Re: For those of you that love Sunny the chicken-the babies are 7 wks old! pics

Great pics!

Re: For those of you that love Sunny the chicken-the babies are 7 wks old! pics

I really do love these updates SO much! I feel like a ChickenAunt, always wanting to know how they're doing and see pics.

This:

Re: For those of you that love Sunny the chicken-the babies are 7 wks old! pics

When can I sign up for the Sunny and Company fan club???

Thanks for the updates!

Re: For those of you that love Sunny the chicken-the babies are 7 wks old! pics

Thanks for the pics and updates Kelly; I can't believe it's been 7 weeks already!!! Wow, they got so big!!! Good luck next week moving them from the nursery to the coop.

Re: For those of you that love Sunny the chicken-the babies are 7 wks old! pics

So Cass is now short for Cassius?

If Cass was a male & Billy Jean was a female, would Billy Jean try to crow to copy Cass? (trying to determine how much environment vs. genes come into play).

Re: For those of you that love Sunny the chicken-the babies are 7 wks old! pics

Thanks for sharing the pictures and such a wonderful & special story.

Re: For those of you that love Sunny the chicken-the babies are 7 wks old! pics

Love the new pics!! so cute

Re: For those of you that love Sunny the chicken-the babies are TEN wks old! pics

sorry for the gap in updates, but the babies are doing great.
Cass is huge, he is a little flighty and he is really perfecting his crow!
BillieJean is by far the one with the biggest attitude which is so funny considering his size.
Farrah is a little lady that is sweet and shy.
Sunny is STILL enjoying motherhood, she loves leading her brood around the yard finding special treats for them. They still sleep in the nursery, Billie Jean still sleeps under Sunny
The big girls are starting to discipline the babies at feeding time. The babies are trying to establish their slots in the pecking order, Sunny still defends them.
Marguerite is STILL broody and Cass has decided to try to dominate her, so when I take her out the nest for food & water he will often flog her. I'm still trying to figure out why.
The really hot weather is not a chicken favorite so on those days they spend most of their timeunder the deck, its cool, the dirt is dry, its safe from predators like the osprey(he is still around) and there are lots of bugs & other stuff chickens like to eat. I snapped a few new pics of them preening under the deck.


this pics shows the difference in size

you can see some of the big girls preening in the background

Here's a pic of BillieJean & Farrah together

Here's a closeup of little Farrah, her face is still so immature compared to the boys.


At the moment my neighbor's rooster is still way louder than the babies, it is yet to be seen if their crowing will be a problem.

I have another great story, but I've got to get to work early today so I'll be back with that later

Re: For those of you that love Sunny the chicken-the babies are TEN wks old! pics

love these pics!!

you've said they are "teens" now - is it possible that Cass senses that Marguerite is broody and maybe wants to help her out?

Re: For those of you that love Sunny the chicken-the babies are TEN wks old! pics

I love seeing pics!! I can't believe they are like teenagers already!!!!

Re: For those of you that love Sunny the chicken-the babies are TEN wks old! pics

Love the updates! I cant believe how much they have grown

Re: For those of you that love Sunny the chicken-the babies are TEN wks old! pics

They are so big now!

Re: For those of you that love Sunny the chicken-the babies are TEN wks old! pics

no new pics today but I'm back with a really interesting story-this actually happened about two weeks ago but I've been too busy to post it.

As I've told you Sunny & the babies spend their days with the flock now, but at night they still sleep in the "nursery" which is a large dog crate inside my greenhouse. There is no way to get into the greenhouse from the chicken run, you need to go through a gate to get to it. So a couple of weeks ago, right after the Osprey incident DH & I were going out to dinner, it was around 6pm. Usually if we stay near home we are back in 1.5 hours. I thought we would be so I left Sunny & the babies in the run with the big girls. Dinner took longer than usual & the days are getting shorter so when we got home it had been dark about 40 minutes. I was hoping Sunny & the babies went into the coop with the big girls.
So I go out and find Sunny & Cass on the roost in the coop but I cant find the little ones. Finally I find Farrah perched on the back of a chair I have in the run, Now I'm searching for BillieJean, DH brings big spotlights outside so we can search.
I round up Sunny & the 2 babies & put them in the nursery & we search for about 2 hours for BillieJean.
Nothing, we looked EVERYWHERE!
Finally we decided a racoon or possum probably got him but there's a chance he's hiding somewhere(when chickens sleep they enter a hypnotic state and they will not react if I call them)
So we go to bed, I lay in bed all night listening for his peeps through the window.
Nothing.
just before dawn, I go out to see if he is there and I start calling him & I hear him crow! It sounds like he's on the other side of the fence on the neighbors property, I hear him again & I call DH.
As DH comes toward the coop he sees leaves rustling in a branch directly over the coop & sure enough little BillieJean was perched in a treebranch all night!!!!
His instinct told him to get off the ground, wild chickens sleep in trees!
We were SO happy to see his silly little face, we've had so much activity with predators this year, I was sure he was gone!
Just thought you guys might enjoy that story.

Re: For those of you that love Sunny the chicken-the babies are TEN wks old! pics

Posted by KellyFG

no new pics today but I'm back with a really interesting story-this actually happened about two weeks ago but I've been too busy to post it.

As I've told you Sunny & the babies spend their days with the flock now, but at night they still sleep in the "nursery" which is a large dog crate inside my greenhouse. There is no way to get into the greenhouse from the chicken run, you need to go through a gate to get to it. So a couple of weeks ago, right after the Osprey incident DH & I were going out to dinner, it was around 6pm. Usually if we stay near home we are back in 1.5 hours. I thought we would be so I left Sunny & the babies in the run with the big girls. Dinner took longer than usual & the days are getting shorter so when we got home it had been dark about 40 minutes. I was hoping Sunny & the babies went into the coop with the big girls.
So I go out and find Sunny & Cass on the roost in the coop but I cant find the little ones. Finally I find Farrah perched on the back of a chair I have in the run, Now I'm searching for BillieJean, DH brings big spotlights outside so we can search.
I round up Sunny & the 2 babies & put them in the nursery & we search for about 2 hours for BillieJean.
Nothing, we looked EVERYWHERE!
Finally we decided a racoon or possum probably got him but there's a chance he's hiding somewhere(when chickens sleep they enter a hypnotic state and they will not react if I call them)
So we go to bed, I lay in bed all night listening for his peeps through the window.
Nothing.
just before dawn, I go out to see if he is there and I start calling him & I hear him crow! It sounds like he's on the other side of the fence on the neighbors property, I hear him again & I call DH.
As DH comes toward the coop he sees leaves rustling in a branch directly over the coop & sure enough little BillieJean was perched in a treebranch all night!!!!
His instinct told him to get off the ground, wild chickens sleep in trees!
We were SO happy to see his silly little face, we've had so much activity with predators this year, I was sure he was gone!
Just thought you guys might enjoy that story.

Re: For those of you that love Sunny the chicken-the babies are TEN wks old! pics

a mini update, the babies are just about 12 weeks old & the boys crow like crazy every morning. We have new neighbors in a house that was only used seasonally for many years and I really dont want to annoy them. BillieJean has been doing the rooster mating dance to me, he also tries to peck me sometimes.
Cass is afraid of his own shadow and he is getting REALLY big!
I'm working on rehoming Cass, I am in contact with someone on the north fork that has a large, healthy flock and Cass will have many ladies & acres to roam.
the main reason I'm considering keeping Billie is because of Farrah, she's so small compared to the rest of the flock and he protects her :)
a few nights ago Sunny and the babies started sleeping in the coop. The big girls are really bossy to the babies, and the babies seem a little freaked out.
Other big news is Sunny started "squatting" again yesterday, that means she's ready to mate and lay eggs & her mothering job is over. She still keeps an eye out for the babies but she does her own thing too.
Marguerite is FINALLY giving up on being broody, both of the boys love to
"show her some love" when she's out of the nest. Unfortunately they aren't old enough to know how to treat a lady yet.
I will update again soon

Re: For those of you that love Sunny the chicken-the babies are 12 wks old! pics

Posted by KellyFG

a mini update, the babies are just about 12 weeks old & the boys crow like crazy every morning. We have new neighbors in a house that was only used seasonally for many years and I really dont want to annoy them. BillieJean has been doing the rooster mating dance to me, he also tries to peck me sometimes.
Cass is afraid of his own shadow and he is getting REALLY big!
I'm working on rehoming Cass, I am in contact with someone on the north fork that has a large, healthy flock and Cass will have many ladies & acres to roam.
the main reason I'm considering keeping Billie is because of Farrah, she's so small compared to the rest of the flock and he protects her :)
a few nights ago Sunny and the babies started sleeping in the coop. The big girls are really bossy to the babies, and the babies seem a little freaked out.
Other big news is Sunny started "squatting" again yesterday, that means she's ready to mate and lay eggs & her mothering job is over. She still keeps an eye out for the babies but she does her own thing too.
Marguerite is FINALLY giving up on being broody, both of the boys love to
"show her some love" when she's out of the nest. Unfortunately they aren't old enough to know how to treat a lady yet.
I will update again soon

Re: For those of you that love Sunny the chicken-the babies are 12 wks old! pics

Wow where have I been, I missed the last few updates!!! So glad to hear that Sunny and the babies (well teens now) are all doing well. That must have been so scary with Billie-Jean missing; it's amazing how their natural instincts kick in!! I can't believe Sunny is done mothering and ready to move on already, it just seems so quick.

Re: For those of you that love Sunny the chicken-the babies are 12 wks old! pics

I missed the past update too! I love the stories. They keep you on your toes, huh? I hope Cass does go to a great home!

Re: For those of you that love Sunny the chicken-the babies are 12 wks old! pics

I had no idea Bille Jean was missing.. Glad you found him!!! I love hearing the updates on the chicks!!! I hope you find Cass a good home!!!