Fuzzies!

Phew, sorry, such a busy week! Next week will be packed, too!

I did take a moment on Wednesday to take pictures of the babies at 2 weeks old! I didn't have the chance to crop them and label them until today, though, so here they are.





We did lose the Chocolate Cuckoo baby Wednesday night, sadly. I really think something was wrong with him internally or something, because he never was quite right. He also had a squinty eye and a little knob on his navel that never fell off or healed over properly. By the time I was taking pictures, he was just so weak that he just laid out in my hand. I did go ahead and take a picture of his wings, but couldn't get a good side shot like the above.



I do think he was a cockerel based on how he was feathering in. That's not really much of a consolation because I was interested in seeing how he'd feather out, but at least it's one fewer cockerel I have to rehome later on. I hardly ever lose babies at this age, literally he's only like the 6th one in many, many years of raising these birds, so it sucks. However, I really don't think anything I could do would have made a difference.

The rest of the babies are thriving, though, and rapidly outgrowing their brooder at this point! They also stopped using their heater entirely this week and sleep in the corner of the brooder instead, so at the ripe old age of ~16 days old, they are off heat and thriving at room temperature. So much for 95 minus 5 degrees a week, huh!

That got me wondering if I had any pictures of the original Gus saved still, and sure enough I do! He was one of my very first silkied Cochins, along with Roscoe, Donna, and another hen I named Cordelia who has also since passed on. The original Gus was pretty young when he passed away, maybe 8 months old at most, so he never got the chance to really fill out, but he wasn't too shabby looking overall. This was him, way back when.




The current Gus is 2 years old now, and quite the hunk Love this big guy!

Phew, I guess not feeling well really took it out of me more than I thought it would! I've accomplished next to nothing all week! Finally got around to getting updated baby pictures today. They're about 4 weeks old.



I am confident that Black 3 and Blues 2 and 6 are pullets, and that Blues 1, 3, and 5 and Chocolates 1 and 3 are cockerels. I'm pretty sure Blue 4 is a pullet and that Blacks 2 and G1 and the mixed color baby are cockerels. The rest are sort of in that gray area where they could go either way, or in the case of Chocolate 2 I just am not familiar enough with the line to be confident either way, honestly. I'm really hoping that a few more of them are pullets, but we'll see. Also pretty sure I already have a cull or two, but I may hold onto them anyway, depending on how many are male and how many are female, just in case.

Let me just say that regardless of whether she's actually a pullet or if she turns out to be a cockerel, I am SO excited to finish growing out Blue 4 and see how she turns out! She is already beautiful, and thus far everything I am hoping to accomplish with my Blues! The other Blues are unfortunately quite dark already. Hopefully with Blue 4 in the mix, I'll get more light Blues over the coming years to fill out that flock with. 🙏

Also, mixed color baby is thus far feathering in as a dark Blue as well. I imagine he'll end up with some red leakage based on his chick down color, though. Oh, and don't mind Chocolate 3's eye, he just blinked. His eyes are perfectly fine!

Anyway, there they are.

Haha, not a bad thing at all! Those Blue boys are undeniable, the red in the face of the two Chocolates is pretty damning, and the Blacks are tougher to gauge in this set but BOY OH BOY have most of them developed COMBS! It was bound to happen eventually, though, because I've had amazing luck with high percentages of pullets in every silkied Cochin hatch I've had since getting into the Blacks in 2020. Guess this is the hatch that tips me back toward the 50-50 split between males and females with them. 😬

The mixed color baby does look nice and fluffy so far! He and Blues 5 and 6 are all a bit light on the middle toe feathering, but I'm hoping that changes as they grow. It's too bad he's looking like a cockerel as I just won't have the space to keep him while prioritizing breeding males. A pullet at least I could justify integrating into my mixed flock and holding onto there.

Yes, everyone is starting to develop feathers on their shoulders if they haven't grown in feathers there already! It's a lot more obvious on the Blues because of their light chick down and dark feathers, but the Blacks have them as well.

No, I'm fairly confident I didn't have covid. I was not sick in the traditional sense, more just that fatigue and stress caught up with me from being so busy for so long and my body kinda revolted against me for it. I think I'm okay now, which is good because I have some things I need to get done with the birds that I've had to put off for too long, like new fences to put up, coops to get cleaned out, etc. I finally sold my two big Orpington boys yesterday, too, so the coop they were in needs to be cleaned out (and maybe fixed up and rearranged a bit, especially the perches) to accommodate my third flock of silkied Cochins. 😁