FINCHES (AKA OLD ENGLISH BARRED BANTAM HENS) MAKE EGGS

 These little eggs are so small and cute, they look like dove eggs. The photo does not adequately show the difference in size but it gives you a little feel for how small the eggs are from Old English bantams. 

Check out these eggs. The large ones are from our standard size Leghorn hens. The tan intermediate size eggs are from standard size Speckled Sussex hens. The smallest eggs which measure only 1.5-inches long are from our two birds we refer to as "The Finches" (because when they were small and very young they sang like little finch song birds. 

HURRICANE MILTON 2024

 MILTON WAS NOT NICE

This second hurricane of 2024 brought a lot of wind, more than we've known in previous storms. Fortunately our only damage was some screens torn by falling limbs. We rolled down all the hurricane shutters and felt pretty secure in our home. It's very dark inside with all the shutters rolled down. 

The Starlink antenna was not damaged in the storm so we had excellent internet throughout the ordeal. 

In anticipation for the storm we removed the canvas covers from the chicken runs. 

A massive dead pine tree fell over during the storm, the loud wind masked the boom of it hitting the Earth. 

The storm passed directly over us around 2AM, when we got up in the morning all that was left was the mess to clean up. 

We're safe and all our chickens made it through the storm safely so we're blessed.

LITTLE JOE MANNIX OUR BARRED ROCK ROOSTER HAS LEFT

Sporting a stylish 70's Botany 500 matching ensemble, it's Joe Mannix, The Rooster!

Cackle Hatchery included an extra chicken in our order (just in case one did not make it here in shipping). Our extra chicken turned out to also be A ROOSTER. We love roosters, so much so that we've made a home for 10 of them but Joe pushed us over the limit, 11 is too many! We definitely have enough crowing here. So a CraigsList ad began searching for a new home that our little guy could have an exciting life with filled purpose and meaning.

Thank you to Leisa for taking our spare rooster, Little Joe. He's a beautiful Barred Rock Bantam who needed a good home. It took almost three months to find but yesterday, Oct 19, 2024, Little Joe climbed into a box and headed to his new home in Okeechobee Florida. His cute high pitched crowing of "I'm Joe Mannix" will be remembered. 

Good luck little fella. 

PS: We named him Joe Mannix because his barred rock feathers looked a bit like the Botany 500 jackets warn by Mike Connors in the "Mannix" TV series from the 70's. 

HURRICANE HELENE 2024, coverage begins right now!

Thursday, September 26th, First Hurricane of 2024 

3:50 PM Thursday: We've been tracking the storm all day. It is hitting and flooding in Tampa area right now. We've had some gusty winds but they go away. Every now and then it starts to rain a LOT and we think "there it is" and then it stops. We've already had around 15" of rain this month so we're not short on water. 

The sky is bright white/gray, the sun is making if very bright in spite of total cloud cover. After I make this post I'm going to close the upstairs shutter. If it gets bad outside I will close all the shutters before we go to bed. 

The baby chickens are alarmed by the sound of the wind and rain. The muscovy ducks are sitting around in the yard napping. "Rain, we don't care about no rain". They ARE ducks. All rain has currently stopped here in Melbourne. 

GATOR 2024 We've Got One, just saw him today...AND HE'S GONE! NO, still here :-(

Watch where you walk, this lizard's got teeth :-)

TUESDAY SEPT 17, 2024

Mary spotted him this morning and I confirmed, there IS a MAN EATING LIZARD IN OUR POND!

Looks to be about four to five feet in length using the snout to eyeball estimating method. We noticed yesterday that ducks were not swimming in the pond, now we know why.

Is it time to call the alligator removal hot line?

CACKLE HATCHERY - DO NOT BUY UNLESS YOU WANT ROOSTERS

 In our efforts to NOT acquire more Roosters we've ceased hatching chickens and buy only sexed female hens (aka Pullets). We currently have 10 Roosters we're caring for and it's a lot of work (obviously we love them because in spite of their continuous crowing, we still have them 8-).

Our last two acquisitions came from Cackle Hatchery in Lebanon, Missouri. Just in case, Cackle includes a free extra chick with your order. Good thing because we've had several of the chicks drop dead while the others appear happy and very healthy. 

With each of our last two orders we also received a free Rooster chick. We were able to find a home for the beautiful little Buff Orpington Rooster but our Bantam Barred Rock rooster boy has not found any takers from our ads so far. 

Tractor Supply is where our five latest pullets came from and I'm happy to report, NO Roosters.

We have never received a rooster from "My Pet Chicken" so if you're looking for a baby chicken these are a couple of trusted sources.

FIRST NEW BABY PEACOCKS OF 2024

WEDNESDAY JULY 10th, amid scattered thunder showers, the first new baby Peafowl of 2024 arrived to check out the play land of P2.

One Peahen appeared to have three babies while each of the other two moms each had one. Rain condensed on the kitchen window prevented clear photos.

THURSDAY JULY 11th, Two proud Peahen moms brought their babies to the P2 "Patio of Fun".

New Beginnings, Cackle Hatchery does it again, 18 day-old chicks arrive alive

Last Sunday evening we ordered 15 baby chicks from Cackle hatchery. They took to the air Monday night and the Post Office called this morning to let us know our box of joy had arrived. 

5 female Bantam Barred Rock

5 female Bantam Dominique

5 female Standard size Buff Orpington (Mary has wanted some of these for a while)

Cackle hatchery included a free spare of each of the three breeds so we actually received 18 live baby chicks. One of the babies is extremely weak and does not look like she's going to make it but I never give up hope and the other 17 babies look strong and lively. 

RIP Speckled Sussex "Patience"

 The Lord called our sweet little "Patience" to come home so she left us on June 24, 2024. We'll remember you.

RIP MIATA

 Friday June 21, 2024

The Lord called our sweet little chicken, Miata back home to Heaven. We will never forget the little 'Ranger', with all her attitude and happy running around. She was a wonderful mate to our little rooster Punky. He was upset at sundown when she did not come home to roost. 

RIP little one. She was a Good Chicken

RIP SPECKLED SUSSEX 1 OF 10

 Today we lost another one of our girls, the Lord called her back. Nothing to signal her impending departure, she just left quietly. 

Good bye sweet little bird. 

R I P Natasha , The Shroom

 Our beloved little Shroom head, Natasha went to be with the Lord today. We had zero indicator of her impending departure. She was always chipper, alert and active. Her massive fluffy plumage was a marvel to behold and will be missed. 

We're both saddened but glad for the time we had with her. We'll never forget our little Polish hen with the Russian accent.

10 BABY CHICKENS ARRIVED TODAY FROM CACKLE HATCHERY

WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2024

We ordered and paid for eight, freshly hatched baby bantam hens from Cackle Hatchery in Lebanon Missouri. They were shipped on Monday by USPS and arrived in here in Melbourne around 9:30am today (Wednesday). Mary followed their journey using USPS tracking and when we saw they were at our post office I called and confirmed their arrival. 10 minutes later we were picking them up and to our surprise we received 10 little ladies which brings our total current chicken population up to 81 (we have lost our minds).

All of the baby chicks look very alive and vibrant. A couple of the black ones have some sort of wound on their head, almost like others were pecking them but once we got them all into the brooder with food and water they went nuts eating and drinking and seemed to just focus on that. They were definitely hungry and thirsty. 

We received six bantam Rhode Island Reds (aka Minkies) and four little black chicks. They are all SOOOO tiny, fragile and precious. There is nothing cuter or softer than a newborn baby chick. I love picking them up out of their shipping container and feeling their softness. 

Their first poo's are green, ewww. I don't remember previous babies having green poo but maybe they did and it just got lost in the wood chips. 

For this batch we have modified our brooder technology. Instead of a cardboard box we're using a large, clear-sided plastic box and lid. We have a Mama-hen heater in the box so the chicks can relax in 100-degree F warmth. We're also using some small glass dishes for water, the baby chicks seem to like standing in it. For now we just poured some baby chick food on the floor of the brooder and they are all eating voraciously. 

This was our first order of baby chicks from Cackle Hatchery, they could become our new favorite supplier since they delivered all chicks alive and healthy. We'll see how this goes. These chicks are supposedly sexed so we received hens. There is still a 10% chance there could be a rooster in the bunch. Like I said, we'll see.....and hear how it comes out. 

HERE IS THE BREAKDOWN OF NEW ARRIVALS - All Bantam Size Hens

Six Rhode Island Red - Minkies (Temperament: Docile)

BLACK BABY CHICKS

Barred Rock (Temperament: Active)

Dominique (Temperament: Docile)

Barred Old English Game (Temperament: Active

One bonus black bird, not sure what she is lol, just another black bird at this point

The "bantam" size chickens are 50-75% the size of "standard" size chickens. The second time we went to Tractor Supply and bought chickens (over three years ago) we got three bantam chicks that all turned out to be hens. They were straight run (no choice of what you get). We received three little chicks that all turned out to be hens and they are some of the sweetest little yardbirds on the planet. They fly up and land on your arm or shoulder... looking for treats. They were so soft and brown when they were babies, I called all three of them Minkie in honor of a weird piece of faux fur from Joanns in El Segundo. 

FREE GIFT(S) FROM CACKLE HATCHERY

Maybe they included two extra birds in our order, just in case one red and one black did not make it through the journey. Fortunately they all made it alive and lively so for us it's like getting two free birds as a thank you. We'll give them a great home. 

 

BANTAM SIZE vs STANDARD

- 6.5 lbs - Standard Size Minkie (aka Rhode Island Red)

- 30 oz - Minkies (2 lb 8 oz)

- 22 oz - Barred Old Eng Bantam (Dutchess too) (1 lb 6 oz)

RIP April 25, 2024, Shannon, she was a good chicken

Shannon was one of our first four ISA chickens. We acquired her and her three sisters to be hens for our Silkie roosters. Two of the hens managed to bond with Punky, one bonded with Orangie and Shannon finally found a home with Dusty. 

Shannon was the default matriarch of Dustyland, ruling the roost and sleeping on the perch next to Dusty every night. She was the first of the four ISA hens to cease laying eggs and begin enjoying her retirement.

Her beautiful little spirit is now in Heaven with God bringing joy to all who know her. 

She was a Good Chicken.

A Fowl Affair, Mel Blancs first voice work

 Mel Blanc's first work, uncredited

https://youtu.be/f5HstnWaKLM?si=k7YMu3PBLJXDUzHZ

MIRACLE NAPPING ON MARK'S LAP

 Mark always wanted a lap chicken.... he has one.   Miracle (aka Baby Peep) loves Mark 💗💗💗💗

 

 

 

LUCKY DUCK hatched 10 baby ducks, we stole four

Our little Muscovy duck friend, "Lucky" (who was born at P2 Spring 2023) hatched 10 baby ducks on Monday, February 19 2024. 

We immediately stole the "slowest" four babies and moved them to a wood dog box on the porch. 

As of Friday Feb 23, all six of the remaining babies in Lucky's care are still alive and doing fine. 

The four we took are also doing fine. Yesterday one of the "bumble bee" baby ducks was able to leap out of the dog box and led us on quite a chase around the porch, he's really fast.

Silkie Moms (x2) hatch six baby Muscovy Ducks (eggs stolen from "Lucky")

Thursday, FEB 22 2024 - babies begin pipping and hatching - Mary spotted two hatched by 10am, we decided to leave them to see if any of the other eggs would hatch.

Two of our Silkie hens have been incubating duck eggs we stole from our Muscovy friend, "Lucky", who was also born here last year. 

Friday, February 23, 2024 - six new baby ducks hatched under our two Silkie moms. We moved the two moms and all the six fragile babies into a wood dog crate and brought them into our porch.

ACCIDENTAL CHICKENS HAPPEN, "MIRACLE" BORN FEB 8, 2024

Meet "Miracle"

Feb 8th 2024 around 11am, "Miracle" was born.

We found her at around 1PM while getting ready to go to a doctor appt in Vero Beach. We were on the screened in porch and heard a strange, loud "Peep". Mary said "what was that?". Mark looked in the closest Formex house and saw a tiny yellow bird darting around. 

BABY DUCKS FIRST FLIGHT

UPDATE: DEC 5, 2023

George made 'em, Marilyn hatched 'em and today one of them briefly walked on air. Della Mannix became airborne a couple of times. We did not get it on video but we both saw it. She is lighter weight than the others in her flock so she was literally lifting off as she flapped around the play area. 

DELLA flew at 10 weeks and one day.

--------------------------------------REGULAR POST STARTS BELOW--------------------------------------

As we get closer to seeing our new baby ducks have their first flight, we went back to double check when Lucky and Bill flew the first time.

Lucky and Bill were born April 1, 2023, and flew on June 11, 2023 (actually Bill flew first...).  That's 10 weeks and 1 day.

So.......

George's babies should be flying soon - in mere days.

And Billie's babies (raised by Marilyn) should be flying by December 4, 2023.

Awwwwwww!

GEORGE'S BABY DUCKS ENJOYING THE RAIN DRAIN SPOUT

Every day the baby ducks - Lone, Tonto, Scout, and Silver - do something new and cute.  Today, it was the game of drinking the stream of water as it poured out of the drain spout :D

 

GEORGE'S BABY DUCKS, BORN SEPTEMBER 20, 2023

This morning Mary discovered that George experienced a miracle last night, at least 10 little baby Muscovy ducks were born. George is a wild Muscovy female duck (we named her George before we knew it was Ms. Duck).

Looking at freshly born Muscovy baby ducks, less than 12 hours old

Poor Billy, George has evicted Bill (also female) from the house. It appears, she who hatches first, owns the house. We are watching the drama unfold on a pair of wireless cameras. Billy has been sitting on her eggs almost as long as George. 

George with her baby ducklings (Goldie on the right with her back to the camera)

It has been a couple of hours since we first saw them. George let them fool around a little in their family room then she gathered them all back into the nest underneath her.

The above video was looking in the front door when we first discovered them this morning. 

They grow up so fast, I'm going to try to get more pictures and videos this time around. 

I shot this video off our wireless cameras' screen.

BTW Marilyn one of our favorite Silkie hens is sitting on three of Billy's eggs. She has been on them for almost a week and Billy had been sitting on them. It will be amazing if Marilyn hatches the baby ducks, she is a great foster mom.

More Day 1 Videos

Can't Get Enough of These Baby Ducks

BABY DUCKS AT START OF THIRD DAY OF LIFE

The baby ducks look so yellow against the bright green grass. They are running around like crazy, having a good time exploring the world. Yesterday mom had them out for 1.5 hours in the morning then called them back into their house for the rest of the day. In the evening about half an hour before bed time George (aka Mom) brought them out for one more little period of play before calling them all back into the house.

BABY DUCKS: DAY 4

FIRST SWIM: Watch them line up by the pool, so excited

Our first duck eggs were hatched by a chicken so they had little interest in swimming until they were 13-14 weeks old and already flying, then they found the big pond. This batch of little ducks, raised by a duck (George), are in their miniature pond on their 4th day of life.

BABY DUCKS: DAY 5

This video shows a few of the other little birds roaming around our poultry colony

Feeding the peafowl noodles, not baby ducks but still cute, that is last years baby P-boy eating them right out of the jar (from my hand).

This video shows Marilyn, the Queen of P2, who is sitting on seven baby duck eggs. Later in the day three of the eggs hatched. 

Marilyn hatching baby ducks (Midnight and Sunshine showing :-)

More Marilyn and her baby ducks (which were laid and abandoned by Billy)

This is the second time Marilyn has hatched eggs laid by another bird. She has never hatched any of her own eggs. It does not matter who made them, she loves them like they are hers.

Georges Baby Ducks: Day 6

George, taking her 11 baby ducks for a walk-about

MEET PAUL DRAKE

This is the guy who made all these baby ducks happen, he's such a handsome boy

FIVE MORE SPECKLED SUSSEX HENS COME TO P2

JUNE 10, 2023...... Not More Chickens...... it's illegal .......... no it's not LOL

Last Saturday we went on a rescue mission. If you've been reading along with us you know that we love Speckled Sussex hens. We previously bought five from "My Pet Chicken" and they've been a real joy, mellow, cute, not flighty, gregarious and so much more. 

OUR NEW GATOR, 2023 MODEL, HIS NAME IS "LOAFER", WE HOPE HE LEAVES SOON!

WELCOME TO GATOR COUNTRY

Our new alligator visitor showed himself to us yesterday, June 14th, 2023. There is no mistaking that snout-profile gliding across the surface of our pond. Once your eyes know what to look for he is easy to spot. 

Watch Out, we gotta gator!

PUNKY PRIMAL YELL

 

 

 

SNEETCH GRABBING

  Once in a while you need to grab a sneetch and remove it from the chicken houses...   

MUSCOVY DUCKS BY GEORGE, 2023

 GEORGE (GEORGINA)

This is the year of wild Muscovy water fowl here at P2. Our Muscovy friend, Ducky, tried (a couple of months ago) to have a nest but it got ruined by raccoons. Mary found two eggs left and we hatched those (Lucky and Bill) who are doing great, we anticipate them flying away and being wild. 

While our Muscovy friend, Ducky, is busy incubating her eggs in one of our chicken coops, another wild Muscovy named "Georgina" (George for short) has taken over a second chicken coop where she is laying eggs.

May 9th, 2023, six Muscovy eggs by Georgina

FOGGY AND LEGGY, RESCUED TO P2

These two 7-week-old Leghorn (pronounced; "leg-urn") hens moved to the intake area of P2 today, May 6, 2023. They've spent their lives in a steel mesh cage with zero love but now all that has changed, they're in Chicken Paradise now ;-)

"FOGGY" AND "LEGGY" DEBUT AT P2

WELCOME TO P2

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARILYN AND FLOCK 2

 TWO YEARS OF FRIENDSHIP AND FUN

When we bought Flock 1 the previous month, 2-years ago, we never knew how much fun and how much our lives would be impacted by these little birds.

Wings of Love, keeping three little chicks warm

Creamsicle, Our Handsome New Rooster

 

Creamsicle is hatched from an egg laid by Miata or Corvette, with Punky the father.  So he's part standard chicken, part bantam silkie.  Creamsicle's feathers are the softest feathers I've EVER felt on one of our chickens.  He's sweet, gentle, curious, and just nice to be around.  Along with Mr. Patches and Misty, he was born on January 9th this year, and raised by two Silkie mothers (Big Pom and Walnut).

Now, Creamsicle is one of the family.

BABY WILD MUSCOVY DUCKS HATCHED FROM EGGS WE FOUND IN THE YARD

Our Muscovy friend, Ducky (check those yellow feet) made the two eggs Sky hatched

Chicken (and Duck :-) Birthdays

With the birth of Faith, Hope, and Love, it seems the right time to update all of our chicken birthdays.  

 

We have 41 71 81 chickens.... and we love every one.

 

Update!  Uh Oh 14 more chickens arrived today at the West Melbourne USPS Post Office - the total is now 55 :D 

Update!  2 Muscovy Ducks (Ducky's children) hatched on April 1, 2023.  Sooooooooo cute!  Sky has two unusual children.

Update 5-6-2023:  Got 2 Leghorn females at Funky Chicken Farm :D.  5-20-2023 Got 4 more Leghorn females.  6-3-2023 Got 5 more Speckled Sussex females.

Update 5-15-2024:  Just got back from West Melbourne USPS Post Office with 10 (ordered 8 lol) bantam chickens :D

Faith, Hope and Love born March 2023

CHICKEN BIRTHDAYS

1.  Raven 3/1/2021

2. Blackie 3/1/2021

3.  Duchess / Granny 3/1/2021

4.  Lucy 3/1/2021

5.  Phyliss 3/1/2021

6. Orangey 3/1/2021

7.  Frizzle 3/1/2021

8.   Yoyo 4/4/2021

9.  Minky 1 4/4/2021

10.  Minky 2  4/4/2021

11.  Minky 3   4/4/2021

12.  Buzzy Black 4/4/2021

13.  Buzzy Brown 4/4/2021

14.  Punky 4/4/2021

15.  Dusty 4/4/2021

16.  Marilyn 4/4/2021

17.  Natasha 8/29/2021

18.  Svetlana 8/29/2021

19.  Bunny 8/29/2021

20.  Candy 8/29/2021

21.  Walnut 6/4/2022

22.  Big Pom Mom 6/4/2022

23.  Sunny 6/4/2022

24.  Sky 6/4/2022

25.  Minty 6/4/2022

26.  Boo 6/4/2022

27.  Miata 6/1/2021 (approximately) 

28.  Corvette 6/1/2021 (approximately)

29  Henny Penny 6/1/2021 (approximately)

30.  Raptor 1 (Iris) 2/15/2022 (approximately)

31.  Raptor 2 (Sparkle) 2/15/2022 (approximately)

32.  Raptor 3 (Angel) 2/15/2022 (approximately)

33.  Mr. Cream / Creamsicle 1/9/2023

34.  Mr. Patches 1/9/2023

35.  Misty 1/9/2023

36.  Pierre Daisy Stealth 3/10/2023

37.  Camille Camo Midnight 3/11/2023

38.  Elvis Faith 3/19/2023

39.  Hope 3/19/2023

40.  Love 3/20/2023 

41.  Specky 3/26/2023

42.  Becky 3/26/2023

43.  Whitey 3/26/2023

44.  Froggy 3/26/2023

45.  Xena 3/26/2023

46.  Buff Brahma Bantam 1 3/26/2023 

47.  Buff Brahma Bantam 2 3/26/2023

48.  Buff Brahma Bantam 3 3/26/2023

49.  Buff Brahma Bantam 4 3/26/2023

50.  Buff Brahma Bantam 5 3/26/2023

51.  Buff Brahma Bantam 6 3/26/2023

52.  Buff Brahma Bantam 7 3/26/2023

53.  Buff Brahma Bantam 8 3/26/2023

54.  Buff Brahma Bantam 9 3/26/2023

55. Foggy (with Orangey) 3/19/2023

56. Leggy (with Orangey) 3/19/2023 

57. Leghorn female 1 (Cathy - with Elvis) 3/19/2023

58. Leghorn female 2 (with Mr. Cream) 3/19/2023

59. Leghorn female 3 (with Mr. Cream) 3/19/2023

60. Leghorn female 4 (with Mr. Cream) 3/19/2023

61. Speckled Sussex female (Suzie - with Dusty) 1 4/11/2023 

62. Speckled Sussex female (Suzie) 2 4/11/2023 

63. Speckled Sussex female (Suzie) 3 4/11/2023 

64. Speckled Sussex female (Suzie) 4 4/11/2023 

65. Speckled Sussex female (Suzie - Patience)  4/11/2023  

66, Leghorn female 1 (Castle 1)      5/1/2023

67. Leghorn female 2 (Castle 1)      5/1/2023

68. Leghorn female 3 (Castle 1)      5/1/2023

69. Leghorn female 4      5/1/2023

70. Leghorn female 5      5/1/2023

71. Miracle 2/8/2024 (aka Baby Peep)

72. New Minky 1   5/13/2024

73. New Minky 2   5/13/2024

74. New Minky 3   5/13/2024

75. New Minky 4   5/13/2024

76. New Minky 5   5/13/2024

77. New Minky 6   5/13/2024

78. Bantam Barred Rock Female   5/13/2024

79. Bantam Dominique Female   5/13/2024

80. Bantam Barred Old English Game Female    5/13/2024

81. Bantam Dominique Female   5/13/2024

82. Bantam Dominique Female (Qty 5)  6/24/2024 

83. Bantam Barred Female (Qty 5)  6/24/2024 

84. Buff Orpington Standard (Qty 5) 6/24/2024

85. White Silkie Female (Qty 10) 9/3/2024

 

 

DUCK BIRTHDAYS

1. Muscovy Duck 1 (Lucky) 4/1/2023

2. Muscovy Duck 2 (Bill) 4/1/2023 - FIRST FLIGHT JUNE 11 2023 (10 weeks old)

3. Muscovy Duck 1 (Silver) (George's babies) 9/20/2023 

4. Muscovy Duck 2 (Lone) (George's babies) 9/20/2023 

5. Muscovy Duck 3 (Tonto) (George's babies) 9/20/2023  

6. Muscovy Duck 4 (Scout) (George's babies) 9/20/2023

7. Muscovy Duck 3 (Bubbles) (Billy's babies, Marilyn mom) 9/25/2023

8. Muscovy Duck 4 (Perry) (Billy's babies, Marilyn mom) 9/25/2023

9. Muscovy Duck 5 (Della) (Billy's babies, Marilyn mom) 9/25/2023

10. Muscovy Duck 6 (Jo White) (Billy's babies, Marilyn mom) 9/25/2023

11. Muscovy Duck 7 (Jo Black) (Billy's babies, Marilyn mom) 9/25/2023

12 - 24. Muscovy Ducks (Billy's 13 babies)  2/19/2024

CHICKENS in HEAVEN

 1. Shannon 6/1/2021 (we miss you Shannon)

MARILYN SUSPENSE 2023

 IT'S ALMOST HERE, SUNDAY MARCH 19 MARKS 21 DAYS FOR MARILYNS EGGS

UPDATE, MAGIC HAPPENED, SCROLL DOWN TO SEE IT UNFOLD

DAY 20, GETTING READY TO POP THOSE CAPSULES ;-)

MR PATCHES IS CONFIRMED - He's a Rooster! So is Creamsicle

 It's official - one of the three Mutts born January 9, 2023 is a rooster.  Patches - now Mr. Patches - announced his Rooster-Ness this morning with a wing flap and a tiny "err-err-err-err-err".  He repeated this a few times to be sure we didn't miss it.

He's gorgeous, adorable, and we're happy to know he's going to be a rowdy rooster - now we can start planning for his misbehaving and future isolation from other roosters.

Welcome, Mr. Patches!

 

 For future reference, Mr. Patches crowed his first crow at 9 1/2 weeks.

BABY CHICKENS, DAISY AND MIDNIGHT ARE BORN, MARCH 2023

 MARCH 10 = DAISY, MARCH 11 = MIDNIGHT

Daisy is less than 24 hours old, peeping out from under Mom's wings of love

Nothing makes us smile like new baby chickens, yesterday, Daisy came out of her capsule and today Midnight jettisoned her pod and entered the real world. 

Our Silkie chicken named "Sunny" is the surrogate mother. She has dutifully kept these eggs warm and it paid off nicely, she has at least two new baby girls (we're hoping for girls :-).

DISCOVERING DAISY, BABY CHICKENS MAKE US SMILE

These eggs came from the two sex link hens known as "The Rangers" and were fertilized by our all time favorite Silkie rooster, Punky.

BROODER BOX #2, SUNNY SITTING ON BABY CHICKS

Our previous batch of three baby chickens from the same sources have nice personalities. 

SUNDAY MARCH 13, 2023

The world may be self destructing around us but Chickens are happy.

Daisy is the strong and advanced chicken, but watch mom's wing tip carefully and you'll see little Midnight peaking out from the warmth, now that's "wings of love" :-)

Can't stop looking at and touching baby chickens. It is difficult to imagine how soft a baby chicken is. I picked up little "Midnight" today, It's like holding a piece of fluffy air, there is nothing there but softness, little tiny feet wiggling and a fearless attitude. 

Midnight was less developed when she popped out of her space capsule. She's now entering her third day of life and doing great. 

Yesterday, Daisy was twice as old as Midnight, she was two days old LOL.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY #2 FLOCK ONE, TWO YEARS OF LOVE AND FUN

 FLOCK ONE IS WHERE IT ALL BEGAN TWO YEARS AGO

King Raven, Queen Blackie, Phylis (the jester), Lucy (u got some splain'n) and the most precious, orbiting around it all, the Duchess of tinyness, the one who shall not be touched.

Remembering Lemon, he was an odd rooster who disappeared one afternoon, we honestly don't know what happened to him. 

And then there's Orangie, over there holding down cabin number Three with his girlfriend, Henry Penny. Orangie is part of the original Flock 1 purchase at Tractor Supply. So it's also Happy Birthday Orangie. 

Saving the best for last, there is PILBR (pronounced "Pil-Burr", stands for Pretty Little Baby Rooster). One of Mary's favorites, Pilbr is a work of art to behold, his magnificent fluffiness is only exceeded by his soft feel and gigantic attitude. Mark calls him "Fritz" after the late great Fritz Von Erich, wrestler. Don't get too close to Pilbr, he'll take your leg clean off below the knee LOL, he's what we call, an aggressive rooster LOL. 

ROOSTERS RULE!

For anyone considering Chicken Friends, you definitely need to get control of how many Roosters you have. Roosters have amazing chicken personalities but they are programmed to kill each other so you don't want too many that can physically get to each other or else there WILL be problems. 

PARTY ON! HAPPY #2 FLOCK ONE, TSC SUPPLIED PURE MAGIC

Raven has grown into being a real dick, Mark and Raven play "Owwww" every morning. This game involves Raven pecking, double fighting kicks and attacking Mark through the chicken wire. It's become a morning ritual and it's funny. Similar behavior from Orangie and Pilbr

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY 2023 TO MARY MY ONE TRUE LOVE

 To my Dearest Mary, Every day I give thanks to God for bringing you into my life. Every day is such a beautiful journey as we unfold our lives together. 

FEBRUARY MISTY MORNING, HUEY, ANNA

 COOL MORNINGS BRING SMOKE ON THE WATER

When the pond is naturally at 70 degrees F (from day time heating by the sun) but the night air cools down into the low 40's we get this smoke-like magical water vapor forming plumes reaching into the sky. 

On Duck Island, that's Anna our resident Anhinga, also enjoying the beautiful water vapor display. By 8AM she is full of fish and drying her wings for some "Fly-About" (like "walk about" but bird like).

MARILYN'S BROOD FEB 2023

Marilyn will be two years old in April. She has spent a large part of her mature life being "broody". Apparently it's what Silkie hens do best (besides being soft, fluffy and nice chickens).

JUST ANOTHER MANIC SUNDAY (AT P2), MINKY UP!

 We seem to have taken on a number of birds.

We have three bantam hens named "Minky". They are miniature Rhode Island Reds and they are the sweetest most gentle hens we have. 

Mary has been training this little Minky since she was a 1-day old chick. "Minky-UP" is all she says and this little chicken flies up to her arm for a special treat (dried meal worms in this case).

P E E P !

GOD TURTLE

The Lord works in strange and magical ways to make his presence known.

Turtles are so prehistoric, this one is carrying the message of God to a sad and lonely secular world.

CHICKEN CHRISTMAS 2022

Our first flock of chickens is still so magical, each bird has a unique personality. This group has lived together since their third or fourth day of life. When they come out to play in the patio courtyard they all stick together with their beautiful black rooster, Raven, leading the way. 

Christmas lights add festive glow to the Flock 1 Castle

PEEP PEEP PEEP..... BABY CHICKENS BORN AT P2

Scroll down to see updates

L to R: Muddy, Skunk and Lemon, descendants of Punky and the Rangers, raised by Puffs :-)

 PUFFS HATCH A MIRACLE CHICK (OR ?), Come along for the first look......

We took, what we thought were fertilized eggs, from our two favorite full size hens (Miata and Corvette) and placed these eggs under a broody bantam Silkie hen, affectionately named Mom1. She dutifully looked after the jumbo brown eggs as if they were her own. Almost to the day, 21ish days later we have confirmed "peeping" sounds coming from Mom1's nest box. 

FLOCK 1, JAN 2023

 MARY WAS OUT PLAYING WITH FLOCK 1 TODAY

ANNIVERSARY HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

 TODAY, 12-31-22 IS OUR 14th ANNIVERSARY

SPOONBILL, SPOONBILL, SPOOOOOOOONNNNNNNN BILLLLL

Tomorrow, January 1st, 2023, Mary and I begin our 15th year together exploring the world and all the beauty it has to offer. 

We are so blessed, with 33 beautiful little chicken friends and all sorts of Florida wildlife, we love you all, even the gators. 

But by far the single greatest thing we share is LOVE. We've both experienced not having love in our lives and having it is A LOT BETTER than being alone. 

Before we met we were orbiting without a mission. Finally, we're complete. Our final temporary destination is known. 

Love is better than hate. 

Cormorants Relaxing in the Misty Pond on a 34 degree Morning

Cormorants of Florida

Best Fishing Bird EVER, the Cormorant. This bold one was checking us out

This year we have four Cormorants spending their days at P2, eating at least 10 fish each day. 

They're H U N G R Y 

HURRICANE NICOLE 2022

We Love Chickens, Not Hurricanes

Thursday Morning, dealing with tarps in 7-24mph wind LOL

Hurricane Nicole came to visit us in mid November. She began to show herself on Wednesday Nov 9th during the day light hours, the wind was picking up and we had some rain off and on. I was out on the driveway a lot mounting a couple of video cameras so we can see cars coming and going and keep an eye on things from the safety of the P2 Master Control Room (aka kitchen). When we went to bed around 9PM we were having 6mph wind according to our West weather station. 

PUFF UPDATE, FALL 2022

 WE LOVE CHICKENS

Our five little "Puff" hens

Farrrrrrrrm Living is the life for me! Chickens are now a big part of our lives here at P2. Every morning we get them out of their houses and get them ready for a day of play. 

OUR LITTLE ANNA

 WE LOVE BIRDS

Anhinga drying her wings on the beach

Meet Anhinga, she's an amazing bird that flies magnificently, has claws to help her sleep in trees and she swims underwater, impaling fish on her spear-like beak before swallowing them whole on the shore of our private Florida lake.

IRONWORKZ - Old Guys Rock!

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73P8AVt6_v0

GATOR 2022, CUTE LITTLE MAN-EATTING LIZARD

Mary spotted this little guy sunning himself on the western shore of our pond this morning. Eight peafowl were checking him out (I had to look away because I was afraid one of our Pea-Friends was going to get chomped). Fortunately no pea's were injured. He was avoiding having his picture taken.

FIRST EGG FROM THE PUFFS

Which Puff did it?

It seems like just last week the box of day-old white Silkie hens arrived here and now they're almost totally grown up.  

One of the little fluff balls laid her first egg today. There have been egg songs coming from their coop and we've been checking for eggs but this is the first time we've actually got an egg. 

R.I.P. "Blue", the chicken

August 2021 to October 28, 2022

The Lord called her home, our little bantam chicken named "Blue" has left the Earth behind and headed to a better place. We will always remember you Blue, peace be with you.

GUARD PEACOCK KEEPS US SAFE

We ordered some food to be delivered from Walmart and the driver left everything on the sidewalk, significantly short of the front door. We were initially confused and infuriated but after we reviewed the attached "delivery confirmation" photo we understood what had happened.

Male Peacock Intimidates Delivery Driver

Our trained "Guard Peacock" was on duty, pacing back and forth, patrolling the front door area and keeping us safe from intruders.

HURRICANE IAN, SEPTEMBER 2022, MELBOURNE FL PERSPECTIVE

IT'S STILL SEPTEMBER FOR THREE MORE DAYS 

SEPT = MIDDLE OF HURRICANE SEASON 

Getting ready for the boogie

Mom and Baby Peacock - "Midi" - Relaxing Together on a Monday Afternoon

 Look how ADORABLE they are together!

Baby Peacocks

 We had this years first baby peacocks appear early July...  two of them.  They have quickly learned to come to the P2 buffet every morning and get sunflower seeds, corn, and cabbage treats :D

 

 

FRIZZLE, TAZ, FRITZ, WHATEVER YOU CALL HIM, HE HAD A VERY GOOD DAY

UPDATE: The coops have been renumbered, to make them more orderly, progressing from one through seven in physical order. The renumbering makes this post difficult to understand. We have tested "Frizzle" with various hens but ultimately we bought him three ISA standard size hens, Iris, Sparkle and Angel. 

Little Tom and Marilyn moved in with Dusty and company. 

Fritz did turn out to be very lucky getting his three ladies to keep an eye on and look after. Dusty ended up with the single largest flock. Read on to discover more.

BABY CHICKEN PUFFS START 3RD WEEK OUT-OF-EGG

Here they are, it's the Powder Puff gang. Things were several things I noticed this week. In spite of having no relationship these little hens are forming a family. When one is not there they begin peeping. 

If you feel the neck on one of these babies, underneath all that fluff their real neck is only about 1/4" in diameter, it's really small.

These little puffs weigh almost nothing. Every night I put them to bed, one by one so I get to feel them at least once a day and they are so light and fluffy, it's amazing. 

These little birds still like to be under their heat lamp. Third week of age means they can tolerate 85 degrees Fahrenheit. 

On Monday, the first day of her third week of life little "Boo" flew out of the coop. Mary heard some loud peeping out on the porch and we went out to find Boo cowering in a corner, terrified.

The babies have now had two different outings to the atrium garden. The first time they just huddled together and said "W O W".

On their second outing the baby puffs decided to "dust bathe". Two weeks plus one day old with zero instruction, they love dust bathing. 

Their little wings are coming out fast and furious. The silkies are not good fliers at all but Boo is proving she can get some air. 

On their first outing the little hens got tired after about 10 minutes away from the brooder box. 

On their second outing the hens had a blast licking plant leaves, tugging on blades of grass and having a little bath in the rich Florida sandy gravel and muck.

Our latest little flock is growing like weeds, they're more than double their original size when they arrived here just over two weeks ago.

Mystery Fungus

 On an old tree stump, I discovered a fun new fungus or mushroom...   and I can't identify it.  It looks like white potato chips.  It seems that every year or so we have a new fungus appear (likely from spores from years ago).  A few years ago it was dog vomit everywhere on mulch.  Then it was years of stink weed (ewwwwww).  And now, potato chips :D

Marilyn and Tom

 These pictures are from August 2021 when we had the "Lovebirds" on the porch.  We had separated them from the rest of Flock 2 when they were getting picked on.  This separation was a prelude to them getting paired with Frizzle (he loves them SO MUCH).

This glamour photo shoot wasn't here on the blog yet, so here it is.  They are SO GORGEOUS!

BABY PEAFOWL, 2022

 We were not expecting this to happen until the first of August. In our kitchen sipping coffee and watching the day unfold, then, all of a sudden, they stormed the place, BABY PEAFOWL!

I did what anyone would do, I grabbed my phone and started shooting video of them. 

POWDER PUFF GIRLS COME TO P2, JUNE 7, 2022

 (SIX) DAY-OLD WHITE SILKIE HENS AND ONE DAY-OLD BELGIAN BLUE

We ordered this group of hens back around the beginning of May but had to wait for them to hatch. The one Belgian Blue is a replacement for a dud we received in our previous order (nuff said 'bout that).

They came out of their eggs Sunday June 5th, got shoved in a box Monday June 6th and shipped Overnight from Myer Hatchery in Cleveland Ohio to us in Melbourne Florida. We got a call Tuesday morning around 11am from the West Melbourne Post Office. The lady on the phone was super-excited to tell us our baby chickens had arrived. We leaped into action and in less than half an hour the new babies were at P2 and relaxing in their new suite (aka Brooder Box). 

We put the brooder together the previous Friday so we'd have everything in readiness for the new girls to arrive. Here is the unboxing, thankfully everyone arrived ALIVE!

We've been shooting videos and photos as fast as we can because these little girls will grow so fast. Just two days out of the egg the little Belgian Blue is already showing wing tip feathers. At four days old they'll be double their original size. 

The egg in one of the videos is just for size reference, this is a Bantam chicken egg, approximately the same size egg our birds came from.

The new babies were so glad to finally be home. It's traumatic to come out of your egg and jump on an overnight flight, they were exhausted and napped frequently Tuesday afternoon. We put them to bed around 8pm Tuesday night and they all slept for 12-hours straight. 

BANTAM EGG SHOWN FOR SIZE REFERENCE ONLY

We had stormy weather on Wednesday and were swarming in wild Peafowl when I was shooting videos and photos. The new babies seemed unfazed by the thunder, Peafowl and various rooster calls in the air. The peeping from baby chickens is so sweet and this time of their life passes all too quickly. They go from peeping to their quiet "chortling" conversations very quickly. 

BANTAM EGG SHOWN FOR SIZE REFERENCE ONLY

PUFFS UP CLOSE

SOUND EFFECTS BY GOD!

MORE UP CLOSE AND PEEPY!

Notice how she likes being petted on the chest, even with thunderous storm in the background

PHOTOS FROM DAY ONE, TWO AND THREE

The box that brought "Teeny Hens" to P2

Naps Happen, they're walking along then, BAM, blacked out, tired

Is this OK?

More napping

Wholesale mid afternoon blackout nap (learned it from me ;-)

Under the warmth of the heat lamp, 95-105 degrees F depending on Variac setting

MEET "BOO" OUR NEW BELGIAN BLUE

Feathered feet, how cute is that?

"Boo" is the only Belgian Blue in this batch of hens

Boo will turn more lavender colored as she gets older and feathers-out, for now her little light colored beak and feet are her biggest visual clues about her difference from the other six. In Boo's eyes she's a Silkie ;-)

MEET "BLUE-GREEN", temp name lol

"P E E P !"

What a cute face. Only three days old and already looking like a star.

GLAMOUR SHOT, BLUE-GREEN :-)

THURSDAY JUNE 9TH

It's now their third day at P2, everyone has figured out the feeding dish and the water bowl. At first we had a little trouble getting them to drink but they figured it out (like all their kin that were here before them).

All the baby hens got up around 8am. They sleep in a heap under a "Mama Hen" brooder heater at night, it's a comfy chicken baby temperature of 99-degrees F under the heater. We took turns checking on the babies every 3-to-4 hours during the night just to make sure nobody staggered out, got lost and could not find their way back to the warm spot. No problems, these hens love to sleep. 

DYED CHICKENS

Today, we experimented with putting food coloring on wing tips of three of the Teeny Silkies. Thus:

Green-Left, Green-Right, and Blue-Green were named temporarily. We'll watch to see how the food coloring holds up as the little peeps feather-out.

BEDTIME FOR BABY CHICKENS

I love putting the babies to bed at night. I turn off their red heat lamp and one by one put the babies under the heater. Of course one or two run back out but after several tries they realize the heat is where I'm putting them and eventually they stay in their sleeping area. In about 5-minutes the babies go from awake running all over to under Mama-hen heater, blacked out. 

To get the babies to stay under the brooder heater we need to reduce the red heat lamp to minimum (chicks love red). With the light this low it's difficult to shoot video but iPhone captured the event of putting the tiny hens to bed for the night. After the camera stopped it took about 10 seconds for all peeping to cease, the group blacked out. They were suddenly in pre-warmed chip fluff with the 100 degree heat coming off the heater plate above them. It's the perfect place for teeny baby hens to spend the night dreaming of chicken stuff.