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.
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| Wings of Love, keeping three little chicks warm |
Flock 2 was 10 little chickens grabbed out of the straight run box at Tractor Supply. In that group was a little white Silkie hen who we named "Marilyn" (after another famous bombshell blond). This little hen did not get along with the rest of the flock 2 clan so she got separated out and initially paired up with a strange little rooster from Flock 1 (PLBR, aka Pretty Little Baby Rooster, aka Fritz, aka Frizzle). This was not a good pairing, Marilyn quickly bored of Plbr's advances and went broody for months at a time.
Mary would report Marilyn sightings after collecting eggs, Marilyn would sit on any eggs she could find.
It became obvious that we needed a different solution so we did the only thing we could, we bought three more standard size hens for Fritz to spend time with and we moved Marilyn into "Dustyland". Dusty is a super-chill Silkie rooster, he liked Marilyn but she pretty much stayed off to herself and she could because Dustyland has several other hens (The Shrooms, The Easters, Shannon). Dustyland has a cool vibe because Silkie roosters are so mellow. BTW, Dusty is also a former Flock 2 chicken so
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DUSTY AND PUNKY, FLOCK 2 BROTHERS.
Silkie roosters have mellow personalities. So far our two "Mutt" roosters (descendants of Punky and the Rangers) also seem very mellow compared to our Cochin straight run guys.
BACK TO MARILYNS BIRTHDAY
Marilyn developed a horrible condition that crusted over her eyes, she was blind. We segregated her and gave her water every couple of hours, she laid in a pile, we manually picked her up and put her in a private nest box at night. It was tragic. We practically had to force her to drink. Days passed and the burden of going out every couple of hours to attend her got very old but I never gave up. As long as she was alive I was going to try. Finally it paid off, we put some mineral oil on her face and it acted like a solvent to the crusty residue which remained after she got over the "funk". We put the oil on and the next morning I was overjoyed to see one of her eyes open, not all the way but some. Over the course of the day both eyes opened, she got up and was eating and drinking, she was back from the edge of death.
She wanted to return to Dustyland so we let her. For a month or so she continued to improve and become more lively. Today, looking at her cute little blue-skin face and big black eyes you'd never know she was ill.
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| They can't NOT be cute, Faith, Hope and Love are Marilyns babies |
Three weeks ago (as of this post) she concluded a 60 day marathon broody-hen session by hatching three eggs from Punky and the Rangers. This little family of Marilyn and "The Lemon Drops" has become our best flock EVER. The chicks are mellow and not scared, they have wonderful personalities. They spend their days usually within 18-inches of their beautiful surrogate mom who reciprocates with endless love for them.
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| It's easy to see why Mary named this group, "The Lemon Drops" |
MARILYN IS OUR BEST MOM
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| They are messy but so cute and fun to have around |
We have not raised many chickens from hatched eggs (due to the rooster problem) but out of all our momma chickens Marilyn has been the best and so she wins our BEST CHICKEN MOM award.
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| Baby, under moms "Wings of Love" |
Her babies are getting big but they still love to snuggle under her "Wings of Love". They don't really fit anymore but they still try and she has a big baby under her right wing now, at 3:30am and 71 degrees, the loving bond between them is so adorable and precious.
We Love You, Happy Birthday Marilyn!
