Chicks Will Be Sold

I wish you could hear Clyde's crow...it just cracks me up. He has such a big personality for such a tiny little cockeral.

Well, that lady to this day has not called me. She better not. I might just decide to give her a piece of my mind, not that I have any to spare...HA HA...lol.

Doesn't matter. I question how well she would have taken care of them anyway. I mean, if she didnt have time to come and get them, is she going to have any time to feed and water them every day?

The man who got five Golden Phoenix from me was waiting on five Silver Phoenix. I got those for him, and he wants to buy the five Sumatra chicks too...and I am giving him the extra three Silver Phoenix...I don't want them, and who needs just three. Better to go with the bunch. He is picking those up this evening.

The ten Serama chicks will be picked up this weekend. A man from Dalton GA was waiting on them. Told him the tale of the unreliable customer...he says their loss, his gain...and everyone has agreed, the lady probably wouldn't have taken care of them and they would have died.

Teddy and her family aren't going to be able to come this weekend. It is always something. I sure am glad I lead a boring life...all that drama and excitement would stress me. Her car is in the shop, CV joints going out...hubby has to work...porch was falling down off the house, hubby has gotten off his butt and has torn it down and has the framework up...I told her by all means, let him work on it. I know how it is, just let them do it while they feel like it. There will come a time when they want to slack off. She is also in the process of trying to rid her house of a freeloaidng boyfriend of her 20 year old daughter. He can't seem to find his dream job, so he sits on his rear all day in front of the computer, eating them out of house and home. This has been going on for a year. Daughter just adores him...so she has a choice, can leave with him, or stay home without him. This is all supposed to come to a head at the end of June...til hubby pipes in and says if he can get a job within a weeks time, they have an extra thirty days...Teddy was furious...she was going to stick to her guns.

Yep, I lead a pretty boring existance...and I like it that way. :)

I was not really surprised that she couldn't make it. I am not disappointed because I know she will come eventually before the summer is out, and I will be here.

Now we will see if Sherry remembers to call me on Wednesday to let me know if she is coming up on Friday.

I won't hold my breath...lol. Hey she could surprise me, we will see.

I discovered something this morning. This computer upstairs works better than the NEW one...lol. Online anyway. Much quicker response time. On  Flickr it takes like ten minutes for one pic to upload. Up here, I can upload 6 pictures in like a minute! Now that is the way it is supposed to be! So maybe I will just do my entries up here from now on.

I have to catch upon my picture taking, but for now I will show some pictures of my Daddys garden.

Daddy has kept a garden for as long as I can ever remember. He is very good at it, and loves it. I hope one day I can be as good as him at growing vegetables. Right now I just stick to tomatoes and chickens. I have to say that we are getting a lot of cucumbers and squash in from Ians efforts.

I will show some in this entry, and some in tommorrows entry.

 

No Show...No Call

Well, here is a BIG surprise...

The lady with the big order of chicks...didn't call this morning. She said she would call when she was leaving...which would be about 8 a.m. Time rocks on...no phone call. Nobody showing up at the door. I don't know what I expected. I knew she would do this...so...her birds are already spoken for by two other people. I have to make room for the new ones coming out. If she calls I won't be answering the phone. She can forget it. I don't have time to waste on people like her.

We are getting a spot of rain right now...as always it is welcome. I picked nine cucumbers out of the garden this morning. I knew Ian hadn't been checking and I didnt want them to get too big and be seedy. I had one almost right after I got in and washed them up. Nothing like a home grown cucumber.

I am cleaning out all my cabinets and drawers in the kitchen today. The cabinets are white, so they needed to be wiped down and cleaned as every little thing shows up on them. I reckon the folks that lived here before never used the kitchen because everything was spotless before I got here and cooked almost every night! LOL They led busy lives though. She didn't strike me as the type to cook a lot. They seemed like the eat out type.

Teddy has not called me yet today to confirm her and her family coming this weekend to visit. I feel like I am trying to track down people all the time. I can't seem to get a hold of anyone. Shelby asked if she had called and I told her that she hadn't and that I was not going to call her. She told me she would call me today...and I am holding her to it. If she doesn't call, I am going to assume they are not coming and let that be the end of it.

Well, time marches on...I better get back on that kitchen...hope everyone is having a good day and staying out of this heat.

Ugly Ducklings and Other Goings On

Remember these four ratty looking chicks? These were the four Sultans that I ordered when I ordered the layer chicks. NOW look at them...they are three months old now..and really filling out. They still have some growing and filling to do...but what a difference a couple of months makes. Here they are now...I have named the cockeral "Rod", and yep...thats after Rod Stewart...he he...well...I just had to didn't I? I mean look at that head! ;)

 

I haven't named the pullets yet. There are three...one is still questionable. It has me puzzled as to what it is for sure. It doesn't crow, but the wattles and comb are redder than the other two, but not developed like Rods, so the jury is still out on that one. Here are two of them.

 

Summertime has really put me into busy times...and that is why I have not made entries every morning. With the daylight hitting just after 6 a.m., it prompts me to get up and get moving. I have to get outside and beat the heat of the day with any chores that are beckoning. Already this morning I have fed the Seramas and the layers. Boy, ever since the new layers have joined the old layers for breakfast the food is going fast. I have to remember the young ones are still growing and have not mastered the art of going out away from the pen and house to forage for bugs and fresh tips of grass further out. They will catch on eventually.

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Tuesday I called the lady that ordered 26 chicks hatched for her. I told her that her chicks were ready for pick up save one or two left to hatch. I told her I would call her at lunchtime on Friday to confirm and give directions and we would set a date for her to come pick them up. She said that it would be Sunday more than likely. 

Friday came, I called, no answer. I have two numbers for her...I left messages at each. At 2 pm I tried once more and her husband answered the phone. She was not in, would be back around five. I told him fine, gave him the directions, and asked him to please have her call me when she made it home. He said they would leave out about 10 a.m. on Sunday morning. I told him that was fine.

No phone call Friday evening, no phone call on Saturday...tried to contact her, no answers, nothing.

Sunday rolls around...I call...no answer. The hours tick by. No phone call, nothing. By 4 p.m. I was mad. 

It may be a big joke to some folks, but I am trying to do a little bit of business here. I need these birds OUT of the brooders. I have many more to hatch. I realize that things happen...but couldn't she at least pick up the phone for two minutes to call and let me know they were not going to be able to make it? I guess that is asking too much out of people these days.

Monday....I call...FINALLY I get her at 1 p.m.

"Oh I was going to call you, we had a kid get hurt, I watch kids you know...and well one of them got hurt on the FOUR WHEELER (????? If I was in charge of someone elses kids, I sure wouldnt let them ride one of those) so we weren't able to come." (DUH, I figured that out...eventually)  

Me: "Well I understand that things happen." (Biting my tongue til it bled to keep it from wagging at her uncontrollably) "So when are you going to come and get them."

Her: "Well, I think I can come on Wednesday or Thursday"

Me: "Wednesday would be better for me."

Her:"Okay, I will get these kids up and be headed out by 8"

(These kids??? Great, she will have her whole bunch in tow)

Ian said her birds would be GONE. He would have moved on down the line and sold them to the people waiting on chicks to be hatched. He is probably right. I give people too many chances and let them get under my skin. After Wednesday, if she doesnt show, they will be gone.

Had one Serama chick die, it had been out of the egg for a good 6 days and got weak, just didn't make it. I hate that because I was saving one Serama chick in particular to keep for myself out of what has been hatched recently, but now it will have to go with the order of the lady coming Wednesday to make the amount she ordered. Thats alright, I got plenty more coming out.

I need to take some pictures of this batch before they are gone. I will try to get to that today.

Ian put in a new video card, into the new computer. Well, it doesn't have any drivers, and don't ask me why, cause I don't have a clue why. So he took the flash drive to work (they have a fast connection there, we are on dial up here) and loaded up the drivers off the internet. Got it home, loaded it into the computer...then...nothing, and I mean nothing. The screen is blank now. No picture. So he has taken the whole computer to work to try and work on it during breaks. I am on the old one upstairs now. At least this one doesn't sign off all the time. It still has its quirks. All of my pictures are down on the other one though...the only ones I have recent are on Flickr. The ones I showed today.

Enough complaining about that.

I finally got to sit down and have a nice chat with Sherry. Hopefully she will be coming up in a couple of weekends. I am going to take her to Collinsville Trade Day and we will have a blast.

My younger sister is having some medical problems. She is only 32. She has led a troubled life as it is, much of it brought on herself. Tragedy seems to follow her around.

She thought she had fibroids in her uterus, which is bad enough, but now after an ultrasound the doctor is saying her ovaries are covered in them. She was supposed to get definite results back yesterday. Mama says she has already said she will seek a second opinion.

So far I have been blessed with very little in the hereditary ailments. Our grandmother was the one with fibroids. We have everything in our family from heel spurs to high blood pressure. I do have the BP issue, but take meds for it.

We may have Teddy, Adrian and Matthew over this weekend. Shelby and Matt have always played together, but I think it is getting awkward for them now. They are both growing up. I pointed out that they still have things in common. Video gaming being a big one. The pool is always a big hit. Maybe I will take Matt over to see the Runnin Wild farm. He would like that.

Oops, Phoenix, the late sleeper is up, so I better go see about getting his breakfast and getting him out on the porch...everyone have a great day!

 

 

 

Finally...Rain

Yes, we finally got some rain. We had quite a downpour yesterday afternoon and it kept on raining into the evening. I know the vegetables out in the garden would smile if they had mouths to smile with...I can almost hear a sigh of satisfaction from them.

The chickens on the other hand were not happy about the rain. Everyone took shelter. Some were caught unaware and when the bottom dropped out suddenly there were chickens hauling it fast as they could back from the pasture. Meanwhile my little escapee Phoenix saw his opportunity as the wind picked up and blew on the screen door, opening and closing it, he slipped out the door and into the rain. Ian was just a few minutes from getting home and when he arrived he couldn't get into the porch. He still doesn't believe me, but I swear if that door comes open from the wind and slams shut over and over, sometimes the latch catches...I swear it does. He believes I had locked it. I often do if the wind is picking up and there is a chance the doors may begin to blow open. Phoenix will watch that door, and soon as the opportunity presents itself, he is out. He thinks he is a big chicken and thinks he needs to be out there with the big chickens. This time the big chickens were under the deck and in the chicken house...and he was left wandering in the rain by himself.

The door latched shut, Ian was banging on the door to be let in. I didn't hear him as I was engaged in prying the stupid dog out from behind the computer desk all the while pulling wires out of the wall and the computer as she tried to avoid me. I was so mad I couldn't see straight. The storms had her all riled up and in a panic. I didn't give her her chill pill because I thought from the looks of the radar it was going to be a light rain and pass on.

So Ian is trudging through the back yard to go to the other side of the porch and let himself in that door and sees little man soaked and running around like a ninnybehind the pool deck. He scoops him up and brings him back around and they end up entering the front door.

WHAM...the door slams shut.

"Didn't you hear me? I was banging and banging on the screen door for you to let me in!"

"NOoooo I was busy trying to get the stupid dog out from behind the computer desk"

Handing me one small wet chicken..."Well look what I found out there in the rain!" Looking at me scoldingly. "I couldnt get in the damn door was locked!"

"I didn't lock it, the wind must have slammed it enough that it locked itself"

"Yeah right, you locked it."

"No I didnt"

"Yes you did, Phoenix didnt lock it behind him when he went out!"

"No I didnt"

"Yes...you did"

"Whatever, I am not going to argue about this"

Getting a towel I dried Phoenix off and he was no worse for the wear.

The dog is cowering, trying to get around Ian at the computer to wedge her big self back behind the desk again.

"What is WRONG with this DOG??"

"I told you, she is freaking because it is raining and thundering."

"What a stupid dog."

"Yep"

So we were in agreement on that. LOL

Meanwhile, I hear a cheeping and a chirping coming from one of the brooders. It is frantic. One of the several day old Serama chicks had decided to try and wedge itself between the side of the brooder and a box I had in the brooder for younger just hatched chicks to get on their feet. Its wing was bent back, it was weak. I scooped it up, got it to drink water. It was wobbly and not feeling like doing too much. I put it in with the newborns in the box and it slept. This morning it is much much better and stronger.

So what the heck was going on??? All the animals decided to lose thier minds at once yesterday! The only thing that didnt happen was Derby didnt break out. But he was still acting unreasonable. He was standing out in the downpour, mad as a wet hen, backing up and eating grass all the while. Getting soaked. He has a new shelter...he almost went in it, but decided he would rather stand out in the downpour and be miserable.

I don't know what gets into these animals sometimes, but it all tends to happen at once. Crazy weather brings craziness I guess!

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Today I will be going out and haying the pens...they are all muddy now and need some dry hay to go down, including the pigs pen. I am sure some feeders got soaked and need to have the food replaced too...so I will be going out soon before the day heats up.

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I was asked a very good question this morning, and I would like to expand on my answer here...in case someone else wondered the same. I am, however going to save what I have so far in fear of AOL cutting me off as they so often do...brb...

I was asked how do I know what the people buying the chicks are going to use them for. A very good question, seeing as y'all know I don't really want them to go for eating. So, to keep that from being an issue, I breed ornamental, exotic type breeds. They would be of no use really for meat. It wouldn't be worth the time and effort. Once I had a hispanic couple come by and wanted to buy some chickens...I had raised up some of the Silver Phoenix to sell as adults. They barely spoke any English, but when they looked them over...his wife told him something in Spanish and then he looked at me and says

"My wife says they are too small"

I asked, " Too small for what?"

He says, "For eating."

I was like NO, and I told him I do not breed that type ofchicken. That these were strictly ornamental.

They saw Hank, and wanted him BAD. I told them there was NO way he was going to be sold. He is my big old puppy dog rooster and I love him very much. They told me he was big and would be good to eat. :( Guess they didnt get it.

Anyway, the longer I keep them, the harder it is to sell them. Because I know they will end up dead more than likely. Maybe not eaten by humans, but run over in the road, or eatne by predators. I found out really quick that out here in the country, EVERYTHING likes chicken. You have to go to some trouble to keep them safe, and even then, it doesn't always work.

So, I sell them as chicks, and I think I actually make more money this way. No feed costs to speak of if they are sold sooner than later. I am not attached to them. I sell them knowing full well most people will turn them out as soon as they are grown with no fence, no pen to go into at night to be locked up and safe. Maybe I am being cynical...but I know people. Most people will not go to a lot of trouble for chickens. I do because it is my hobby. Most folks coming by, but not all, are not fanatical about it, they just want to throw some chickens out in the yard. I hate that thought, because I know eventually they will be killed, but I can only hope that these people will learn from it, and either do what it takes the next time around to keep them safe, or just not get anymore.

Its their money, you would think if they were going to make the trip out here, and some come from over a hundred miles away...they would make sure their money went a long way by keeping the birds safe.

I was taking some back roads to the flea market last Saturday morning and I saw a prime example. There was a house, surrounded by woods, and very close to the road. There were a couple of roosters and a few hens...one hen had chicks following her around. Picturesque? Yes, but in reality, if a predator catches wind, they will come back for the buffet every night until they are all gone, chicks, mother, everybody.

Then there were the abundance of loose dogs, and in one gravel driveway that led back to somewhere I could not see...there must have been a dozen young dogs packed together, all sitting there in a clump, scratching and itching...full of fleas and ticks I am sure. That is what you see out here...and although I love the country and would never go back to the city, there are things here that are somewhat an ugly truth as much as in the city.

Well, I hav rambled on long enough I guess...I better close for now...I am gonna go out and play for a while. :)

This and That, Goings On, Catch Up

Before I forget again...I wanted to tell you about my follow up on the mosaic house! I called the real estate agent that was listing the house for sale about three doors down on the opposite side of the street where the strange house is. I have posted pictures of the house before...if anyone can still get to the original Chicken Chronicles and hasnt seen them, they are something else to see.

I pretended I was looking for a house for my parents...lied through my teeth..blah blah...want to move them out closer to me...blah blah...you know.

Then I told her I would like to ask her about something, if she knew anything about it. So, I asked her what was the story on the mosaic house. She hesitated and seemed a bit embarrassed by having to explain what might be an eyesore to someone looking to buy a home, a home that costs 250,000 I came to find out.

She told me that there really wasnt much to tell. The man that does the art or whatever you want to call it...on the house...lives with his parents down the road (this guy is easily in his late 40s) and they own the old house and the property. The son is in the business of the materials he uses, so he that is why he has it sitting everywhere there.

She told me sometimes the son will stay there and sometimes he will stay at home...and it seemed that he was just an eccentric fellow. No real mystery, he just liked to decorate the outside, guess it is a hobby.

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My hatch this year has been somewhat disappointing at times. I have never had such a high mortality rate. I am not doing anything any different that I ever have. I know why I am having the deaths in the shell from the Serama eggs. In reading up further on this breed, it seems there is a gene in them that causes this. For every one hatched out I would have about three dead in the shell. They will come full term and be dead when it comes time for them to hatch.

I have had more than a few of my other full size birds not absorb the yolk sac all the way and die in the shell. That is a mystery to me. I do not know why this keeps happening. Then, stranger than strange I had a Sumatra chick upside down full term, die in the shell. The head was at the bottom and the feet at the top of the egg! Never had that happen. I would say you get used to having a not so perfect hatch, but each time it happens, you are disappointed.

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I have so many orders for either eggs or chicks for the Serama...but they have quit laying. The heat is just too much on everyone. Day after day of middle 90s has been tough on everyone. The layers all walk around with their wings held away from their bodies, panting. Until the sun goes down, it is hot for them. By morning it feels wonderful, but it never lasts. Once the sun is up, it all begins again. I am just thankful there have been no deaths from the heat this year. I have that happen every year, usually just one or two, but it happens.

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My predator problem seems to be solved. I will still not tell my method of doing them in...but I will tell you what a man that came by to buy chicks from not far away said to me. It was purely by chance that I found this out.

He was leaning on the fence checking out all the chickens and we were talking...I mentioned that I had a predator taking all my small chickens. He said that he saw a dead fox, no bigger than a cat, dead on the side of the road over where he lives...and where he lives is in the direction we guessed the predator had been coming from...not too far at all. I didn't mention to him anything of my methods, just that I was glad to hear of a DEAD fox. So, that would explain why it couldn't handle the big chickens or the big roosters attacks.

Things have been better since this news. No more attacks, or disappearances...knock on wood.

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I had been told of a great flea market held on Saturdays in Collinsville, Alabama. I kept trying to set aside some time to go check it out. I was told you have to get there at daybreak if you want to get in on the good deals. Plus, it gets too hot to roam around for long once the sun gets overhead.

Well, I finally made up my mind and went. All I can say is WOW. It is HUGE!

Now, before I go any further, I better save...but I will be back with a few pictures and more on the flea market.

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I have been to some flea markets, but man, this was incredible! I got there later than I wanted to as I took a wrong turn. Helen you will know what I am talking about...I didn't keep going on 411 to where Hwy 68 goes west, I turned too soon off 411 onto Hwy 68 east...ended up seeing Lake Weiss..which was beautiful. Stopped in a bait shop gas station and asked where I was and where I should have gone...they laughed and said people come this way every Saturday...that I was not alone. I got directions and got back on the road. Got there around 9...sun up and already warming up too much.

Not knowing what I was in for...I took off my sandles and changes into my trusty comfy new flip flops...wrong move. TENNIS SHOES were a must. It was gravely, rocky, uneven ground all through the isles...so much to look at, it was overwhelming. Anything you could possibly think of was there from funeral flower arrangements, to candles, porch rockers and swings, clothes, shoes, used video games as far as you could see, socks, shoes, trinkets of every sort from jewelry to nick nacks...old farm implements...new garden tools, so much stuff!

Then there were dogs and cats, guinea pigs, parrots, gerbils, rats, mice, rabbits, and more.

But up on the hill was what I had come for. I wanted to see all the farm animals.

I already got cut off once, so I am saving here again...brb...

Up the hill, I saw Ralph there. He is the man that I traded the seven Phoenix roos for my pair of Serama, Bonnie and Clyde. He has two pair of red gold pheasants he had traded with someone earlier in the day. I was planning on getting some chicks for trade from a guy raising these. We are both patiently waiting on each others hatch. I had seen pictures of these birds, but wow, they don't even look real, the colors are fantastic on the males.

Anyway....originally I was supposed to get keets in trade for Serama eggs from a guy not too far from here, but his incubator element burned out and he lost the hatch. So, I was in the market for guineas.

There were some red bourbon chicks, I say chicks, they were getting bigger. I love those, would have liked to have those, but resisted. Saw indian runner ducklings, would have loved to have those, but passed as I don't have a pond...the neighbors do, they have a two acre pond, and I bet that is where they would end up, so that was a no. No peachicks in sight. Lots of game chickens, bantams, meat chickens, layers. One guy had a box full of chicks, must have been forty chicks in there. One caught my eye, it was al gray...he said he would sell me the whole box for twenty bucks...but I declined. I have enough layers, and I was afraid some would end up being games, and I don't want game chickens. They are a pain to keep.

Then one man had what I was looking for. Lots and lots of keets. The pearl guineas, which was fine. Three dollars each. I bought six of them. I had left my carriers in the car. Live and learn, I saw folks with buggies, carts, and such to carry thier finds in. He put them in a paper grocery sack for me until I could get them out to the truck and put them in one of the carriers.

Saving...brb

Here they are now safe and sound at home...

 

There were so many animals there for sale, goats, sheep, horses, miniature horses, lots of all differnt types of chickens from games to bantams, layers to meat chickens. So much to look at, but I had to get the keets back to the truck. It was getting hot now, and I was sweating. Paper bags and sweat do not mix. So I was in a race against time as my sweat from my arms and the sweat dripping off my face and forehead soaked through the paper sack. I am doing my best to walk without falling down on the rough terrain. Now I knew to pay attention to where I came in, what was around in the booths where I entered...from the parking lot...because now I knew I had the task of finding the truck. I thought I knew where it was...got turned around anyway...after thirty minutes of searching I found my parking lot, and then my truck...before the bag fell apart and the keets fell through the bottom! I got them in the carrier...

Now you know I wanted to go back and look some more...but it was already hot...I was not wearing the right shoes, and I was not parked where I needed to be. Next time I will know where to park, all the way to the back. So I can see the animals first!

Now, before I left, once I got my bearings and was headed out I passed a vendors booth that caught my eye...a little elderly lady with home made purses all set up neatly on a table...all kinds...John Deere, cows, Barns, and yes...chickens...had to have it. I needed a new purse anyway...worth the ten dollars...hand made by her. Here is a picture of it, both sides...

 

Shelby had told be the night before that she wanted to sleep in and that if I were to see anything she would like to please get it for her...YEAH...RIGHT. As I said, it was overwhelming the amount of stuff to look at. I bet I didnt see but a third of the place before I left. I told her when I got home that day...that I wanted to go back, with the proper shoes, and to be there at daybreak when it was still cool, and if she wanted something she needed to come along with me this coming Saturday and have a look around for herself. I know she would enjoy it. She just doesnt want to get up that early...he he...

So we are going back again, now that I know what shoes to wear, how to get there without getting lost, and to get there before it is a hundred degrees outside! ;) This time ought to be a lot more fun having her with me.

Plums, New Chickens, and No Death

Yesterday I felt the need to just get out for a bit. I needed to go to the post office anyway. I went meandering down the road the way the egg customer folks had said the plums were. Well, I found them. I should have known better...these folks are city folks, and they don't know a bush from a tree I guess. Maybe I am being to critical, but they WERE trees, just small and thin. They also said they were growing wild...lol...and they were not, not really. The grass and weeds were all grown up along the delapidated barb wire fence...but it was obvious that at some time someone had planted these in a row down the fence line. They were spaced out evenly and in a line. But, I had still never seem small plums like these. So, I pulled over and picked a few. I mainly wanted the pits as I want to try and grow my own...but they are tasty little bites...would be great for a hot afternoon snack. So here is a picture of them. I don't have anything next to them for reference, but they are about as big around as a quarter, some a little bigger. They taste as good as they look too!

 

<

Now, I didn't load the pics I took of the Phoenix roos onto Flickr yet that I took the day I boxed them up to be sold to a man coming to pick them up that afternoon. But I will, and I will add them onto this entry, in a little while. It takes a bit to load them and I forgot that pic was going to be part of this entry, so I will add it later.

Anyway, he came and bought seven of the roos. I really needed to get them gone because as long as I had too many roosters out there the layers both old and new would be harrassed too much and stressed from it. I have not let the new layers out of the holding pen just yet because of the predator. But when I do there will be enough stress with them fitting into the flock without young men harrassing them.

 

When he came to pick them up, he brought a pair of bantams with him. Ohhhh not just any bantams. He has mentioned the them to me the other day when he came just to look at the roosters...and I had made mention I would love to see the pair. So he brought them...and ohhhh my.

Class A Serama Pair...and Blues to boot. Never seen blues in Serama. Must be rare, rarer than Seramas themselves. Oh my oh my. I looked longingly at them, and asked him if I could take a few pics of them. I came back outside to the tailgate of his truck where they sat in their little cage and took a few pics.

Now came the question I had been waiting for. Oh yes, he asked me if I wanted them. Well you know I did. I told him he knew I wanted them! So he says..."I tell you what, I will sell them to you for thirty dollars." (This being the exact same amount he paid for the roos) I went back in and got that thirty dollars he had just crossed my palm with and took my new pair of Serama in the house in a pet carrier I had pulled out for them.

Ohhhh I was so happy! They are still young, and so she is not laying yet...but soon. He has not fully developed his tail, the sickle feathers need to come on out, and his saddles, but they both weigh about 225 grams each, which is a VERY GOOD Class A!!!! Oh yeah...got me some show birds now, I hope. I have consulted through an email to someone that keeps and shows them and sent them pics for them to judge and tell me if they are show worthy. I believe they are, and will be by next February.

So, as usual, Shelby was quick to name them...she is so good at this. She came up with Bonnie and Clyde...and it was perfect! Now these pics don't show a reference as to how small they are...but you can see, from the steps of the stairs...they are really small. I will take more pics of them later and have Shelby let them stand in the palm of her hand while I take the pictures and you will see, they truly are tiny! Well, here they are, Bonnie and Clyde.

 

Yes yes! I was just emailed back from asking the person about my birds and he says they are very pretty and he encourages me to show them! So, I guess the expert has spoken! ALRIGHT!

I know these are going to be traded or sold. The man does a lot of trading and buying and selling for a hobby...of all different fowl. I just hope they won't be eaten. :( I know there is no guarantee where they will end up, but I couldn't keep them. Their antics were very funny to watch at times, so I will miss them. I do have three left here...so I didnt get rid of all of them.

 

Poor thing, the last one here ran and ran from me and tried to fly across the pool and didnt quite make it, so he got somewhat soggy. He just didn't want to go...can't really blame him...any chicken here has it made.

More Death and Loss

Too much is happening. I am going to tell you I am not used to losing any of my animals. Everyone here lives to a ripe old age if I have anything to do with it. It is very difficult for me to handle what is going on here.

Remember my girls...the three bantam cochin frizzle hens I showed this past February? They are gone. Taken, all three, in one invasion, one attack. I went out yesterday morning, and they were there. I know they were. So the attack came in daylight. Last evening I went out to feed the pigs and out to the side going out towards the neighbors I saw white feathers, clumps, everywhere. My first thought was the remaining silkies had been taken. Then I turned and saw both boys popping around and became increasingly puzzled. Dorothy is in the house in a cage sitting on Serama eggs for me, so I knew she was safe.

OH NO...I turned and my eyes fell upon a completely empty frizzle house...no no no no...Tears welling up...no no no NO NO...getting louder. Not my girls. Not them. But it was...and bless their heart, one of my Phoenix roos had tried to fend off whatever it was because there were neck feathers from one of them behind the frizzle house, and the board that was up against the back of the house had been pulled aside and there were signs of digging. Unable to dig through the hard earth it went around to the front of the house and pulled off the chicken wire front enough to squeeze in and take them. There was evidence of small footprints, I am thinking this predator is a fox. It does not like to tangle with the big chickens. It is taking the little ones. One frizzle had made a run for it as I found feathers toward the back of our vegetable garden. She did not make it. No one did.

The neighbors I spoke of used to have loose dogs, a nuisance in itself. BUT...I think that is what had kept the predators away. It dragged the bodies to that side of the property, where the dogs used to patrol. Now I haven't seen those dogs in a few months now. The older man living there is bedridden, so his kids are caring for him and his property. I am thinking they don't have the dogs anymore.

Now, I will not say here what I am going to do, because some may not agree with it. But know this, I will get my predator. Yes I will.

So, that makes seven chickens in a week. I can't have it.

Now, you would think it had had its fill and wouldn't be back for a while yes? Nope.

Last night some time it came back. I have a Phoenix rooster that roosts at night on the fence by the patio and the pool area. He and the others were fine this morning...but, there were a LOT of Phoenix feathers about 12 feet away in the grass from where he roosts. Guess he gave the predator "what to for" as they say and it ran off.

Everyone is staying in the house that is in the house. I can't afford to have my new Sultans taken...even though they are ready for a pen...they are small...bantams...and they will get gone.

The Serama are outside in their pen...a newer pen...but I am going to wire all the chicken wire to the posts like I had been doing with other pens and never finished the job. Today all pens will be wired, so even if the wire gets pulled on and the staples come loose it will hold.

***********************

In other news, Phoenix is holding steady. He seemed better yesterday evening. I weighed him this morning and his weight is coming back up some. He did eat yesterday, and I kept fresh water with the antibiotic and vitamins out for him, he did drink a lot of it, which is really good. He still seems to get tired fast, I caught him drooping his head down this morning on the porch, falling asleep. So he is not out of the woods yet.

*********************

I have other news, but this is getting kind of long, so I will make another entry tomorrow...I need to take some new pictures of a few things to go with the entry...so I will save it.

The sun is shining, and I hope today will be a brighter day...

Oh, has anyone ever seen wild plums??? I have, now! I will try to go out and snap a few pics of them. Someone came by for eggs and had found some wild plums up the road, brought me one to taste, it was GOOD! little, about the size of one of my little Serama eggs. I would like to grow some...its on a bush, not a tree...ever seen those?  

Something Is Wrong

This is Mazda. I believe I talked about him a long time ago...but it was before I had made so many more friends, so I will tell his story again...and then tell you what is wrong, and you will see why I have brought up Mazda.

 

Nope, your eyes are not playing tricks on you...this is not Phoenix, it is Mazda. Last February I went to my first Poultry Show. I was showing my pair of Japanese Silver Phoenix. In the sale barn there was a silent auction going on of various fowl. This little man stole my heart when I saw him. He was not tame at all, but I could fix that I told myself. So, on the little index card dangling from his cage I put my bid in. The auction would be over at noon...and I had a couple of hours to kill so I went roaming about looking once again at all the show birds. I came back later to see someone had outbid me. So, I up the bid...and as I did some snot nosed teenager came over and put a higher bid. So I said okay, I am gonna take this bird home whatever it costs. So, here we go, it is like a dang Ebay auction bidding war except it was transpiring on this index card. Back and forth we stood there scribbling higher and higher...til the auction was called over. Well you guessed it...he won out. I was more upset than I thought I would be...I wanted this bird in a bad way. His father came over and saw me standing there fretting and wringing my hands in despair at my loss and says to me

"I will sell him to you for 50 cents over what we paid."

I hollered "DEAL!" and slapped the cash in his hand.

Needless to say his son was not pleased at all...no he was not. He made me nervous and kept hanging around the pen of this little bird. I was afraid he would steal him...it has happened before I have been told. That is why you really should take your win and put them in a pen and get themput away...but Ian and Shelby had come along...and they had grown weary of the show and went down the way to visit some friends of ours that lived close by. I had to call and get him to come back and get tihs bird so I could relax. He did, and I relaxed.

So you may be asking why his name is Mazda. Well, it just so happened that after the poultry show we had plans to go and look at a car for Ian. A MazdaSpeed, a performance version of the Miata. The little man went with us of course, and all the sales people were just enthralled with him and I had folks coming with their phones and taking pics with the camera feature on their phones. So, we named him after Ians car. He was already taming down by the time we were leaving with Ians car.

Got to save all this, I am so afraid I will get signed off or something...so there is more to this story, I will be back in a minute.

Four months passed..February, March, April and into May. Mazda became a great little pet. He was much more independent than Phoenix..but still friendly. Like Phoenix, he enjoyed human attention, treats, neck scratching. He spent his days out on the screen porch and came in at night to sleep on the back of the living room couch. No pillow tent or anything like Phoenix had to have...just the back of a couch would do.

In May...he began to experience a light molt. He lost little feathers and then some big feathers...a lot of his wing feathers. After a couple of weeks of this...it was apparent he was not feeling quite right. He seemed sluggish and was not eating with gusto. I started him on antibiotics, a vitamin and mineral supplement, VetRX, everything I could think of. The days passed. He got worse. He became very lethargic. I had to use a dropper and force feed him the medicated water. Nothing was working.

I had moved him to the back of the couch in our bedroom so I could stay with him and moniter him. He slept atop a bedpillow with a towel over it for cleanliness...it was layed on the back of the couch resting up against the wall for support.

One morning as I woke up to the alarm and got Ian up for work I turned on the light to check on him. He wouldn't stand up on his own anymore, he was barely alive...I started crying as I picked him up...this is even now breaking my heart when I think of it.

I carried him over to the bed and laid him down as I knelt down beside the bed. He began to convulse...it was awful, it was so traumatic...then, he was flipping around, I was crying and crying...and then it was over...he was gone.

How could I get so attached in just four months? I have no idea. It just snuck up on me and happened. He is buried out by the back step with a big red stone on the top of his grave. My daughter wrote hima good bye note and we put it in the box with him...along with a lock of my hair and her hair...he loved to preen our hair. It was all just so sad.

June and July passed and life went on. The sadness subsided and summer was on full blast with pool time and friends over...July 4th celebrations, fireworks, cookouts. He was gone but not forgotten.

Should I try to get another? I asked myself, and found myself not ready yet. The man that bred this made up breed was in Lagrange.

My long time friends mother developed cancer, and it took her in a months time. The funeral was in August. I went down to be with my friend of course.

On the way back...I had a plan already in motion. Yes, it was time. I was close...I was in Columbus...I could ride right through LaGrange in Highway 27 and pick me up a new little man. I had called ahead of course and set it all up.

Pausing to save again....I will be back in a  minute.

**********************

So, I arrived at the mans house...and we went to the back to see all his birds. WOW...he had a million little Mazdas...only three months old. (actually, they are not called Mazdas...lol...they are called Blue Wheaton Sports) Now let me tell you something. This is a made up breed. You take a brassy back blue roo and a wheaton hen, and you get a Blue Wheaton Sport. This is his own personal conglomeration. He took out three...wild and crazy guys...put them in three seperate cages for me to look at them and pick one. I stuck my hand in each cage, to see what the response would be. The one that didn't freak out won out. I took him home and he took right to us all. He was fantastic. Maybe a little too friendly for a while...he was all over us, followed any of us everywhere and wanted to held all the time! That is why he ended up with a pillow tent for a bed, so we could get him to go to sleep somewhere besides on us! LOL

So, with Mazda dying at a year and four months old ( I got him when he was a year old) I am paranoid and ever watchful of Phoenix. We never found out what was really wrong with Mazda. The breeder told me, sometimes, they just die, and thats the way it is.

I give Phoenix a bird vitamin supplement in his water every day. I want him to live a long time. Little chickens can live fifteen years. He doesn't get white bread as a treat like Mazda did, only wheat.

Now comes the news...the something wrong.

Phoenix is right over a year old now. Yesterday morning he slept too late. I got him up, he seemed bleary eyed and sleepy. Took him out onto the porch...no crowing, no dancing around...just stood there. Hmmm....I watched him throughout the day...and that evening I tried to give him his wheat bread...and he wouldn't eat it. I weighed him. He had lost 70 grams. That is alarming considering he only weighed 570 grams. I immediately started him on antibiotics, vitamins, VetRX. This morning he slept late again. He was up at 7 am. I took him outside to the porch...nothing...dazed...not waking up like a little roo should. So I dosed him...and we went and laid back down. he was shivering...cold. I pulled the blankets up onto him and me and we slept soundly for two hours. He was back up at 9...and talking some. He seemed a little more animated. We went outside to the back porch again. He got down, crowed a couple of times, went running from one side of the screens to the other to see what was going on out there in the yard...dancing. After a few minutes of this, he got tired...and went back into sleepy slow mode. I picked him up and cradled him, rocking him for a while as he closed his eyes.

 

Please God not again. I prayed that this was not happening again. I don't think my heart can take it. This is not like loving your dog or cat, this is different. I can't explain it, it just is. He is sitting down a lot...on the porch floor. He DID eat some this morning at 9, so that was encouraging.

I am giving him two days too get better. If there is no improvement I am taking him to an avian/exotic veterinarian. I had to use one once before for the iguana, so I will go there. I will do what I have to, I don't care if it costs...I don't want to lose him...my heart would break.

 

 

 

Why would I think there is a connection in Mazdas illness and Phoenixs? Because it is a made up breed. I am afraid the genetics of the two being bred have a flaw. A flaw that shortens their life terribly.

 

Visit With Grandmama

Good Saturday afternoon! Today I wanted to share some photos of my Grandmama and Phoenix. Last Sunday we went to the nursing home where she lives and visited. The last time we went I took Phoenix...and his presence was requested for this visit also. My Grandmama doesn't like a whole lot of anything...except she likes the FOXNews channel and Newsweek magazines. So for her to like Phoenix does my heart good.

 

When we first arrived she was sitting down at the end of the hall with a friend of hers. The sun was bright and lit the hall...it was nice to have the sun coming in the doors and windows and there was a bird feeder outside that door they could watch the birds come and go from. They have bird houses and bird feeders all over the grounds there. I like that. I wish I had had my camera when we were coming back from picking up lunch for everyone...there were so many purple martins on the condo type house for them...it was really neat. So anyway, we got to meet her friend, and her friend held Phoenix. Grandmama had told her all about him. Most find it strange that a little rooster like that can be carried around like people would carry around a little dog...but it is really no different than having a parrot as a pet...the one difference being I don't trust parrots, they are very moody and some are so big they could take a finger off with one bite if they just felt like it. I don't have to worry about that with Phoenix.

  

 

Being in a nursing home has been difficult for Grandmama. Losing her independence has been a hard thing to accept. I imagine myself going kicking and screaming before being put in one. This particular place is very nice, not hospital like much at all. It is out in the country too. The place is a small facility, does not house but about 75 folks...so personal attention is not a problem. She has been through several and finally settled here, feeling like this place was the best and much better than any of the others...and she is right. If I had to be in a nursing home, that one would be a good one to be in.

We had a very nice visit, I took her another album for her to keep full of photos for her to show to her friends and to look over from time to time.

I only hope if I live to 80 years old like her, that my body won't quit on me the way hers has. She has rheumatoid arthritis...and it has eaten away at her terribly.

Thankyou Kay...Your A Good Friend

After telling Kay, a fellow chickenaholic friend,

of my plight with the predation and the loss of

my beloved silkies...she asked me if she could

cheer me up. I said sure. She said she was going

to send me some silkie hatching eggs from her

breeding stock of white silkies (those are my

favorite) so I could hatch some new ones. Now

isn't she something? I just wanted to tell everyone

what a giving and nice person Kay is for doing

this for me. Buddy, LC, and BeeBee will be missed

terribly, but it will be good to have a bunch of

silkies popping around the yard again once I get

them hatched and raised up. Thankyou so much

Kay, you are a good compassionate friend, and

thanks for letting me bend your ear when I needed

someone to talk to that understood so well.

Here is a link to her homepage, but this particular

link will take you to the pictures of the parents

of my eggs I will be hatching. Her birds are so

beautiful. :)

http://hometown.aol.com/btmchickenlady/page2.html

A Predator

Sunday from before daylight until late Sunday night

I was gone out of town with my parents to visit my

grandmama. So I didn't see my guys and gals all

that day. Saturday I fed and watered near dark

time as it had been so hot that day. I didn't notice.

But on Monday...I noticed. Ember was missing.

That is not entirely unusual as she will skip through

the fence wire because she is so trim. She will

venture onto the side of the fence that is next to

the field of growing cotton. She has been known

to try and hide a clutch of eggs there. When I

pour the food she usually shows up. Not this day.

Tuesday morning I went out early before it got

hot and still didn't see Ember. Tuesday evening

I went on an all out search. Shelby said she had

seen her in the back that very day...for sure. I

wondered if she had been mistaken. When I

gathered the eggs that afternoon I didn't pay

that much attention to them until I was washing

them to put them away and noticed one of the

eggs was in fact Embers egg. Now don't ask me

how I can tell her egg from the others, I just can.

Well, so that meant she had been right, she had

seen her. But where was she now? I began an

all out search. I looked under the pool deck,

walked the whole back half where there might

be a tall tuft of grass for her to hide eggs in the

corner. I looked everywhere, front and back.

As I walked to the back...I saw feathers...white

feathers...just a half a dozen or so. Silkie feathers.

On the other side of the fence was a fistful of

Silkie feathers. My heart sank. I hadn't even

realized any silkies were missing and felt a bit

guilty because of it. Heck, they are always poppin

around here and there up by the house, they

NEVER leave from around the chicken pen area.

So when I saw the feathers...I knew that it was bad.

I went sprinting in a panic back up to the house...

franticly looking in the nesting box house, where

Dorothy has been for over a month gone broody

and not budging wanting to hatch eggs. She was

there, and so was Rough. Rowdy was walking

around not far away. But where were the three

I had hatched last year from them? Where was

Buddy, my favorite Silkie guy? Where was that

comical looking LC? Where was my little girl

BeeBee? Nowhere...gone. Vanished save a few

feathers. I was running into the house half

hysterical calling for Ian to come and help me

find my birds. I told him quickly what I had

discovered and he came out and walked the outside

of the fence with me...and when we did...we found

Embers tail feathers...about 9 of them...a lot.

So, Ember was gone for sure now. My heart

broke at the suffering my birds had endured.

Something had dragged them off...whole. In the

night? Probably.

Since having the fence put in we have not had any

problems with dogs or otherwise. We are so open

here, coyote and fox were not a problem. But it has

been really dry. Predators are getting desperate

I imagine. The neighbor came by for some eggs

yesterday and told me her husband saw a coyote

out in broad daylight at 4 yesterday afternoon

but didnt have his gun, so was not able to kill it.

This is not good news. This is very disturbing as

coyote don't make a habit of coming out in the

daytime out in the open like that. He saw it out

in a field too...no cover. Very unusual behavior.

Desperate behavior.

Derby has been drylotted now for weeks. He has

been known to charge the fence at anything that

even looks like it might invade his territory, which

is the whole fenced in back area. I have seen him

scare off dogs...they run tail tucked. So, in the hope

that he would do the same to a coyote or fox, he has

been recruited 24 hours a day out in the back. Got

to keep the grass really short, don't want him to

overeat and founder. Also been keeping the lights

on at night. Been thinking about putting a radio

out there for people noise so any predator will

think there are people about. Going to have to

get a real gun now. Learn how to use it, and be

ready if I need to. Whatever came over that fence

went right into the fenced chicken house area,

plucked up a silkie and carried it off. I never heard

a thing. It has been two nights now...with Derby

guarding the back at night, and now during the day

since they are coming out in the day...and all is well.

So far so good.

Forgot to add...in the top picture from left to right:

Dorothy, LC, Rough in the front middle, BeeBee in

the back middle, Rowdy, and Buddy. the second is

a close up of Buddy, and the third pic is of Bubba

on the left and Ember on the right. Ember will be

missed the most. She was so special. What a

character she was...she has some good stories that

go with her. She was a good hen.

New Serama Chicks

 

Lets start FRESH! Here we go...

This is a picture of the four Serama chicks I have

hatched out. They are proving very difficult to

hatch. Usually hatching comes so easy for me.

I had to help all of these out of the shell, and had

five die. Not a good ratio I know. I have back

orders for these chicks that I hope I can fill...

eventually. They are so tiny, so cute...I love them.