Frizzling

Frizzling is an incomplete dominant mutation.

On chickens with one copy of the gene, feathers curl back towards the head instead of lying flat.

(Buff Frizzle Cochin bantam that I absolutely love!)

Absolutely precious black frizzle taking a nap!

Here is another (I think it might be the same bird)

Frizzled mille fluer d'Uccle!

I don't even know the color of this Frizzle Serama, ginger golden? Or something!

Frizzles are flightless and less cold-hardy than other specimens. By creating controlled environments this shouldn't be a major issue.

Frizzle is accepted to be shown in any breed in the APA and ABA standards, it's just another variety. That doesn't mean the gene is present in every breed. I've never seen a frizzled d'Anver.

Frizzle shouldn't be bred to frizzle because homozygous frizzles known as frazzles have health issues including brittle feathers, baldness, and shorter lives.

Frizzled individuals should be bred only to smooth individuals.

Two chicken pens put together. My bantam cochin (hopefully) lavender carriers have technically BEEN together, but shh.

These are the sussex/cochin cross trio. Their eggs are either getting eaten or hatched on site, and no chicks will leave the property. I will only be keeping a couple mille fluer patterned chicks with feathered legs. Which I said is ... 9%? probability per chick.

I am SO excited to start getting eggs from these girls and hatch babies.

You and your big beautiful brown eyes, what're your top 6 favorite desserts in no particular order

finally a question made for ME

well macarons are up there. not because they taste spectacular or anything but it is my baking nemesis. it looks hard to make and i've never made one. one day i'll make these and force feed my partner

mille fluer crepe cake, another baking nemesis. anything french is my enemy that i have to make

my sweet baby ginger molasses cookies. it's my signature dessert and the only thing i can make consistently

whatever the fuck is going on at chez bon bon (petit fours). I walked to fontaine bleau in miami one time to check it out. i was sweaty af and did not belong in a hotel with balenciaga in the gift shop. once i was inside, some guests smelled like so much weed i calmed down. anyway i got some blue lookin thing along with some other confection. i walked back to my hotel. i took all my clothes off. naked and sweaty, i took a bite of the blue thing. i felt like i understood what it meant to be alive. i never knew a baked good could be so juicy and fruity but not too sweet. it haunts me to this day.

angel food cake. a former nemesis. i can make it but i overdo it with berries and frosting. i want to try making a chocolate one next time

alright so england sucks right? food is bland, the white people are dreary, but they love a fucking bakery. there are so many bakeries scattered all over the little hell island. caramel slices....babe had to get me one every time we passed a bakery

i have a journal that acts as my cookbook for baked goods. one day i'll publish it lol

A Romeo y Julieta Mille Fluer surrounded by beautiful roses outside Granville Island Florist shop on South Granville. #2000cigars #2000cigarsdelivery #romeoyjulietacubancigars #romeoyjulietamillefluer #granvilleislandflorist #southgranville #myhabanos #myhabanosmoment #mycigarmoment #cigarlover #roses https://www.instagram.com/p/CowJ2ypOplJ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

she...

Josef Frank (1885–1967), textile design Mille Fluers / A Thousand Flowers, 1940s.

Port of Spain, Magnificent Seven.

1. Queen’s Royal College

2. Hayes Court

3. Mille Fluers

4. Ambard’s House

5. Archbishop’s Palace

6. Whitehall

7. Stollmeyer’s Castle

Relax and enjoy the flowers. This is your time. Flower FunFacts for your day. You can now #breath deeply. 🌺 #aNaturalDesign www.aNaturalDesign.com Wikipedia: #Dahlia (UK: /ˈdeɪliə/ or US: /ˈdeɪljə, ˈdɑːl-, ˈdæljə/)[3] is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico and Central America. A member of the Compositae (also called Asteraceae) family of dicotyledonous plants, its garden relatives thus include the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum, and zinnia. There are 42 species of dahlia, with hybrids commonly grown as garden plants. Flower forms are variable, with one head per stem; these can be as small as 5 cm (2 in) diameter or up to 30 cm (1 ft) ("dinner plate"). This great variety results from dahlias being octoploids—that is, they have eight sets of homologous chromosomes, whereas most plants have only two. In addition, dahlias also contain many transposons—genetic pieces that move from place to place upon an allele—which contributes to their manifesting such great diversity. The stems are leafy, ranging in height from as low as 30 cm (12 in) to more than 1.8–2.4 m (6–8 ft). The majority of species do not produce scented flowers. Like most plants that do not attract pollinating insects through scent, they are brightly colored, displaying most hues, with the exception of blue. The dahlia was declared the national flower of #Mexico in 1963. The tubers were grown as a food crop by the Aztecs, but this use largely died out after the #Spanish Conquest. Attempts to introduce the tubers as a food crop in Europe were unsuccessful. Original photo by: Tj Holowaychuk #woodland #slowlife #fairy #fae #nature #gardener #herbalist #forager #florist #wildone #naturelover #cottagecore #flowers #natural #slowlife #events #Plant #Flora #Spring #designer #design #fluer #pink #designer #interiordesign (at Mill Creek, Washington) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLlUhcxFvLd/?igshid=jaewrgmon2j

Dragon’s Mate Part 3

Arthur told me the plan when we showed up to the burrow. I would be helping Harry get to the burrow. I grabbed my broom and apparated to Harry's home early so I can meet up with the aurors protecting the Dursley's. I spotted the family packing and stuffing their car. Harry spotted me and smiled lightly,"Professor!" "Good morning Harry! Busy day?" I looked and saw his uncle glaring at me,"May I come in?" "Of course." I examined the house as Harry helped move some stuff. A man about the same age as Harry stopped on the stairs as he saw me. "Good morning." "Uhh hi." He came down the stairs and placed his box down. "You must be Dudley. I'm Viper Weasley; one of the professors at Hogwarts." I extended my hand towards him. He took it and shook my hand with a small blush. "Uhh nice to meet you too!" Harry was on the side trying not to laugh as Dudley seemed too embarrassed to speak. "Leave my son alone." I heard a voice bark at me. I turned to see a burly man standing there glaring at me. "I wasn't doing anything. I just said good morning." I beamed at Mr. Dursley. "Why are you here?" He asked. "I was sent here by Mr. Weasley to check up on the aurors who are here." "Well they're fine now who the bloody hell are you?!" His face turned red with anger. "Viper Weasley." Mr. Dursley looked at me in shock and backed up,"W-Weasley...You-Your related to those red haired freaks?!" "Well now that wasn't very nice!" I scolded him and crossed my arms in anger. "They had my son's tongue swell up!" "It was probably a prank from one of the twins! Not all the Weasley's are pranksters." "I don't give a damn! You and your filthy kind are not welcome here!" I glanced at Harry as he just shrugged. "Well Mr. Dursley I find it quite rude that you insult MY family! And I only came here to see if you all needed-" I spat out. "Well we don't need the extra help! Your kind has enough guards here!" He spat at me. I felt his spit trickle down my face. "You know Mr. Dursley... I can both literally and figuratively rip your throat out!" I growled at him. "You threatening me you freak!?" "Maybe I am you lazy sod!" I heard footsteps emerge from the kitchen,"I will not stand to hear language like that in my house!" Mrs. Dursley glared at both Mr. Dursley and I. "You're right Mrs. Dursley. I apologize for my words." I sighed,"Is there anything in the house I can help you pack?" Mrs. Dursley looked me over and motioned towards the kitchen,"You can help me in the kitchen." I walked towards the back as Mr. Dursley just glared at me. The kitchen was nice and spacious and the dining room was gorgeous. "This is a beautiful home." "Thank you." She spoke quietly as I helped pack her kitchenware. I spotted the two Aurors looking around the house not even helping. "I can get them to help if you want." I told her as I wrapped the plates neatly. "No they're fine. I'm surprised you are not using magic." I chuckled,"I don't like using magic for everything. Makes me feel lazy." I heard a chuckle come from Mrs. Dursley,"Yeah. You went to school at Hogwarts too?" "Yes. I graduated the year prior to Harry starting." I placed the plates carefully in the box. "I do apologize on the behalf of Fred and George. I don't know what they did to your son, but if it had anything to do with that joke shop of theirs then it was indeed harmless, but very stupid of them." Mrs. Dursley just shook her head,"Their boys what can you expect?" She then observed me,"How are you related to them? You look nothing like the rest of them. Perhaps your mother?" "Huh?" I looked at her confused. Then it clicked,"Oh you got it all wrong. I married into the family. My maiden name is Akela." "Oh silly me; I should have put two and two together. Did you meet him in school?" I smiled and nodded,"Charlie and I started Hogwarts the same year. I was very nervous since my family had just lost my brother and had fallen into the rumor mill. He and my friend Rowan cheered me up on the train." "That was very nice of them." "Yeah. I started to fancy Charlie when I watched him practice Quidditch with the Gryffindor team. He was cute and charming. I made a bet with him that Hufflepuff would beat their team. After the game that we lost, he stopped by the locker room and handed me the golden snitch he caught. "A Present." He said. After every game he or I won he would always be by my side." I spotted her smiling as she continued to pack. I then felt her eyes linger on me. She finally broke the silence after a good fifteen minutes,"May I ask what happened to your face?" I stopped what I was doing as my breath hitched. "I got into a fight with a werewolf. I was protecting my brother-in-law and my students." "Does that mean-" "No. He wasn't in that form.... However the scars are permanent." She looked at me with saddened eyes. She felt tense as she let out a huff of air. "I'm sorry if I seem frustrated. It's just that I've lived in this home for so long." I could tell she was holding something back. "I know the feeling. After my brother disappeared I felt the same way, but I stayed close to my friends who helped me through." I saw a small smile form on her lips,"You remind me of my sister." I smiled and finished packing up,"That's it. I'll take this to the car." I offered. I could see in the corner of my eye Harry watching from the hallway. I made it to the car just as Mr. Dursley finished putting boxes in the car. He shot me a glare. I rolled my eyes and set the box in the back. Harry leaned against the wall watching the aurors talking. "Professor...I want to apologize; I won't be attending Hogwarts this year." I placed my hand on his head. "Understandable Potter. The others will be here tonight. Moody will explain the plan to you." With that I walked to the Aurors. I talked to them and discussed their hideout. ---- Harry and I watched as the Dursley's left,"I'm going to do a perimeter check. Be careful who you answer the door to." He nodded. I rushed out of the house as my wolf form. I scouted the area looking for any death eaters that may gang up on us. I noticed some floating apparitions in the sky and took a mental note. I spotted the order and rushed towards them. "Wotcher Viper! You gave some of us a rightful scare!" Tonks laughed. I turned back with a look of seriousness. "It's a trap. I spotted a couple coming in the south. A couple more towards the east. They know we're moving him today." Madeye nodded and pulled out his flask,"I figured. That's why I brought this brew." I could smell the horrible brew of Polyjuice potion. It took a minute to realise the plan. I nodded and joined the others in the house. Moody explained the plan to Harry and got Fred, George, Tonks, Fleur, Mundugas, Ron and Hermione take the polyjuice potion. I was teamed to go with George and Lupin to act as a bodyguard. Once we got in the air we were targeted by death eaters. I aimed spells at them left to right. I spotted a familiar figure among them. Snape. "Avada Kadabra!" "Protego!" "Sectumsempra!" Snape's curse barely missed my leg. I casts a non-spoken spell at Snape which hit him dead on. I heard Lupin casting hexes and defensive spells near me. George and I used our quidditch skills to dodge the curses. Then Snape appeared before us and aimed his wand at us. "Sectumsempra!" I watched as George was shot by Snapes curse. He then repeated his attacked and hit my leg. I dove down and caught George; crashing my broom to the ground holding on to the bleeding Weasley twin. I felt my leg tear up even more as it hit jagged rocks. We made our way to the portkey. I felt my stomach churn as we were teleported. Lupin and I dragged George who was now slumped over. Blood poured from the wound on his head. I looked around and noticed we were in the fields near the Burrow. We rushed to the entrance and saw Molly and Ginny looking in horror as Harry rushed to our sides. We were second to come back. We rushed George inside to get him treated by Mrs. Weasley. Charlie rushed downstairs and looked at me in shock. He ran to my side and embraced me,"Are you okay?! What happened out there?! What happened to George!?" He then looked down and saw my leg dripping blood. I placed my hand on his chest trying to calm him down. "I'm okay love. Just a little scratch." I told him. Mrs. Weasley came over and wrapped my leg up as Lupin interrogated Harry. He then turned to me wand raised. He asked me his question to which I answered truthfully. He nodded and then made his way to the door where the others soon came popping back to the Burrow. All safe and sound. Except for two. Moody's death came as a shock to us all. I sat there silently wishing Rakepick killed Fletcher. I felt my chest get heavy as my breathing began to turn erratic. Charlie noticed that I was having a small panic attack. I hadn't had one since my time in Hogwarts with the cursed vaults. He squeezed my hand and pulled me to his old room and we just sat there as I cried silently. --- I helped set up the wedding tent giving me flashbacks to last year. I noticed Charlie shooting me a glance. We heard a pop as the new minister and Percy Weasley walking towards us. "What's the minister doing here?" Fred asked out loud. He spotted us and nodded,"Is Potter, Granger and Ronald here?" Mr. Weasley nodded towards the house with a small smile,"They're in the house Mr. Scrimgeour." He looked at us and nodded before turning towards the house. We returned to setting up for the wedding. I went through my wardrobe and found the mahogany dress similar to the one I wore to the Celestial Ball during my fourth year. The girls and I laughed as we helped Fleur in her wedding gown. Soon it was time for the wedding. I stood behind Fluer as her and Bill spoke their vows to one another. It was beautiful and touching. We then all gathered to the dance floor after the ceremony. Bill and Fleur danced merrily as the music played. Soon the bridesmaids and the best men gathered to the dance floor picking a partner. I wrapped my arms around Charlie as we danced. It reminded me of the Yule Ball during the triwizard tournament. I had convinced Charlie to go with me, since we didn't go to the Celestial Ball together. He gripped his hold on me as he kissed my bare shoulder. "I love you." "I love you too Longhorn." We then stopped after a while to get something to eat. I sat next to Ginny and talked about the school year. I noticed that she kept glancing at Harry. "Gin...He'll be okay! Besides; I doubt that boy would want to die off if it meant leaving you behind. He'll be back." I placed my hand on hers and smiled. She smiled back and nodded,"Yeah..I know.." I looked around as everyone was smiling and dancing, but the atmosphere soon died down as a silver wisp of a lynx ran into the middle of the dance floor. It was the scream of one of the attendees that caught my attention. Both Charlie and I pulled out our wands and watched intently. Other attendees did this as well. The Lynx patronus opened its mouth,"The Ministry has fallen. Schrimgeour is dead. They are coming." Guest started screaming and disapparating as black smoke filled the tent. With my wand at the ready I shot a few spells before getting locked in combat with one death eater. I ripped his mask off and saw the face of my own brother. "Jacob..." I looked at him with saddened eyes. He aimed his wand at me,"I'm sorry." He sent a curse at me that sent me flying into a table. "Cru-" "Stupify!" Charlie jumped in front of me and stunned Jacob backwards. The fighting came to a close and we were rounded up for questioning. They finally made it to me. "Viper Akela...Jacob's younger sibling. Where is Potter?" I leaned back and crossed my arms. "I don't know. He apparated away during the fight. He could be anywhere. Besides even if I did know; why would I tell you?" He glared at me and pulled back his hand and back handed me. I saw Molly flinch. Fire burned in her eyes as she glared at the death eater. I tasted blood and watched the man get closer with his wand,"Don't make me get ugly with you Akela!" I spit in his face and glared at him. "I don't know where Potter is. Now leave us be." I glared at him. I spotted Jacob looking away from me. "Watch your tongue when you go back to Hogwarts... Professor Weasley." With that they left. Mrs. Weasley rushed over and checked my lip,"I'm okay Molly." I placed my hand on hers. I helped them clean up the wedding and soon got myself ready to go back to Hogwarts. Fred and George returned to their shop. Bill and Fleur left the next day. Charlie was packing to go back to Romania. He begged me to return with him. "I'm sorry love. But someone needs to protect the children." I kissed him before returning to my bags. --- Ginny and I made our way to the Hogwarts express. She met up with Luna, Nevile and Rey while I made it to the teachers section. There I spotted Slughorn, Flitwick, Sprout, Hooch and McGonagal. "Viper!" I turned and spotted Rowan rush towards me and embrace me. "Rowan; how's Ben?" I saw her face turn sour. "He's in hiding." I noticed she was playing with her wedding ring. I remembered back when Ben proposed to Rowan. They were so happy. I remember during our fourth year when the celestial ball was announced. Ben and Rowan dancing together in the room. Smiling laughing. Penny, Andre and I set them up for a date which worked out miraculously. Our last day of Hogwarts; Ben took her to the Black Lake and proposed to her during the sunset. And now they live separately. "He'll be okay Rowan. He's strong. And brave." I gave her a tight hug and sat next to Flitwick going over some of my teachings for this year. It wasn't until the train stopped was where things took a turn. All of us rushed to where the students were. Death eaters gathered on the bus looking for Harry. "He morons! He isn't here." I shot Neville a look that made him quiet. The death eaters turned towards us and grinned. "He's not wrong. Why on earth would Harry come here?" I spat at him. "Oh I wouldn't be so sure of that Akela. He will most likely come; and when he does we will kill him and all who defy us." The death eater then turned to two other death eaters,"Alecto! Amycus! Looks like you two miss the train. Let's not keep them waiting for long." All of us teachers looked in shock as the two death eaters got on the train. They walked passed us and made their way to the teachers section. --- The ride to Hogwarts was quiet. I took the time to write notes on all the creatures I was going to teach about. I jumped when a hand crawled its way up my shoulder. I looked and saw that is was Amycus. "You are bloody fine looking to be a petty teacher. The name's Amycus Carrow. And what do I call you?" His horrid breath hit my face as he got closer. "Taken. Now leave me the hell alone or I will personally rip your throat out." "Yes I've heard you can turn into a wolf. Don't worry; we can try doggy style later." I looked at him in disgust and slapped his face. He laughed and held a low growl at me. "I'll remember that later. Perhaps I can get Greyback to finish what he started" I shuddered at the thought. Professor sprout placed her hand on my back and switched seats with me. I continued with my lectures until darkness covered the skies. I noticed more and more death eaters on the grounds. My heart raced with worry as I made my way to the Great Hall. Snape sat in the headmaster's spot. My heart began to beat faster as I realized that they have taken over the school. After the very quiet feast; I retreated to my room. I quietly whispered into my wand a warning to the order,"Expecto Patronum..." I watched as the mare galloped away into the night. I brushed my finger against Athena's chest feathers as she gave me love nips,"Thanks girl. I needed some love." I gave her a mouse and let her eat in peace as I sat down and started sketching Athena to try and keep myself calm. ---- Throughout the weeks I have had to help students who had been used as target practice. I noticed some students disappearing throughout the weeks and re-appearing wounded and crying. I silently thanked all those times I trained with Madam Pomfrey. I had mastered healing spells and potions. I spent my spare time helping Madam Pomfrey heal students. "This is outrageous! These poor children having to go through this. And we can't say anything about it!" Madam Pomfrey sighed as she leaned back in her desk. I poured us some firewhiskey and handed her a glass. She took a sip of the firewhiskey and sighed,"Thank you Akela. My hands would've been full today if you had not stepped in." "It was no problem Madam Pomfrey. I just wish there was more I could do." I took a sip of the whiskey. The burn in my throat distracted me from the pain in my shoulder after blocking a curse from hitting a first year. Our attention turned to the door as Neville was rushed into the hospital wing. His head was gushing out blood and his arm was at an awkward angle. Rey, Luna and Ginny didn't look any better. I focused first on Nevile while Madam Pomfrey turned to Ginny who had a broken nose. "What happened?!" I demanded as I looked at the girls. "A couple of seventh years were beating up a couple of first years and Neville stepped in. They casted Afflicto at his arm!" Ginny tried to speak as Madam Pomfrey healed her nose. "Ginny then charged one of the boys and casted the bat boogy hex at him. Drew on the other hand took a good swing at one of the girls." Luna spoke quietly as I began to heal a gash on Rey's leg. I jumped slightly as a couple of students barged in with complaints. They stopped when they saw the three girls now sitting in chairs. They looked at me in fear,"P-Professor!? T-They attacked us in the hallway! We tried to defend ourselves." The Ravenclaw girl who I knew as Lillah Adams spat out as blood dripped from her lip. "Really now? And what of the first years you were attacking? Where are they?" I glared at all the students who looked at me in shock. "Miss Adams, Miss Martinez and Mr. Lucas; congratulations. You all will be serving detention with me for the next week. I will also be taking twenty points away from Slytherin and fourty away from Ravenclaw. I really hope you all like shoveling Graphorn poop." I heard Ginny snicker,"Something funny Miss Weasley?" "No Professor." Madam Pomfrey and I finished healing all their wounds. Neville had to stay in the hospital wing because of his broken bones. --- The next few months were awful. I would see students come to my class with bruises and cuts. Their clothes covered in blood. It was to the point where I had enough of this. "Doxy Venom." I told the eagle statue. The statue spun around revealing the entrance to the Headmaster's office. I walked over to the entrance and barged into the office. Snape looked up at me with an emotionless stare. "What is it Akela?" "Get your damn death eaters to stop hurting these kids! I am tired of my students walking into my class covered in wounds and blood." My breath was ragged with anger. "I have no control over them Akela. Now I suggest you keep your head low and quiet while we let them do what they do best." He returned to some papers. I could see his hands trembling a little bit. "I can see you care Severus, but if your too cowardly to do something than I will!" I walked out of his office in a flash. I couldn't stand before a cowardly traitor. This man didn't deserve to be called headmaster. I walked back to my room and spotted someone sitting in my bed. I quickly pointed my wand at the figure but then spotted the messy red hair and light brown eyes of my husband. I lowered my wand and tackled him to the bed,"What on earth are you doing here?!" I kissed him deeply. "I came here to pick Ginny and you up. They're tracking us Vi." He placed his hand on my cheek,"I think it might be best if we all go into hiding." I smiled sadly,"I can't." "What?" "The kids who have no home to go back to. I need to stay with them." He pulled me close. I felt him shaking a little,"Please Vi.....If this goes south....I can't lose you." I hugged him back and placed a small kiss to his cheek. "Charles....please.....I need to do this. I need you to trust me."  He sighed and looked at me with worry. "Okay. If you think this is for the best." HE then smiled lightly,"Can I at least spend one night with my wife? Afterwards Ginny and I will be gone." I nodded and kissed him. We spent the night embraced in each others arms. --- I woke up to see our clothes on the ground. His arms wrapped tightly around my body. His light snores brought my attention to his sleeping face. I placed my hand on his cheek which now had come to harbor his full grown beard. "Charlie! It's morning! Wake up!" I shook him awake as I began to get dressed. He stretched and grabbed his clothes. "Meet me in Kettleburn’s old office. I'll have Ginny ready." I made my way to the great hall and spotted Ginny with Neville, Dean, Seamus, Luna and Drew. "Miss Weasley....A word please." I told her. She looked at me confused and nodded. She followed me out of the great hall. With a worried glance she looked at me. I leaned against the wall and looked at her,"Charlie is here. He's going to take you to your family. You all are going into hiding." I placed my hand on her shoulder,"Stay safe and look out for each other." "Your not going with us?" "Someone needs to stay with the kids with no homes to go back too. I'll keep them safe." I hugged her and waited for her to pack her stuff up. We made it out without any of the death eaters noticing us. I spotted Charlie feeding my Graphorns. I placed my hand on his back,"Stay safe love." I kissed his cheek and left back towards the castle. "The Room of Requirements!" Ginny yelled. I turned and saw her eyes ablaze. "Putt the students with no homes in the Room of Requirements. Neville, Rey and Luna know what to do. Ask them." She then ran up and gave me a coin,"This is for Dumbledore's Army. Show this as proof." She then hugged me,"Good luck." I smiled and hugged her back. I then made my way back to the castle. ---- I helped escort all the students I could to the Room of Requirements. I spotted a couple of death eaters marching towards Luna who was happily reading. I rushed over to her and stood between her and the death eaters. "Move Akela." Alecto growled at me pointing her wand at me with blood lust in her eyes,"This girl has been breaking some rules and needs to be punished." "And what rule breaking might that be; Carrow?" "More along the lines of her father's doing. She is to be transferred and you will alloy us to do our "Jobs"." Alecto sneered at me. "I don't think so. Stupify!" I knocked Alecto back. Luna now behind me wand at the ready. "Crucio!" Another death eater casted at me. I fell to the ground in pain. I spotted McGonagal and Sprout rushing towards us. The death eaters raised their wands at the two,"You will have a far worse fate." With that they grabbed Luna and then me,"You just earned yourself a nice detention yourself Akela." With that they apparated us away. They took my wand and Luna's and dragged us to a gated mansion. There I saw Bellatrix Lestrange watching with a gleeful grin,"Well well well. We got two presents instead of the one?" She laughed and pulled my hair towards her face. "Caramel Blonde hair. Eyes of Storm Clouds. And scars left by a cursed wolf. Lovely to see you again Viper Akela. I bet dear old Jacob would love to see his little sister again!" She then pulled me towards the door of the mansion. There I spotted the Malfoys, Fenrir Greyback, Peter Petigrew and Jacob. "Why is she here?" Jacob asked quizzing. "She blasted Alecto into a wall while protecting the Lovegood girl. She also has been a thorn in our side at that school. I say its high time we get rid of her." The other death eater spoke. "Put them both in the dungeon. We'll figure out later." Lucius looked at me before returning to his work. ---- I sat in the corner shivering. We had been here for a long time. I had no idea what day or month it was. I helped take care of Olivander who was ill. However I started to grow ill as well. It wasn't until I started noticing that I was gaining weight in which I realized what was wrong. I hid it the best I could as they tortured me. Small tears fell down my cheeks as Bellatrix got done with the cruciatus curse. She stopped as an alarm went off. I watched as snatchers came in dragging three people with them. One of them turned towards me and tried to rush over to me,"Viper!" Ron's voice echoed. "Silence! Greyback; take our guest and Mrs. Akela to the dungeon. While we have a girl to girl talk." Bellatrix laughed maniacally at Hermione. They threw us in the dungeon with brute force. I nearly blacked out from the amount of torture I just endured. "Viper! Viper are you alright?!" I felt Ron kneel beside me. "Ron......why are you here? They'll.....they'll kill you...." I felt Luna rush over to me. "Luna?" "We were taken three months ago. She was trying to protect me from being taken but we both were captured." She stopped as Petegrew rushed down. I sat up and changed into my wolf form. "You better stand down Akela!" He aimed his wand at me,"I only want the goblin." I charged at him with a loud growl. "Difindo!" Lucius rushed down and shot me back into a pillar. I felt a strong pain in my stomach as I landed. They grabbed the goblin and rushed back up stairs. Olivander rushed to my side as I changed back. I was cursing as my body was filled with nothing but pain. A pop was heard as I spotted a house elf standing there talking to Harry. Luna rushed over to me and Olivander with the house elf in tow,"Meet me at the bottom of the stairs in ten seconds." With that we apparated to a beautiful beach. I looked up and saw a small cottage. "Help will be here in a second. I need to go back and help the others." The elf said before apparating back. "Viper?!" I looked up and saw Bill and Fleur rushing towards us. Fleur and Luna helped Olivander to the house while Bill tried to get me to stand. The pain in my stomach grew worse. I knew something wasn't right. The look on Bill's face as he picked me up said it all. I was flickering in and out of consciousness as the pain was getting worse. He set me in a bed and rushed out of the room while Fleur helped me as best as possible. I soon found myself in darkness. ---- I woke up to the sound of people talking. I opened my eyes to see Bill and to my surprise Ben. "Viper! You're up; that is one huge relief." Ben smiled down at me. "W-What happened?" I sat up sorely. "Harry, Ron and Hermione explained what happened recently. Luna explained about the incident at Hogwarts." Bill placed his hand on my shoulder. "Vi...I sent for Charlie." Bill looked down at his wand,"I sent my patronus to Romania." "I wish you hadn't. I don't want him to worry...." I looked at them and noticed they seemed quiet. The air in the room was thick with the feeling of dread. "What's wrong?" I asked Bill. He looked at Ben with a worried glance. "Vi...when....when was the last time you were with Charlie?" Bill crossed his arms. "Wha-I don't-" It took me a second to realize what he meant. I placed my hands on my abdomen. "Vi.....Did you know?" Bill looked at me with worry. "I-I did....Oh God..." I started to shake as I began to have a panic attack. "Viper?" Ben looked at me with worry. "Please leave..." I told them as I looked away. I heard Bill sigh and place his hand on my shoulder before leaving. Ben hesitated,"If you need me. Please don't hesitate to ask." He then picked up his stuff and left. ---- (Charlie's POV) I sat down in my bed with a long sigh while rubbing my eyes from the lack of sleep. I looked beside me at the empty spot on the bed. I remembered her visiting after she finished her auror training. It was also the first time we made love. I remember her eyes lighting up after she got herself tickets to go see the Quidditch world cup. Her visiting in fear after the Askaban breakout. The glow that was casted on to her as I placed the ring on her finger as she agreed to marry me. I placed my hand on her side of the bed. My heart hurt as I thought more about Viper. I heard about her disappearance from McGonagal. My thoughts were disrupted by a silver Lab running in my room. It's mouth opened like it was going to bark, but only words came out. "Get to shell cottage. Ron found Viper. She needs you." I looked at the patronus as it disappeared. My heart beat sped up as I grabbed my coat and apparated to the cottage. I spotted Viper looking away from the window towards something in front of the bed. I spotted Bill walking towards me. He grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the beach. "Bill? What happened?" I pulled away from him when we were far enough. "They were apparated here by a house elf named Dobby. Friend of Harry's. She was in bad shape. Cuts and bruises everywhere. Luna told me she was hit by Defindo and hit a pillar...." "Is she alright?" I saw a look in his eye that made me worried,"She's...she's getting better.....but the baby....Charlie I am so sorry." My brain stopped working after I heard that word. A baby. She was PREGNANT!? "Bill...." "I contacted Ben to see if he could....save the baby..." He looked at the ground and walked over to the edge of the beach,"There was no saving him." A small grave was dug. No name just a small engrave,"Fleur and I...we buried the baby." I didn't realize I was crying until Bill pulled me into a tight hug. It was one of the only times I had cried in front of my brother. And now I couldn't stop. That was my child. My future. Buried in the ground all because of this damned war. After a good few minutes we made it back to the house. Fleur was talking with Ben who I was surprised to see wasn't the scared Gryffindor boy I met my first year, but a stronger man than I was who had come out of hiding to help my wife. "Ben." I smiled lightly and held my hand out. "Charlie...I really have no words." He shook my hand. He stood up and walked me to Viper's room. "She's...She's in shock. She knew about the pregnancy, but she didn't know she..." I stopped him. I opened the door to see Viper with her head in her hands crying. I opened my mouth to say something, but stopped. I walked inside and closed the door. She looked up with glossy eyes. There was no light in them. "Oh love." I walked up to her and embraced her. I didn't realize it, but she was skinnier than she was the last time I saw her. "I should've gone with you." She clung to me as she began to cry again. "No. Viper what you did was brave." "But I lost our child! Why didn't I realize that I was pregnant?!" I pulled her closer as she buried her head in my shoulder. "Shh....." My body shook as I thought of our future together. "Charlie....I want to go home." Her voice shook,"I want to go back to Romania." I nodded and placed my hand on her cheek. Ben looked over her before giving the okay for her to apparate. I watched as she walked towards Harry, Ron and Hermione. "Viper!" Hermione ran up and hugged her,"I'm so glad you're alright!" "Will you be heading back to Hogwarts?" Ron asked. She looked back at me and smiled lightly,"No. I'm heading back to Romania with Charlie." "We have to take care of some business back in Romania, plus Viper needs rest. Fighting now would be suicide." I walked next to her and wrapped my arms around her. I looked at my little brother with pride. He was just a tad bit taller than me now,"Keep each other safe." Ron stepped forward and embraced me. "You too Charlie." He then turned to Viper as she opened her arms expecting a hug. He smiled and hugged her too. Bill was waiting for us outside alongside Fleur. We said our goodbyes and apparated to our home. Viper smiled as she spotted her Granian in our stables. She made her way to the giant winged horse and stroked his muzzle. "Hey boy. I'm home." She hummed. I saw a small spark of light appear in her eyes as she talked to the granian. She took a deep breath as she walked into the house. I wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed her shoulder,"Welcome home love." ---- (Viper's POV) For the next week I relaxed in Romania treating my creatures and wandering the village. I would study and read while Charlie was away. But nothing could shake my thoughts off of what had happen in Malfoy Manor. I placed my hand on my stomach. I felt so empty; like a black hole was placed there. Nothing could fill it. I jumped when Charlie walked into the room. "Viper?" He sat down next to me on the bed. I smiled lightly and leaned into him. His arms wrapped around my body as he hummed. "How are you doing today love?" He whispered to me. I smiled and closed my eyes,"Yes....Charlie....Do you...do you think we can try again?" I felt him pull me closer,"Maybe after the war love." He rubbed my shoulder. A flash caught our eyes. Charlie jumped and pulled out his wand. He aimed it at the silver wolf. "Hogwarts is under attack! We need back-up!" Tonks' voice appeared out of its mouth. I stood up and grabbed my auror gear. "Viper...." "Let's go Charlie. We're getting the gang back together." I waved my wand,"Expecto Patronum!" The mare trotted around the room,"Send to Barnaby, Penny, Liz, Ben, Andre, Tulip and Merula! Hogwarts is in danger. Let's give them hell!" --- Charlie and I apparated to Hogsmede and made it to the three broomsticks. We saw all the citizens hidden and bundled together. "Akela? Weasley?" I turned and spotted Merula. "Nice to see you again Snyde." I looked around as everyone stared at us. "Hogwarts is under siege and we need to help them. We're not going o let no death eaters take this town as their own. Threaten our lives here!" Tulip looked around. "I say we show them what we villagers can do! What Hogsmede is capable of!" Ben cheered with. Merula turned to us and snickered,"You really think the nine of us would've made a difference? We gathered the villagers and parents of hogwarts students to fight alongside us." I barely heard her over the cheers of the villagers. We all grabbed brooms, thestrals and a beautiful hippogriff and rushed over to Hogwarts. We spotted death eaters, students, and teachers fighting. "Let's go!" I dove down and shot hexes and spells at the death eaters. I looked down in fear as I saw Voldemort. I looked and saw the giants charging in. "Aim for the giants attacking the school!" Merula ordered. "Charlie, Ben and I will land and help the professor's!" I told her. She nodded and we split up. I spotted Professor Sprout struggling with some students against death eaters. I landed and rushed towards them with protection spells and jinxes firing away. "Akela!? You're alright!" Professor Sprout had tears in her eyes. I stood beside her and the kids. A growl echoed the air. There stood Fenrir Greyback. His eyes percing into mine. My scars itched and throbbed as my blood pumped through my veigns. "Viper!" Ron rushed towards us with Neville and Rey. "Professor! Take the children to the hufflepuff dorms! We'll handle this!" I aimed my wand at Fenrir. Fenrir growled in contempt,"Come at me blood traitor! I want to rip your heart out and keep it as a trophy!" He raised his wand and sent body binding curses at me. Another death eater joined the battle and started shooting killing curses and torture curses at us. Flashes of red, blue, green and purple colored the walls of the great hall. "Give it up Akela!" I turned to the other death eater to see none other than Ismelda smiling as she shot curse after curse. "Ismelda?! We used to be classmates; don't make me do this!" I looked in sadness as she continued to fire. "You were the bane of my existence. First it was Barnaby and then Merula! You stole every friend I ever had that understood me!" She shot the cruciatus curse at me which hit me in the chest. I rolled over in agony as the pain overwhelmed me. I glanced over to see Greyback still fighting the three kids. They weren't doing so hot now that a third death eater joined the duel. I noticed instantly that it was Jacob. He looked at me in horror as I begged Ismelda to stop. Ismelda was laughing as my screams filled her ears. "Avada Kadabra!" I heard Jacob yell. She looked up and raised her wand,"Protego! Jacob Akela changing sides? Surprise surprise." "Well I resign my position Ismelda! Stupify!" Jacob looked down at me and smiled. I stood up and hugged my brother,"I'm so sorry Viper. Can you forgive me?" I nodded and sank into his hug. Fenrir's growl brought me out of my head. "Help them. I'll take care of Ismelda." I agreed and charged at Fenrir. I shouted every curse, hex and jinx at the werewolf. He was fast in dodging and protecting. "Running away with your tail between your legs Greyback!? Come out and fight you tosser! Bombarda!" I aimed at the piece of ruble he was hiding behind. "You dirty blood traitor! I'll slaughter your entire family right in front of you. Starting with that blood traitor husband of yours!" He charged at me as I readied my wand, but an explosion stopped him in his tracks. I looked over to see Ron furious. "No one threatens my family!" The werewolf laid on the ground in his own pool of blood. I turned to the three students and smiled. "Akela!" I turned and saw Ismelda furious at me. She aimed her wand at the kids,"Avada Kadavra!" I jumped in front of them readying myself to cast a protection spell. Then I froze. This was my classmate. The same person who I helped confess her feelings towards Barnaby. In my mind I started to panic as I wasn't fast enough. The killing curse flew towards me in a blinding light. "Viper!" I snapped out of my trance as Jacob blocked the spell with his body. My heart stopped as Jacob's body fell lifeless in front of me. "Expelliarmus!" Neville waved his wand and disarmed her. I clung to Jacob whose eyes were lifeless. Tears formed in my eyes,"Jacob? Jacob!?" I called out his name while shaking him,"Please....Please wake up!" I gripped his cloak as I cried in his chest. "Oh please Akela! You really thought your weak family would stay alive with the dark lord's ruling?" I looked up at her. Fire burned in my chest as I glared at her. My animegus form growling in anger. "Ron. Please take Neville and Rey and help any others you can. I'll take care of Ismelda." The three nodded and ran off. I walked towards her with anger. "What are you going to do Akela? Kill me? I'd like to see you-" She was interrupted by me punching her in the face. I punched her a couple more times before I knocked her on the ground. "You killed my brother, threatened my family and you think I'll just arrest you?! Then you're out of your fucking mind!" I transformed into my animegus form and started to maul her. "Viper!" I turned and spotted Penny, Chiara, Barnaby and Merula standing there with shocked looks. I dropped the now wounded and crying Ismelda. I changed back and looked at my shaking hands. "I-" "Bombarda!" I turned just as Ismelda shot the spell at me. Everything then went dark. --- I woke up to see Charlie holding my hand. He looked lost in his thoughts and had dark bags under his eyes. "Charlie?" I croaked out. His head shot up and he pulled me into his arms. "Thank Merlin you're alive! Penny told me what happened with Ismelda." He kissed me softly before I saw tears running down his face. "I couldn't afford to lose another family member today." I looked at him with worry,"Who-" "Fred. He died during the first battle. I just found out." He placed his hand on my cheek and rested his head on mine. I then remembered about Jacob. "Wait Jacob...." Charlie gave me a sympathetic look,"I'm so sorry Viper." He kissed my head and held me close as I wept in his jacket. I heard Tulip cry out Tonks' name from the distance. My head jolted towards the sound just to see Tonks laying dead. "It's over now. No one else will get hurt." I turned to see the Weasley's walking towards us. I nodded and placed my hand on Charlie's chest. I spotted Rowan rush over to an injured Ben. Barnaby held Penny in his arms as she cried over Tonk's body. Merula comforting Tulip, Liz helping soothe the magical creatures and Chiara helping heal anyone that was wounded. "Yeah....it's over.." I sighed as I curled into his chest. ----- 19 years later I pushed my trolley in front of me. It was covered in books and suitcases all ready for the new school year. Charlie walked close behind me as talking about the new dragon sanctuary they were moving out to Scotland. We had discussed moving there so we would be closer together. I turned and noticed our three children trudging along with us. Gideon looked so much like his uncle George that it took us by shock. The only difference is that his air color matched my own. He was even covered in freckles like Charlie. He tightened his grip on the broom we had gotten him for his birthday last year for making it on the Gryffindor Quidditch team as their beater. While on the other hand Ava looked a lot like me, but with her father's hair color. She thumped Gideon's head with her broom as she had made it on the Hufflepuff team as their seaker. A few freckles here and there appeared on her face, but my mother still laughs at how much we are alike. The twins began to argue which team was better and I had to admit; for two fourteen year old kids, they sure were loud. I looked behind and noticed our youngest was walking slowly. Jacob; kept his head down as we made it to Platform 9 3/4. "Jacob darling; what's wrong?" He looked up at me with worry,"I'm worried that my friends forgot about me. I didn't send them a lot of mail during summer. What if their not my friends anymore?" The twelve year old started sniffling. "Well I doubt Mary Alice will ever forget about you. I mean you both share a house together. And obviously B.J will always have your back. And then you have James. You know he won't let anyone pick on his favorite cousin." "Gideon is his favorite cousin." "No Gideon does pranks that James likes. You two stick together like glue. I'm sure their all waiting for you." I walked him towards the train and saw Charlie talking to George. I gave him a kiss on the cheek,"The train is about to leave. I'll send my owl later." "Don't teach them too hard Professor." He chuckled. I said my goodbyes and got on the train. Penny sat there reading the Daily Prophet next to Rowan who was talking to Trelawny about her son just starting to walk. Neville was talking with Professor Sprout about some Herbology notes for the year. I sat down in front of them and started going over my notes for the new year. I smiled when an old photograph of all of us on our graduation day smiling and joking around. I looked out the window and saw the sun's reflection on the lake's surface. A reflection of a bright future.

----

Finally all done! Sorry it took so long! I’ve been working, moving and sick all in two weeks T.T

I have something new in the works as well. I’m going to write about Viper’s Hogwarts adventures. How she became who she is. How she attained her animegus form. And how her and Charlie got together.

I hope you enjoyed and I’ll see you all next time!

Mottling

There are believed to be multiple mottling alleles, all of them recessive to non-mottling. They cause different chick down patterning and varying amounts of white. I am not going to cover all of the alleles, all you need to know that mottling is mo and nonmottling is Mo+

There is some debate as to whether the less even pattern found in exchequer birds is a different allele or if the neat, v-shaped white mottles could simply be achieved through selective breeding. My thoughts? Probably both. Uneven mottling can be turned into neat mottling through selective breeding, but there are some alleles that are messier than others.

It is believed that mille fluer is buff columbian but with extra modifiers, specifically melanizers like the pattern gene and melanotic to create spangling.

The interruption of pigment production by the mottle also helps create this neat spangle. It takes longer for a bird to produce pheomelanin than it does eumelanin. So the mottle interupts pigment, then the bird produces eumelanin, then pheomelanin. That is why the double laced wheaten pattern that you find in dark Cornish gives black edges around the mottles on Spangled Cornish.

The bird works with what it has. If there is no melanin present in the feather at all, the bird will not produce a black edge around the mottle, as evidenced by this red mottled Ancona photographed by Breeding Chickens with Sander.

The black in the spangles can also be diluted, to blue or white using the blue and dominant white genes. This cute "Golden Neck" d'Uccle is genetically mille fluer with the dominant white gene.

Mottled is unique in that a mottled bird changes with every molt. The initial chick down looks pied, as seen by these mottled Cochin chicks from Murray McMurray hatchery.

Pied is gene present in many species that give an animal colored patches on top and white patches on the bottom. (See pied guineas, peafowl or pied ducks.) But mottled is not the same mutation as pied. Pied remains the same pattern throughout an animal's life.

The first chick molt gives the same impression

(photo from One Hundred Dollars a Month.)

However, with respective juvenile molts the white becomes more and more evenly distributed over the bird until you get the first adult plumage: the first time the mottling is evenly distrubuted over the whole bird.

With each respective adult molt the bird gets more and more white but distribution continues to be relatively even. (different bird but you get the point)

Now lets cover some oddities. The Ayam Tulak has what looks almost like pied plumage and based on the pictures, the pattern may remain constant throughout its life. However, there are none here in the US and its inheritance is unknown. I would like to know if it is allelic with mottling or if it is true pied (or something else.)

White crests in Polish (this one being a white-crested chocolate) is also theorized to be allelic with mottling.

If you look at the chick down, it is very similar to mottled chick down.

Also, while most of the white distribution on white crested blacks is on their crests, some do have a few tiny mottles on their bodies. Personally, I have seen a white crested black with some mottles at a show.

White crested black is recessive to nonmottled but codominant with at least one other mottling allele.

White crested Polish when crossed with Tolbunt Polish (Tolbunt is gold laced with mottling) produced white crested black and white crested mottled chicks.

Long chicken rambles with pictures as I try to figure out what I'm doing next year.

My biggest problem that I'm encountering is I have so many ideas and so little space, right? I have the pen that I built this fall, that's to be sectioned off into two separate sections that can hold about five to six chickens each. It's currently my overcrowded oldest grow-out pen that I need to dig out all the straw from so that the ground can actually drain. It's a mess in there and straw is detrimental, just fyi.

That's two larger breeding groups. I also have my cock block pen in the barn, which can hold around seven or eight birds. That's my younger grow-out pen at the moment, also where all the birds that for some reason can't brave the grow-out pen go so that they can get some fluff back to their feathers. Originally, the cock block was designed to be split in half, but I will not be doing that. I kind of like it just the way it is.

I have a chicken tractor that I built a few years ago. It can hold about a trio. It currently has my bantam hold backs.

I miiiiiight be able to make room for two or three pairs and maybe another trio. Maybe. Bantams go in rabbit cages for breeding season, so they're not an issue.

So first project bird that I have is with my big boy. I love love love this cockerel. He's half cochin, half sussex. I have one matching pullet to go with him, and if I have the room, another younger pair of him with shitty quality black. The purpose of this project next year is to create a speckled sussex pattern onto large fowl cochin - or a proper mille fluer cochin. I believe when I did the math, I have a one in eleven? chance of hatching out just the chicken from him and his lady. They're both mottled, so that's one less recessive that I have to worry about. They carry for partridge. They both also have one copy of columbian pattern AND mahogany, it just doesn't express on black.

Honestly, thinking of it now, I think I'm wrong in my earlier math. Chicks have a 25% chance of hatching out partridge, and then a 75% chance of at least one copy of columbian and then of mahogany. I certainly don't need them to be homozygous in either of the dominant expressing genes. That's a mere 14% chance of hatching out the visual color I'm after. That's a one in seven chance.

I might have issues with foot feathering, putting f1 birds together instead of back to a cochin, but that theoretically puts me at a 10.5% chance of hatching the color with foot feathers, which is still better than one in eleven. (Though I explicitly remembering coming up with 14% so I think I just remember the fraction math wrong. I don't think my math was wrong, just faulty memory.)

ALL THIS TO SAY - I want no less than a trio of phenetically mille fluer cochin out of this pen. Then I say goodbye to all my f1s. *cry*

Because ohmydear just look at that cockerel. He's gorgeous. Very striking, even if he makes a shitty cochin.

Next project that is of utmost importance involves Mr. Wyandotte sir. This cockerel - oh I went through SO MUCH trouble to get him and he's just amazing. I LOVE how well he's growing up, especially since I got him, and I'm so so so excited for the project he'll be involved in.

So the thing is, I don't have any gold laced cochins. None. Zip. I am NOT messing with dominant white and silver so ... I'm putting him over a couple partridge hens. My partridge are not good quality, but they'll get the project started. At the very least, their offspring will have some feathers on their feet and their combs will be split to single.

Using a cock with homo dominant white will result in dominant white pullets and cockerels. I'm just going to have a mess with lacing (and breeding out leaking black). HIS lacing isn't great, but buff laced is a project in wyandotte as much as it will be for me in cochin. I'm not sure how dominant white plays in hetero form, but I'm sure I'll find out next spring.

Hopefully I get some choices in pullets and cockerels out of his pen and get to keep the best lacing, because they'll be het in EVERYTHING. Pattern, melanotic, columbian - but thankfully those are ALL dominantly expressed. What really works for me on this is that both wyandotte and cochin work their laced varieties on the partridge base, so ... I don't have to mess with extension genes on this project.

A less important project, but a project that I have an f1 cockerel for anyway, is blue laced silver. This boy is a result of a silver laced cochin over a blue laced red wyandotte. So he's het silver, which causes some CRAZY gold leakage. But considering his mother should be MAHOGANY as well, it's not gold leakage as much as RED leakage.

This boy has better lacing than ANY other laced bird with feathered feet. Quite possibly any laced bird on the property.

I know I've talked about this boy and stressed over the future possibilities with him before.

I think I want to put him over both silver laced girls that I have. Theoretically, I make half boys with his level of leakage, and half boys with the proper homo silvering and (please) no leakage. And half silver pullets, half gold pullets. Then half of ALL THOSE, blue.

So, keep anything blue and silver, of course. But I'm really tempted to keep everything not gold, but RED laced with blue as well. Which will be all pullets, but ... no, I think I will. I'll keep the blue laced red and maybe blue laced gold because THAT WAS AN ORIGINAL GOAL.

My problem with the silver laced is that my pure silver laced cock died just a couple weeks ago. Out of the blue, he just dropped dead in the main flock. So fuck - I might just keep anything silver laced, idfk. Just get rid of the yellow laced (ie het silver) cockerels, I dunno.

(By the way - that sussex hen beside the silver laced hen is one of the probable mothers to big boy. That's the color I'm seeking in that project pen.)

Next big big project is chocolate. I have one older boy growing up that is out of my mauve splash cochin hen, and I have one older boy growing up that is out of the chocolate orpington. I have my chocolate hen that's actually really nice now that she's grown her feathers in. Finally. I miiiiight have another cockerel in the youngest hatch that's out of that mauve splash hen, but it's mostly a brooder full of pullets. Which are useless to me in this project. How often do you hear complaining about hatching out a ridiculously disproportionate amount of pullets? I also miiiiight have a chocolate cockerel out of the orpington hen and then mauve bantam cochin. If that is a boy, I'll keep him on reserve.

I actually am a little impressed with how the type is coming along on this blue cockerel. He's leaky as fuck, which is incredibly annoying. For one, he's out of two solid birds, so where did it come from? And breeding out leakage is one of the last things I want to do in my chocolate project. The amount of leakage on him suggests that he's NOT from the mauve splash hen, but I have absolutely nothing else that he could be out of but an even better blue hen. Ironically enough, the black that's most likely out of the orpington is almost as leaky, so I'm not sure what's going on here.

I'll know within a couple hatches whether or not he's split for chocolate. If I hatch out zero chocolates, he gets eaten and I substitute in the orpington cross cockerel(s).

I know that I'm putting at least two of my nice hens under him. I'll probably give him the mottled hen and the typey black pullet I have growing up. I don't know if I'm going to put the chocolate hen under him. If I have the space, I'd really rather she got paired up with the nicest blue cockerel that I have. I don't want to work with mauves, but I'm not about to be a chooser. I'll be getting mauves out of the blue cockerel anyway.

I have three blue cockerels and a splash cockerel growing up. I somehow got every one in on this picture. The lovely raggedy guy front and center is the cockerel I hatched out of the blue hen this year. The other three, I bought. I technically have the one I hatched up for sale because his comb is an absolute mess, but he has some very promising type.

I don't know if I'll be using a single one of these boys next spring, but I want them around to see if I can use them to improve on the type I already have grown up. But I do know that if I have the space, the best one will get paired up with my chocolate.

My black boy is the main man from this year. He's filled out SO MUCH these past couple months since I took him out of the breeding pen. He's almost impressive. I love how much his chest comes forward, but I would like to see a lot more depth to it. His tail has filled out immensely this year, but he still needs so much more depth to it. He's still better than most cochins I see around me. But this is the boy to beat in my programs.

He's getting my barred hens, even though Basketball is probably done laying for life. He also gets my blue pullets. There's at least three really nice ones growing up. And when I say that, I think I mean that the blue hen pictured above is the best cochin I own. She also forgot what hygiene is, but the amount of mass she's gathering as she grows - and how forward and deep her breast is already - I'm excited for her specifically. And I really think my barred hen(s) have a lot to offer in the cushion department. They don't necessarily have the depth of cushion, but they're way fuller than anything else I have. The barreds just really lack foot feathering in comparison.

But his pen - his pen is where I crunch down on TYPE. No funny color business (though I would kill for a barred cockerel out of that pen ...). Just black, blue, and ... yeah that's probably all that'll hatch out of his pen.

IF I had space, I'd put the typiest cock with the blue hens. Whether that be black boy or one of the blues growing up now - even though that's really difficult to judge when cochins take tonever to grow up. And I'd put the next typiest cock with the barreds. So that I could keep it separate and actually know what the hell I was hatching out. I don't think I have that luxury.

Last big project is the partridge. And the partridge shouldn't even be a project, but their type begs it so. I have three partridge cockerels growing up - all of them better than their sire. I'll keep one. I have ... three? partridge pullets growing up. They're really just around because I haven't sold them yet. I sold all of my oldest partridge grow-outs from this year to pay for rabbit feed. I also have three partridge hens. The wyandotte gets two of those partridge. I want one or two under the partridge boy.

Because I also have a good handful of black pullets growing up out of the black boy and the partridge hens. I think I also have one cockerel, but he can go. I'm going to keep the typiest two and put them under the partridge cockerel. Sell everything that hatches out black, and hope that my partridge type improves and that the melonizers don't totally mess with the partridge pattern.

I also really would like to put the blue laced red wyandotte back under a partridge. I hatched out zero blue things out of her and my partridge from this year. My dad hatched out two. I know for a fact he's keeping the pullet, but even if he's not keeping the cockerel I can bet that he's gotten rid of him already. I really do want blue laced red cochins. So between this pen and the pen of silver laced blue things, I actually have a decent chance of making a blue laced red pen for next year.

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OHMYDEAR. I forgot about my wheatens. Fuck. I have two gold wheaten maran pullets that I got from FFH to make wheaten cochin. I need to put THEM under one of the blue cockerels. Ha. Oh shit. They'll make 100% blue or black birds that carry for wheaten, but it'll just be like the f1 sussex cross from this year. I'm not a huge fan of gold wheaten. HOWEVER, I have a couple different directions that I can later go with wheaten: silver wheaten (or better yet, take the next step, add mahogany and have salmon cochin) AND FURNESS. Furness would be a project. A really big project by isolating the melanotic gene from the laced birds, and then adding that over top wheaten, but absolutely theoretically doable. But quite honestly, I'm ahead of myself. I'll be happy with gold wheaten in two years from now.

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Big pens are absolutely going to the type flock and partridge flock. But I just need to figure out how I'm safely separating these guys to get started next spring.

(I just don't want to think about winter, let's be honest.)

@hexacreep replied: they pull their weight!! sometimes mille catches roaches and fluer likes to find stuff i’ve lost in my pockets and they weigh like 1 whole pound

i’m not interested.

A Romeo y Julieta Mille Fluer a great walking companion on my Wednesday night walk! Mille Fleur ''thousand flowers'' is a gem of a petit corona. The Mille Fluer was a machine-made cigar until the beginning of the 21st Century.  Nowadays these smokes are carefully hand-rolled, just like the rest of the line, and represent about the best value for money to come from La Habana. #2000cigars #2000cigarsdelivery #romeoyjulietacubancigars #romeoyjulietamillefluer #thousandflowers #machine-made #handrolledcigars #myhabanosmoment https://www.instagram.com/p/Ccmcb3nL-hS/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

A Scouted Local Guide to a Festive Mardi Gras in Mobile Bay

With the first parade rolling this Friday, we put together a list of all things Mardi Gras in Mobile Bay. We believe everything you need to have a fun and festive Carnival season can be found in your own community. This local Mobile Bay Mardi Gras guide proves it, a collection of unique items and fashion, royal regalia and parade and party essentials scouted and created locally by locals for locals. Remember every single dollar spent at a locally owned business sends a ripple of economic benefit throughout our community. So get out support local during this season of merriment that is Mardi Gras.

Adult Parade Gear | URBAN EMPORIUM

Dinner & Drinks Near Mobile Parade Route | THE NOBLE SOUTH

Mardi Gras T-Shirt | FAIRHOPE BREWING COMAPNY

Parade Bag | IVY COTTAGE

Kids Parade Gear | THE HOLIDAY / GIGI & JAY’S

Tote Parade Bags | SADIE’S

Dinner & Drinks Fairhope Parade Route | THE MILL 

Event Florals & Decor | JULIA GREER FOBES; FASHION ART & FLOWERS

Local Brews & Fun in The Taproom | FAIRHOPE BREWING COMPANY

Mobile Crest Drinking Merch | SOIREE SIGNATURES

Custom Decorated Cookies | BAKING ME HAPPY

Event Rentals  | PORT CITY RENTALS

Formal Dresses & Accessories | DEBRA’S

Festive Parade Outfit | SADIE’S

Formal Dresses | THE HOLIDAY

Tween Girl’s Dresses | GIGI & JAY’S

Men’s Attire  | EAST BAY CLOTHIERS

Fluer de Lis Gold Locket Necklace | CHAPEL FARM COLLECTION

Jewelry and Beaded Clutches | SARAH OTTS GALLERY

Hand Bag | THE HOLIDAY

Assorted Jewelry | HARVEST JEWELS

Hair Styling | HARLOW SALON

Luncheon Hats | DEBRA’S

Fine Jewelry | ELIZABETH ADAMS

Men’s Ties and Beaded Clutch | EAST BAY CLOTHIERS

Small Works on Canvas | SARAH OTTS GALLERY

Mardi Gras Hand Towels | IVY COTTAGE

Assortment of Carnival Inspired Art | SOPHIELLA GALLERY

Mobile Mardi Gras Flag | URBAN EMPORIUM

Mobile Crest Mardi Gras Huggers | SOIREE SIGNATURES

Rentals for Queens Luncheon & Other Various Court Events | PORT CITY RENTALS

Regalia for Mardi Gras Court | JULIA GREER FOBES; FASHION ART &FLOWERS

Silver Goblets & Gifts fit for a Queen | CHAPEL FARM COLLECTION

TELL THEM SCOUT SENT YOU!

How to Raise Bantam Chickens

Are different methods used to raise bantam chickens?  When looking at all the options for types and breeds of backyard chickens, you will notice the bantam breeds are listed separately. Usually the heading at the hatcheries is “bantams” or possibly select breeds of bantams. From the beginning of our chicken raising, over ten years ago, we have had at least a few bantams in our flock. The last two years, we added more variety and some specific breeds of bantams and learned much about how to raise bantam chickens successfully. I do think bantam breeds can be among the best backyard chickens.

Why Raise Bantam Chickens?

Bantam chickens can be the perfect choice for small scale homesteading, particularly on small lots. The size of bantam chickens means that they require much less space per bird. The coop can be smaller when you raise bantam chickens. The impact on your grass and any exposed gardens may be less too. Bantam chickens can be in the range of one third to one half the size of their standard breed chicken. And the best part about choosing to raise bantam chickens – they still lay delicious homegrown fresh eggs. More on that later in this post.

Bantam Polish Rooster

Bantams need 1/3 of the coop space inside, and the run can be considerably smaller, too. Some Bantam breeds, such as the Silkies, need extra protection from the weather and should have a covered run, in order to stay dry. Depending on the breed, tolerance to cold will vary. Cochin Bantams will do quite well during cold weather. Tiny Serema chickens might need some extra protection and warmth. 

What are Dwarf Chicken Breeds

Dwarf chicken breeds are true bantams. They are only found in the small size and have no full sized chicken counterpart. Olandsk Dwarf chickens are an example of a true bantam breed. Comparing the bantam breeds we have with the Olandsk Dwarf chickens shows that the dwarf breed is noticeably smaller than the bantams. 

Other bantam breeds may be the result of careful breeding and selection for small size. Consider the Brahmas, Cochins, Rocks, Seabrights, and Mille Fluer d’uccle as possibilities.

Olandsk Dwarf Rooster

What Breeds are Available in Bantams

This can vary. There may be a bantam variety of the breed you want from a private breeder if you don’t find them at a commercial hatchery. In addition, hatching eggs in an incubator can be a rewarding way to start to raise bantam chickens. 

Hatching bantam chicken eggs takes less than the standard 21 days that is normal for hatching standard size chickens. Make sure you allow for this difference when setting up an incubator and turning eggs. Most of my bantam chicks have hatched at 18 or 19 days of incubation. It is important to stop the egg turning at day 16, to give the chick time to get into hatching position.

Can Bantam Chickens be Kept with Full Size Chickens?

My advice is to plan to keep the bantam flock separate from the full size chickens. I have a few reasons for recommending this practice. 

If you have a full size rooster, he may injure or kill a bantam hen while attempting to mate. 

Larger chickens can be aggressive in the pecking order and harm a bantam chicken. 

It might be hard for a bantam to stay warm if none of the full size chickens will allow it to roost with the flock.

We have had a few bantam chickens in with our full size chickens. Currently, we have one coop that is very successful and has a mix of chicken sizes. I have also experienced some losses from housing bantams with full size chickens. Our breeding flocks of Cochin bantams are housed separately. 

If you choose to house your bantam chickens with the full size chickens, remain aware of the potential problems and act quickly at signs of trouble. 

Bantam Chicken Eggs – Are They Too Small?

Bantam chicken eggs are not too small to use! In fact, I was surprised by how large they were, considering the size of the chicken. The Dwarf hens in the coop lay a much tinier egg than the bantams. Bantam eggs can range from under 1.75 ounces to a tiny 1 ounce. Bantam eggs also have a higher yolk to albumen ratio.  This might be a factor in some baked goods. 

Adjusting the Recipes When Using Bantam Eggs

The following are standard sizes of eggs. 

Jumbo 2.50 ounces

Extra Large 2.25 ounces

Large  2.0 ounces

Medium 1.75 ounces 

Small 1.50 ounces

Recipes are written for large eggs, in most cases. If you weigh your bantam eggs, you can easily adjust the amount of eggs you will need when you raise bantam chickens. 

2 eggs (6.75 ounces) called for in a recipe will require 4 to 5 bantam eggs, approximately.

Bantam Breeds are Often Good Broody Hens

Another feature of many bantam hens is their tendency to go broody. And these hens can be very persistent broody hens. Many people like a good broody bantam on the farm, for hatching out replacement chicks in both full size and bantam size. 

Bantam chickens have many positive features that make them a good addition to homesteads and farms, large or small. They can be perfect for children to raise and show in competitions too. Their hardiness and good disposition make them a good choice for a backyard flock. The fact that they require much less space and less food makes them a good choice when those are important factors to consider.

How to Raise Bantam Chickens was originally posted by All About Chickens

The decision I have to make with the speckled sussex/cochin cross cochins is whether or not I'm going to stick with standard millie fluer, which is gold based, or if I'm going to work with red based millie fluer instead. Sussex are red. They're a striking bird. I'm hoping that I get a little of both to hatch out next year and can make a decision then.

While millie fluer is a BIG project I'd like to hit, I wouldn't mind expanding the project as well. Porcelain will be a far in the future kind of project because it's probably up there in the top of my favorite varieties (buff laced, black, and chocolate are up there, too). I need the lavenders for that, though, of course.

And SILVER mille fluer. I can only find pictures of real chickens of this variety in d'uccles. All it is is silver based black mille fluer. Like ... if I manage to get the silver partridge (there's a real word for that, I swear) somehow, making silver mille fluer should be a snap. Or columbian! I do like a columbian and would love to see that in large fowl cochin as well. Honestly, would prefer columbian over silver patridge.

Look ... a lot of these projects - most of them - are prospective. I don't have the time or money for most of them, especially right now. But in the far future? I'd like at least one breeding pen of every single one of these varieties. Preferably, like, three. For proper line breeding and not straight up inbreeding. I want color and I want type. Typier type than the chicken I used as reference, even.

Who knows. Maybe my interest won't last that long. Maybe I'm only buzzing over the genetics because they don't exist in the combinations that I want them to. I kind of doubt I'll grow bored - for wouldn't I have with the rabbits years ago? But I am proposing a LOT of chickens.