think another might have been at birth. Since the singleton wasn't a color I wanted, I left it with her to practice her mother skills. As expected, it died by the next day, most likely to cold. I take this as a very good sign she'll get it right, and it should be warmer by the time her next litter arrives. I'm not giving up yet.
Speaking of warmer. Yeah, not so much. Spring is so unsouthernly this year. The cherries in my yard, and the Bradford pears elsewhere (I don't have any) are starting to bloom. I don't know how these continued frosty mornings are going to affect that.
There's a weed I've come to appreciate. I believe it's Hen's-bit. It's a short groundcover that blooms now in reddish-purple. It's very pretty in the lawn and gardens. The nice thing about it and why I don't object to it in the gardens is that when it finishes setting seed, it disappears for the rest of the year. It doesn't take over the garden and it helps suppress other spring weeds.
In the front yard just outside the boundaries of the Bird Garden, muscari (grape hyacinth) has escaped and joined the large swathe of hen's-bit. There's lovely pops of bright blue scattered among the purple. I like to plant muscari around the base of daffodils because they bloom at the same time and look wonderful together. But muscari has a mind of its own and sends seeds wherever it wants.
There's quite a few Peewees flitting around the yard. Actually, I'm not positive they're Peewees They might be Phoebes. According to my book, Peewees are smaller and have a prominent crest where Phoebe is shown with a smooth head. These have a crest. Without seeing and hearing (calls are similar) them both at the same time, it's hard for me to say. I'll go with Peewee until proven otherwise.
Anyways, there's more Peewees than I've seen before. They seem to be looking for a place to nest. They're looking real hard at the wind-wrecked shed. I hope they don't go there. I've set up a guy to tear it down next week. Oddly, they also seem to be looking somewhere under the gutter on the back of the house. The only thing they could possibly build on there is the light fixture on the wall.
There were a couple Rufous-sided Towhees under the feeder a week ago. That's always a pleasure because I hardly ever see them, but they sometimes appear for a short time in the spring. Mockingbirds have been cleaning up the nandina berries. I don't see any other birds eating these berries. I love mockingbirds. They're the quintessential southern bird to me, and their songs are wonderful. They don't really stick around here all year. I don't know why. For a long time, I only saw them in the spring, but in town, they were more common than robins. I guess they're city birds. But the last few years, I see more for a longer period.
There was some grossness this week. I noticed crows in the backyard and when I watched more closely, I saw them carry off what looked like red meat. Went out to investigate and found some fur near the house. Abby the cat often eats her kills in that area, and unfortunately, doesn't always finish it. Going by the fur, and the size of the meat the crows were taking, it was a cottontail. I don't know how it ended up scattered all over the yard far from the fur, but since the crows were cleaning it up, that worked for me.
Another gross thing. I found some yuck on the porch. It looked like cat food and snake. Yeah, half of a little snake. I wouldn't think there were snakes out and about this early, especially when it's been so cold, but that's what it was. I've noticed Abby often pukes after eating her ration of cat food and then a kill. Time to cut back on cat food.
Supposed to be real nice this weekend. Hope it stays that way from now on. I need to get stuff done outside, and it has to be warm enough. I could handle the coolth for working outside, but my sinuses can't. My nose runs like a faucet if it's less than 60. That can turn into a full-blown sinus attack and I'll be down and miserable until it's over. So I wimp out and only spend a short time outside until it's warmer. So come on, Spring! Get warmer!
tnt
