Finally...a new post!

It has been literally months since I have posted something on this blog.  Not that I haven't thought about it...guess I just hadn't got around to it.  Some of you know that we lost quite a few of our chickens to skunks in May.  In two nights, a skunk family took out 15 chicks that were about 8 weeks old and 2 pullets that were about 3 months old.  We finally caught one of the skunks in a trap and reset it for the next night.  We managed to miss that one the next night even though it ate the egg that we put in the trap for bait and Paul chased it out of the coop when we heard a ruckus going on in there at midnight.  A few nights later we caught the second one but not before it fatally wounded another 3 month old pullet.  For the rest of the skunk family....well, thanks to the neighbors dog (he cornered two) they are all gone.  We have slowly started to rebuild our flock and we decided to switch from Marans to Light Sussex chickens.

We still have a couple of Black Copper Marans hens still left in the flock along with our trusty Peachy, Redger and 4 Ps (our son affectionately named her Pick a Pack of Pickled Peppers ;- )

Here is our new Light Sussex rooster:

More Momma and Baby News

I need to come up with a good name for this hen....she is amazing!  She hatched a total of 6 of the eggs she was sitting on which were from a variety of hens in the hen house.  We then swiped her unhatched eggs (we knew some weren't going to hatch) and we replaced them with 4 day old chicks.  Momma was thrilled!  She is happily clucking away talking to her babies in their little brooder area this morning teaching them to scratch, etc.  One even jumped up and pulled on her wattle and then her beak.  She just kept clucking away.  So cute!  I also was putting more food into the area with my scoop and she stuck her head in my scoop and then pushed a ton of food out of the scoop and down to the chicks.  It was really remarkable how she used her head to get them a load of food.

She now has 15 chicks total and she is mothering them like a trooper. I'm not sure how they are all going to fit under her in a few weeks, but hey, she's already amazed me. I'm sure she'll figure something out!

She has such a blended family! :-)  She is raising the following chicks: Turken/Birchen Marans Cross, Black Copper Marans, Blue Copper Marans, Blue Birchen Marans, Birchen Marans, Buff Orpington/Birchen Marans Cross, Splash Marans, Rhode Island Red/Birchen Marans Cross, Black Sex Link/Birchen Marans Cross, and a Blue Orpington/Birchen Marans Cross.  Whew....what a crew!

Our broody hatched her chicks!

We were beginning to get worried when we went out to check out on our momma Tuesday morning and we were delighted to get a "peek" at her new little family.

How fun!  We then saw 3 more little heads peek out of various places around momma.  This is the only light colored one she hatched out.  The rest are all black or black with a dark copper spot on the head.  There are still more eggs under her and there was at least one that was pipped so we will have to check again tonight to see if she is done hatching or not. 

It is hard to see the chicks in this picture but if you can see her feathers are in massive disarray....those are chicks crawling all over her and they would stick their heads out for just a second to grab a piece of hay and then they would disappear again. 

Trying to be patient, but it is SO hard!

Our broody hen still has not hatched her eggs...I'm so glad that I am able to peek in her area without her seeing me so that I don't bother her.  Why is it so hard to be patient sometimes?  She has been so diligent to be on those eggs...

I will keep everyone updated with pictures of course as soon as we get a peek of those little tykes!

Some of our recent babies...

Wednesday and Thursday we had a bunch of chicks hatch and they were Blue, Black and Splash Marans. 

This little one is the biggest butterball and super fluffy!

Lost 2 Eggs...

Well, our broody hen lost 2 eggs, and unfortunately, I don't think by choice.  If you look in the picture I posted last of her on her nest, there is a bright light by her face.  She is in the old chicken tractor and then light near her face is coming in from the little door that the chickens use to get in and out to the small fenced-in outdoor area.  The other day she decided to turn around and have her butt near the door after she had got up to get a bite to eat and a drink.  I was afraid she might lose one out the door so I piled some extra straw over in that area to try to block them in.  This morning I found out that my temporary solution did NOT work....bummer...I went out in the morning to find two eggs outside on the ground.  Shoot!  How long had they been there?  How cold were they?  I got Paul and we moved the hen and her eggs into a different brooding area that we have.  She was not happy with us at all! She promptly got back onto her eggs and Paul put the 2 that had fallen out back under her.  They were very cold so maybe they won't make it, but we figured that it didn't hurt to try.  So, in the end she is still on 10 eggs, but 2 may no longer be viable.

We will have to be patient as the chicks are due to hatch on EASTER!  What are the chances of that???

Our First Broody Hen of the Year!

Here is our first broody hen this year.  Spring has come and one of our Black Copper Marans decided that she wanted to be a momma!  Yipppee!  We are so excited to have her sit on 10 eggs...some are cross breeds and a few Marans eggs.  So far, she has been very protective of her eggs and Paul has been bitten and pecked multiple times when he has been trying to move her, clean her nest, give her an egg, etc. 

She definitely has a "Don't mess with me attitude"!