My how they grow

Howdy!  The chicks are now 8 weeks old, fully feathered, and gorgeous.  Roxie is my favorite, but it turns out that Roxie may be a boy.  She crowed the last couple mornings.  This is upsetting to me as Roxie is the prettiest in coloring and I will only have Buff Orpington roosters to keep my Orpingtons breeding true.  I have heard of dominant females crowing, and am hoping this is the case, but Roxie is getting a crest sooner then the others and it is pinker then the others.
Roxie and Misty have the best muffs and beards.  I am beginning to wonder if Louise and Sarah are true Americanas, as they have no muffs or beards.  So, out of 5 Americana pullets, looks like I got 1 rooster, and two that aren't true americanas.  Not too happy about this.
I have had no luck in taming these girls.  They still totally freak out whenever I am near.  Once you have a hold of one, they calm down, but getting a hold of one is another story.
The silkie chicks are growing and I have to figure out something to do with them.  They are getting too big for their container, but the Americanas have a few more months before they can go in with the big girls.  I lost a Silkie chick, one of my buffs.  I did not think they were big enough to jump out of the container.  I was wrong, and came home to one having drowned in the toilet tank.  I was so upset and cried for hours.  They now have a cover over the container, and a board over the toilet tank.
I also lost one of my big girls to a hit and run on the road in front of the house.
Here are update pictures of the Americana girls (boy?)
Sookie at 8 weeks

 Louise at 8 weeks

 Sarah at 8 weeks

 Misty at 8 weeks

 Roxie at 8 weeks

More new chicks and 4 week update

I just got eight Silkie chicks yesterday and they are so very tiny and sweet.  I could not decide what color I wanted, so I got two each of Buff, White, Black and Blue.  I am hoping I get a few hens out of the deal.  Any roosters will be re-homed or become dinner if unable to find homes for them.  I have found a home for my Blue splash Silkie roo and my black Silkie/polish mix hen.  I am going to put my Cochin/Silkie hen with the bigger chickens at the same time I introduce the Ameracana hens to the flock.  So that will leave my white Silkie roster, my polish hen, and any new Silkie hens I get with this new bunch of chicks.
My Ameracana chicks are now 4 weeks old.  They are growing like weeds  and I can see changes in them daily.  Following are their four week pics, and some picks of the new Silkie chicks.

 Sookie at 4 weeks.  Looks like she is going to be all white.

 Loise at 4 weeks.  She is telling me how unhappy she is being picked up.

 Sarah at four weeks  I think she looks like a little hawk with her coloring.

 Misty at 4 weeks.  She still has grey on her head, but the body is white with light rust highlights.

 Roxie at four weeks.  Still mostly grey, but getting some brown in her wings.

 White silkie chicks.  I am figuring the silkie chicks are around three or four days old.

 Black Sikie chicks.

 Buff Silkie chicks.

 Blue Silkie chicks.

Here is a pic of one of the Silkie chicks in my hand to give you an idea of their size.  So very tiny.  Sorry the picture is blurry.  My camera is starting to mess up.

Zoomer and I have looked at several promising pieces of land in Crawford county.  We are looking there, because they do not have building restrictions.  Before we decide on which one to make an offer on, we are going to also check on properties that are available for back taxes owed.
One we looked at a few days ago is only 3 acres and I really want more then that, but this one has an old house on it that, with some work, would be livable until we build our house, then could be used for an art studio or a garage for Zoomer to work on his bikes.  Two points against it though, it is right on the state highway, and is only three acres.  So, still looking.

Leaps and Bounds

Wow, it always amazes me how fast the chicks change.  You can see changes daily.  Since the last set of pictures they have nearly doubled their size, the patterns are popping out on them and the colors are changing, and their tails are doubled in length.  They are entering that dinosaur stage.  Sookie is still mostly white with varying shades of white in places.  Louise is more brown with beautiful patterning in her wings.  Sarah is gong to be gorgeous and is shades of brown, rust and grays.  Misty , well, she is interesting with different shades of cream and grays, and Roxie is all shades of gray with some patterning in her wings.  I don't have as much time to spend with them as I had hoped so they are still afraid of me and freak out whenever I try to pick them up.  I am going to go get some parakeet grit so I can start giving them treats.  Maybe I can get on their good side that way.  Here are their pictures taken this morning.

Sookie

Louise

Sarah

Misty

Roxie

Two weeks old

The chicks will be two weeks old tomorrow.  Already there have been changes in their appearances.  They are definitely Ameraucanas as they have tails and a couple are already showing the cheek muffs.   Their colors have changed slightly and the patterns are becoming more defined.  I haven't had a lot of time to hold them and tame them, but have sat at the computer with one sleeping on my chest at times.
Here are some pictures I took today.
Sookie is starting to show a little pale color in her wings.

 Louise has some nice patterning in her wing and tail feathers.  She is showing more grey and less brown.

 Sarah still has quite a bit of brown and her wings are not as patterned.

 Misty's wings are getting whiter with some darker areas.  She is turning a soft grey all over with the light tan spots on her head and neck.

 Roxie is also showing more pattern in  her wings and tail and more grey all over.  Her black areas on her back and the back of her head are not as large.

I really do need to work with them.  The re terrified every time I approach the tub.

I have decided to re-home BG, my blue splash Silkie rooster, and Ebony my Black Silkie/Polish mix hen.  I have to many rooters and BG is my least favorite.  Ebony is picking on Phoenix, who I just found out was a hen as she started laying a couple weeks ago, and she is picking on my slow Silkie Rooster, Singer.

New babies

It has been a while since I posted.  Sorry, with work and recent physical problems, I was way behind on everything.  All the chickens are doing well.  In fact, Sunday, we went to get some new chicks.  Our local Rural KIng had pullet chicks in and I saw some Auracanas I fell in love with.  And they lay colored egs.  Anything from light blue to dark blue, green, and a pinkish beige.  I picked out five and each one is a different color.  Auracanas come in different colors and patterns.  It may turn out these are Ameraucanas, but the sign said Auracanas, which have not tails and tufted ears.  Then below it it had an explanation of Ameraucanas, which have tails and beards and cheek muffs.  So will have to wait to  see which ones I actually have.

A few days ago, I found a really strange egg below the roost.  It had no shell, felt like a water balloon, and had a tail.  Here are some pics of it.

Here are my new babies.  I took these yesterday.  They are about four days old in these pics.  So tiny and precious, I just want to hold them all day.  This first one is Sookie.  She is such a pale yellow that she is almost white.

 This is Louise.  I think she looks like a little owl.  I love the stripes on her wings.

 This is Sarah.  She has more brown on her and does not have the striped wings.

 Here is Misty.  She is a pale yellow with a peach color on her face and cheeks and her back and the back of her head is grey.  Really very pretty.

 And finally, here is Roxie.  She is bit more grey, striped wings, and almost black on the back and back of  her head.

Aren't they just the sweetest?  It is going to be fun, as they grow, to see what colors and patterns they take on. I will take pictures as they develop and post here.

Zoomer and I may have found some land.  We have looked at a place that is a little over 7 acres.  Most of the property is on the top of a hill, all wooded, and at the base of the hill is open area with a creek running through it where we could have gardens and animals like goats and alpacas.  We may be making an offer on it.  Keep your fingers crossed that they accept it.

Chicken update

Well, a lot has happened since Chickenstock.  The little polish, Phoenix, that was attacked is almost full grown.  His topknot has grown back, but only on one side due to scarring and it hags over his right eye.  I tried trimming the feathers back, but it still hangs because the skin on his head is so loose.  Poor little guy, it drives him crazy and he is always tossing his head around to see out of that eye.  I am afraid he may end up going blind in that eye id he cannot use it, but don't know what else to do.
The second little polish got Coccidiossis an died.  I was heartbroken.
Clem is a full fledge rooster now is so beautiful.  His comb and wattles are in and his blue ears are now tinged with red.  He is the most vocal chicken, crows a lot and when he is not crowing, he is cackling constantly.  I thing the only time he is quiet is when he is asleep.
Ebony is still very shy and doesn't do much but sit on the roost.  We are in the process of building a separate coop for the Bantams as I am afraid to put them in with the bigger chickens.  So hopefully he/she will be more active once outside.  Still not sure if Ebony is a boy or girl.  Actually, the only one I know for sure is Clem.
Singer and BG, the two silkies have gotten so big.  Also shy.  But Silkies sing the prettiest tilling songs.  I could sit and listen to it for hours.
]Three days ago, we got our first egg.  I came home and Zoomer said there was a surprise on the table for me.  There was a tiny, perfect, brown egg.  We now have five.  I think there are two hens laying now.  Three of the eggs are brown and roundish and two of them are a very pale tan and longish.  They are so tiny and cute.  We haven't eaten any yet.  The hens are laying them in the early afternoon.
My new Buff Orpington Rooster is so beautiful and just glows gold in the sunshine.  He watches over his flock and keeps them together.  If a hen strays, he chases it back to the flock and does a little dance around it.  One time some crows got really raucous, and he chased the girls under the shelter.  A minute later, a hawk flew over with the crows chasing it.
I love being outside and watching the chickens.  If I sit on the porch, Sweetie Pie will come and sit in my lap, sometimes.  They love it when I bring treats out to them.
Here are some recent pictures.
Clem

 Singer

 Phoenix, Singer, BG

 Ebony

 My first egg

 Clem

Chickenstock

Well, we spent the day at Chickenstock yesterday and I had a lot of fun.
Boy, were there a lot of chickens and ducks and turkeys and guineas for sale
My Friend Becca came and joined us and brought a big, beautiful Buff
Orpington Rooster. He is getting along great with the girls and has already
done a little dance in front of one, but the girls aren't old enough to be
interested yet.
I took my Gold Lace Wyandotte rooster and put him up for free, but no one
seemed interested. There were a lot of cockerels and roosters there for
free and for sale. As I started purchasing my chicks, I had to put the GLW
rooster back into the carrier so I could use the larger cage for my chicks.
Well, I was suppose to get 3 white silkie chicks and a white silkie rooster
from one lady, but someone broke into her coop two nights ago and stole a
bunch of chickens and two of my silkie chicks were stolen, and she forgot to
bring the silkie rooster. So all I got was the one silkie chick and she
sold me a silkie/cochin mix that is really pretty, named Clem (short for
Clementine until they realized she was a he.) I also got my black
silki/polish mix and she is so beautiful. Then from another lady I got a
white silkie chick with blue-gray spots and a tiny polish chick that I fell
in love with even though it is probably male.
I bought $10 in raffle tickets and I won a $42 heating base for the chicken
waterer so I don't have to worry about their water freezing in the winter.
I also won a book called Chicken Coops for Dummies worth $20, and a six
month Gold membership to the Backyard Chickens Forum worth $12.
During the raffle drawing, a little girl came running up with my polish
chick. It had escaped from the cage. When I took it back, I saw that along
the bottom of the cage were spaces big enough for it to get out. I was
limited on cages, so I temporarily put it in with the Wyandotte rooster
until we could plug the openings in the cage. Well, a short time later, the
little girl again came running up with my polish chick, but this time my Wyandotte had
just tried to kill. Its head was missing all the feathers, and bleeding,
and just hung like it was already dead. I was in tears. People rushed to help
me. I was doing Reiki on it the whole time I held it while people gave me
all kinds of advice and told me it looked like it wouldn't make it. I felt
awful. I was responsible for this tiny thing and it was all my fault and
everyone was being so kind. The lady I bought the polish off of gave me a
box to put I'm in. Then, she gave me another polish in case this one didn't
make it. I could not believe it. Well, in the excitement, I missed the
drawing for the 50/50 jackpot. So I went up and asked Kathleen what the
number was that was drawn. I had bought $11 worth of tickets (33 tickets),
and I won. I got $22
We packed up and came home. I gave all the chicks sugar water, then set
them up in the spare bathroom. The injured chick I put in the cat carrier
with a towel. This morning, the other polish was afraid of all the other
chicks, even the little silkies were picking on it, so I put him in with the
injured one. The injured one perked right up and is doing great. We went
to the store and got some Wonder Dust, which is what everyone told me o use
and put that on him a little bit ago. He is eating, drinking, preening and
walking around. If I can keep it from getting infected, he is going to be
fine. 

Goldrush, my new BO Rooster

White  Silkie chick

Clem, Silkie/Cochin mix

Ebony, Silkie/Polish mix

Blue spotted Silkie chick

Gold Lace Polish chicks

Ouch! injured chick