Not So Fast

Did I say onto other subjects? Well, almost. My recent fascination with all things fowl won't permit

me to exclude the progress (photographically speaking) the Guinea keets have made over the last couple of weeks:

They have been feathering nicely and making quite a mess of their brooder (they are in a giant 50 gallon Rubbermaid container with a chicken wire lid), which means I clean it out daily. These little guys are nothing like chicks, by the way - they are more akin to wild birds and are skittish and nervous, though I handle and play with them frequently. To help DH, who for the life of him still cannot tell our chickens apart except by breed, all our Guineas will have names beginning with the letter "G." So far I have named three of them - Gandalf, Gimli and Galadriel (the whole male/female thing, and how many we have of each is still a mystery). Not that we expect them to come when called - it's just that we have a seemingly irresistible urge to name everything.

So - NOW I can move on. I think. Perhaps. Except that I found the next breed of chicken I MUST have - it's called a Swedish Flower Hen (look it up). Gorgeous bird. (I don't know what it is about birds, but I like having them around.) So...yeah. We'll see.

It's A Big World...

...for such small creatures.

The four chicks have been ranging all over the back yard with Mama Belle over the last few days. All four now know where the coop is and how to jump back into it - even if they're a little intimidated by the bigger chickens (a couple are a bit testy and likely to peck at the youngsters if they become annoying). Pictures of yesterday's Big Adventures:

So far the chicks have been thriving - I have seen no signs of illness and they are curious, lively and extremely quick. The chicks hatched by the Buff Orpington will be one month old on Wednesday, and the other two will be one month old this coming Sunday. I think at least one egg had been "donated" by a Barred Rock pullet - the others are a mystery - Australorp, maybe, I can't tell.

Anyway - they are adorable, and this has been a lot of fun. Onto other subjects. Hopefully.

Belle Takes Over

Our Australorp mama has seemingly given up on the motherhood project. She had been taking her chicks outside to forage almost from the time they were hatched, whereas Belle, the Buff Orpington, has yet to bring her babies out of the run. On Monday Sarah left the two chicks - who are far too young and defenseless to be outside on their own - twice to re-join her flock.

Fortunately I found them before the barn cats had a chance to make a snack out of either of them. I tried putting them back with their mother, but she seemed only vaguely interested; really, she had almost a puzzled air about her as though she couldn't quite remember where she had seen these chicks before. When she left them alone a second time, I decided to give them to Belle. I watched for any aggressive behavior on Belle's part, but she simply took over, clucking and scratching and showing the youngsters where and how to find food. Although the two foster chicks displayed some trepidation about getting into the nest with Belle and her two babies, once I placed them beside her they dove under her. Tonight they needed no encouragement - when I checked on everyone before shutting up he coop and run, I saw four little faces peering out from underneath Belle, and she seemed very content to have suddenly added two more chicks to her brood.

Sarah, the Australorp, spent some time huddled by the run this evening. She seemed a little dejected. I felt sorry for her, but the chicks have adjusted to Belle, she has, for all intents and purposes, adopted them, so better to let things stay as they lay. Sarah did a good job; she's just a youngster herself at seven months old, and this was her first time raising chicks, so perhaps she'll get better with time and practice.

Pictures to follow. I spent Mother's Day hunting arrowheads. I got a few interesting chips, a couple of fossils and part of a stone axe. Plan to do that again - soon!

Update: Belle really is a terrific broody. Here she is relaxing in her part of the run this evening with all four chicks under her. Shortly after I took these photos she retired to her nest (rigged from a big plastic dog crate, filled with straw bedding, food and water inside. The metal front door of the crate is wrapped with hardware cloth to keep critters out and the crate is positioned on two pieces of wood to keep it off the ground. As a final flourish the entire arrangement is wrapped in a heavyweight, waterproof Weatherbeeta horse blanket to keep things insulated and dry. So far it has all worked really well).

Growing Up

The baby chicks are feathering out and growing up. Their lives are very different from those of the chicks I raised in a brooder last September; for one thing, the outdoor temperatures fluctuate wildly, the babies are often in the elements (wind and on one or two occasions, rain) - yet they seem to be doing fine, at least so far. Their mothers have taught them to eat their food from the ground, so while they have chick feeders, and age-appropriate food, they also spend a great deal of time scratching and foraging for food that hasn't been manufactured, bagged and sold in a store.

The babies hatched by Belle (the Buff Orpington) are now two weeks and two days old. The chicks belonging to Sarah (the Australorp) will be two weeks old on Sunday. They are all so similar. The black chicks have brown eyes and black legs, the "patchy" chicks have black legs and orange toes! I have never had to wait to find out if I have a cockerel in the bunch, so I'm kind of anxious and trying to guess which one(s), if any, may be baby boy chicks.

Because these little ones haven't been handled much, they are wild, and very quick! It is extremely difficult to even take photos of them now, but I managed to snap a few today.  Belle's babies:

Sarah's two babies, who will be two weeks old this coming Sunday:

We also have six new Guinea keets (Pearl Guineas, and they're a straight run, so I have no idea how many are females and how many are males):

Things are getting lively!

Baby Chickens

OK, yes, I'm stuck on mama chickens and their babies. I'm in a rut and I'm probably coming off as one fantastic bore. But, transplanted urbanite that I am, I've never actually watched broody mama pullets hatch AND rear their own young, and I find it fascinating. I obtained my flock initially by purchasing and brooding them in, well, a brooder and acting as substitute mama to them...but now, having observed these little ones with their mama pullets (and they are just pullets themselves - only seven-and-a-half months old) over the last few days, I am very nearly convinced that the best way to add to a flock is the old-fashioned way - by allowing the broody pullet/hen to hatch and rear the chicks herself. The babies live naturally and learn from their mothers how to forage, dust themselves, preen, drink - everything a young chicken needs to know. Broodies are fiercely protective and will even take down a rooster who gets too close to their precious offspring.

As far as the work is concerned - there isn't much to do. I keep them safe and provide food and water, but I don't have to worry about whether the temperature in the brooder is too warm or too cool; mama keeps those babies toasty warm under her downy feathers. She does everything else, too! I draw up a chair and watch the Buff Orpington (Belle) mama clucking to her chicks, dropping food in front of them, calling to them and teaching them; believe me, they imitate her every move. Belle is a good mama; she will definitely be allowed to hatch more babies in the future.

One of the babies in the protected run today. Notice how quickly her feathers are growing!

The two babies Sarah hatched have been out and active, although still on the nest. I imagine she will want to get them outside tomorrow, so I'll have to watch to make sure the barn cats give her a wide berth and that the other ladies aren't hostile to the chicks. She has been in the coop with her babies, so the others are more aware of her than they are of Belle's chicks, although Belle is now in an area adjacent to the run, so they see her everyday. I am employing this method of re-integrating Belle, hoping that her chicks will eventually be integrated as well with as little disruption to the pecking order as possible.

All four of the chicks are black and buff/silver, and both Sarah and Belle each have a black chick with a buff patch under her beak - so cute! Sarah's other chick has more buff/silver patches; it will be interesting to see how her color pattern develops with age, especially given that this guy is the father: