trystinn | Heaven is lined in feathers

I'm a bit overwhelmed at present, so please bear with me.

We had another clutch of ducklings hatch this morning, courtesy of Lucy(fer). Can you see her and her ducklings in there? Neither did I. *sigh*

We now have 11 brand new ducklings. *faint*

I haven't been able to catch Lucy, which is pretty much par for the course. So doing what we always do when we have a poultry-related emergency, we put a Silkie on top then stand back in awe. So poor little Fooz is currently trying to raise 11 ducklings, which really don't fit under her so I've added a heat lamp to the brooder. I'm still trying to catch Lucy and hope to at some point. Gracie, in a very uncharacteristic move, has given herself the day off and refuses to help me catch Mamma Lucy. I've set a trap so now we wait.

Lucy has been caught and is now with her 11 ducklings and 1 hatching egg. *slump* Update: the duckling has hatched!

Her 11 ducklings:

This is, of course, on top of the 11 ducklings Mamma Nera hatched out the first week of June. They are completely independent now and dividing themselves along breed lines, birds of a feather flock together and all that. Our new brooder hutch, showing the previous tenants:

Needless to say, I'm freaking out at all these hungry mouths to feed - very loud mouths, too. I've been busy all morning (when not chasing Lucy) advertising our ducklings via Craigslist, BYC, Grange, 4-H (Stinger graciously cross-posted for me, he's a dear) and I'm making up a sheet for the Cenex feedstore.

The biggest issue at this moment is space. Given that we've not finished the East side of Bunhalla, we're missing out on those three pens. I've contacted Noah and asked if he can help me finish the fencing this week as I'm desperate. The two of us can likely do it within a few hours. Update: We will be fencing Wednesday beginning at 11am. If you can help, let me know!

We had a somewhat unpleasant surprise, one of our Sizzle pullets is actually a cockerel. I've moved him to the Bantie Barn to live with Napoleon and the smooth-feathered ladies. I'm still hoping for some standard sized Frizz Cochins, so once Onyx is done with her three blue chicks she'll be moving in there to hopefully make us some. Pic of our Sizzle cockerel, as he appears on ads trying to sell him:

Onyx and her babies have been moved from our new brooder hutch to the blue shed coop pen, where she is having a marvelous time dusting herself and teaching the chicks to peck. This may be a temporary move, but its a good one. She's really too big for the brooder hutch. Shown here in the bottom level of their previous housing:

Which means bantam cochin cockerel Rodrigo and his Frizzle cochin pullet have been moved to the rustic hutch. We're hoping for bantam Frizz cochin chicks from them and soonest, because strictly speaking we don't need them and I'd prefer to sell them.

And, in a somewhat uncharacteristic move for a Maran, our Splash, Blanca has gone broody. I've ordered a dozen Silkie eggs from a local breeder and should receive them Wednesday morning (USPS has confirmed shipment).

And since I've had a chance to calm down now, the surprise poultry mural Deb's friend Morgan made for the side of our new brooder hutch. Ain't they fun? I would never have thought of this, but I find I like it, even with the sparkles: