molting update: feathery explosions then shiny new bird

 
I've shown you this already, from Christmas day:

Fanny, our Rhode Island red had not molted in 2 years. Then she molted in just about one day.

Reminder of the coop-feather explosion.

In contrast, our barred-rock hen has been molting gradually for MONTHS, it seems. I wish she'd gotten it done so she'd be warmer now.

Anyhow, now that Fanny's got lots of new, beautiful feathers, check her out! The lighting is a little bizarre as it was early a.m. so I had to tweak it a bit. Look at how dense the feathers are at the very base of her tail, where she was totally bald in the 1st photo. AWESOME!

Isn't she gorgeous? Yow. Those long neck feathers are metallic shimmery green. GORGEOUS.

And last, a more typical chicken photo:

=)

bb

Phriday photo quiz answer

 

This generated many guesses re: what those white things were. Thank you for all for your guesses--makes it WAY more fun for me. =) Cindy's was the closest guess--pretty much spot on.

Happily, the answer is something that is NOT an affliction

A little lesson on feathers, from peteducation.com:

"A blood feather starts out with a waxy keratin sheath that protects it while it grows. When the feather is mature, the blood supply will recede and the waxy sheath will be removed by the bird."

This is the sound of biobabbler learning.

So, apparently they are simply waxy keratin sheaths.

They are NOT quills (or calamus, apparently, same thing as quill), as I'd been calling them--the quill is the smooth, unpigmented part of the feather that attaches the feather to the feather follicle, NOT the part that is shed once the feather has emerged.

So, now we know. =)

Doncha feel extra smart, now?

xoxo

biobabbler

The reason I'm stoked...

 
The egg pictured in yesterday's Mumday post is the FIRST egg the girls have laid in WEEKS and weeks. What with the molting, the short days, and cold temperatures, we've had to buy two dozen eggs so far this winter.

Now, we have one from our lovelies. How exciting!

I need to make sure to add the little tasty calcium (oyster shell) bits to their food mix.

Anyhow, apparently the most serious part of winter (egg drought) is over, per at least one of the girls.

=)

woo-hoo!

biobabbler

My pulse is still racing...

  
Today, Christmas, started out mildly, with a beauty of a sunrise.

Very nice.

Later, I commence to cleaning (guests arriving). Taking a break at the kitchen table, I see through my window that the chickens are playing statue--they are all standing stock still.

Knowing this may mean there's a predator around, I go outside to take a look. I step out, barefoot (since was cleaning the floor), and walk out onto the grass, looking up into the trees for a raptor.

I notice our Rhode Island red, perched high on a cement block, staring west, is the one issuing the call for "statue." I follow her gaze.

A movement from underneath the huge oak tree 25 yards to my left catches my eye.

A gray cat.

I start running after it (yes, in bare feet). I make some distance, then I see it dash across grassy opening between the oak and the manzanita thicket that is the back of our property (i.e. "safe" for any wildlife I'm pursuing).

This time, in better light and in full profile, I realize, woah, that's no gray cat, that's a gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus)!

This increases my motivation, as our first chicken "loss" was due to same.

I run faster, but it disappears in the manzanita maze. I mock it, yelling "Yeah, right!" (creative, I know), and head back to the coop.

The time for chicken play in the outdoor chicken runs is over. I lock them up tight and take a picture of our hero, Fanny.

Incidentally, she FINALLY is molting. She's 2.5 years old and has never molted. And wow, now that she's begun, she's not foolin' around. This is the most naked I've seen a chicken. Here's her side of the coop, with the attendant red-feather explosion (pardon the poop).

Then, chickens secure, I walk back toward the house, and what do I see?

Apparently, the chickens and fox are not the only things experiencing turmoil, today...

=)

Who said life in the sticks is dull?

xoxobb