Bruce's Journal

[Bruce]

Zorra has gone broody. 3 days ago she was in the nest in the afternoon. At roost time she was still in the nest, I put her on the roost in the dark. Come morning, she was back in the box so she got a free ride to the broody buster. She was not fussy this morning so I let her out, hoped that since I caught her with less than a day of nest time, she would break quick. She headed straight for the (now occupied) box. Another free trip to the BB. Typical pattern for her, lay eggs for a few weeks, then go broody. So at the moment I'm down 3 layers. Angel has the babies and Anais is playing Auntie again.

I saw some baby faces sticking out over the edge of the barn swallows' nest today.

 

[Genipher]

Saw some of the minnows in the pond. I know it isn't a great picture, best I can do.
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Angel took the kids out of the barn today so they have scratched in dirt (rather than old coop bedding), didn't have my camera with me.

The 4 remaining (of 7) 2015 girls.
No separate picture of Angel (White Rock) without the "kids". 2 of the chicks are WR's.
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Penelope - EE
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Mellori - Black Australorp
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Nuit - Black Australorp
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And because he was there when I had the camera out. The pair are still really nervous when I'm around which I don't really understand. They are either the same birds as last year or one of them is a bird that fledged out of the nest in the barn. Really unlikely some random barn swallows would just happen to shoe up and build a nest in the exact same place. As such, I'd think they would have figured out by now that I mean them no harm. But they still fly off the nest when I come in and if I'm there when they fly in they get all whacked out.
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Such pretty chickens!

 

[Bruce]

The 5 remaining 2017 girls, originally there were 6
Trill - Barnevelder


Cassiopeia - EE


Mint - Exchequer Leghorn


Oreo - Exchequer Leghorn, she looked a lot like Mint until she moulted last fall.


Veronica - Welsummer (That would be part of Betty in the front, but she'll have to wait until the 2018's are posted)

 

[Baymule]

I have a wellsummer hen, I like her dark brown speckled eggs. She is with an EE rooster, along with a few EE hens and a cream legbar hen. I've hatched out 35 chicks, hope I have some olive egger pullets in the batch from the wellsummer hen.

 

[MiniGoatsRule]

Alpacas can be sweet, but weird as crud...

 

[CntryBoy777]

They All look really GOOD!!.....course, I don't have any "eye" for the fine points....but, I sure like em.....ya sure have a pretty "palatte" walking around outside.....except on "snow days".....

 

[Bruce]

Yeah on snow days (ie all winter) they choose to hang in the barn alley.

Alpacas can be sweet, but weird as crud...

These 2 are weird. We got them from people up the road 2.5 years ago, they were fixing to move to Florida. I don't think they handled the boys much and one of them was born at their place. They will eat maintenance pellets from my hand (that took some time!) but touch them? NO WAY, look at them straight on and they spook. I guess the only time they were touched was when it was shearing time, hoof time, Ivermectin time.

 

[RollingAcres]

The 5 remaining 2017 girls, originally there were 6
Trill - Barnevelder
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Cassiopeia - EE
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Mint - Exchequer Leghorn
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Oreo - Exchequer Leghorn, she looked a lot like Mint until she moulted last fall.
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Veronica - Welsummer (That would be part of Betty in the front, but she'll have to wait until the 2018's are posted)
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They are very pretty!
And good news! My Colombian Wyandotte is no longer broody(for almost a week now)!!! However, she's still not laying yet.

 

[Bruce]

She should start soon, I find 5-7 days is pretty usual.

So today, not only is Zorra still in the broody buster, Betty (year old Welsummer) has decided to hang in the nest box. I put her up on the roost tonight but I'll give better than even odds she will be joining Zorra in the morning

Thus of 16 adults, 2 are broody, 2 are raising chicks, 2 (one 4 and one 7 Y/O) are laying very thin shelled eggs that break when another hen gets in the box. Plenty of oyster shell available, must be their shell glands are giving out.

Found a dead shiner in the pond today. Don't know why it died, plenty fat, no obvious damage. Recently dead, no decomposition at all. I threw it to the chickens inside the electronet.

 

[greybeard]

Found a dead shiner in the pond today. Don't know why it died, plenty fat, no obvious damage. Recently dead, no decomposition at all.

Most common cause of dead fish with no apparent cause of death is water quality and/or water temperature. Algae bloom, being the usual cause of poor water quality mid to late summer. Life forms simply suffocate, with the weakest being the first to belly up.