Sassy & Sweet Notes

Tiny Tim

One of our most often asked about farm critters is Tiny Tim. This little frizzled fella is famous for his need to wear a coat on the cold days of winter. I thought you might enjoy an update, since it's been nearly a year since his made an appearance on the blog. My, how time flies!

While his wacky feathers aren't "perfect", he did manage to make it through this winter coat-free. But then again, we really only had a couple of nights in the low 30s. Instead of putting his coat on him, we just nestled him between a couple of large, heavily feathered hens on the coldest nights. He stayed toasty, TOASTY warm!

Cockadoooodledooooo!

checkin' in on the chickens...

Not only did we have blue sky and 80 degree temps here on the farm today, we also had several attentive vultures circling the farm this afternoon. The chickens and ducks are always aware of them, and hustle under cover when they're near.

Shorty continues to greet me in the yard when I'm headed out to the chicken house.

When I'm about half way out to the coop, I call his name and he comes a runnin'!

Today, he brought a little friend with him...

And he always shows me where it would be a good idea to build a nest. What can I say ... he loves me!

The ducks have quite the mud hole to play in. Here, Nellie is splashing around, looking for hidden treats.

Hershey Kisses had been playing in the water, and had lots of little droplets on her head.

She has got to be the cutest thing! She is my "snuggler" duck. The others tolerate being held, but she actually seems to like it.

Weezie, always in a hurry, was in a hurry. She's a nutso golden laced Polish hen, and is as crazy as the day is long...

The silver laced Cochin sisters hung out at the watering hole, catching up on the latest gossip.

Eventually, Tiny Tim joined them for a *snort*.

Look how many feathers Tiny Tim has now! Sure, they are kinky and thin in places, but at least he's not naked as a jaybird! He was enjoying the warm day we had.

Tiny Tim, standing tall... standing guard. ...and would you look at his SPURS!
"I got my eye on you, lady!"

Farm Girl and Tiny Tim

 
I got a fun package in the mail this week; quilting weight cotton fabric, designed by me! I thought tonight would be a good time to put some of it to use!

 
I put together a few zippies, and listed them in my etsy shop. Not only are they made with my Farm Girl and Tiny Tim fabric, but they're also lined with a cute chicken wire print and have a cute flower charm on the zipper pull.

 
I also listed some of the fabric in my etsy shop too. It's ready for your creativity!

Thank goodness for weekends... I was ready for one.

The Dashing Tiny Tim

Thank you for the notes about Lefty. I didn't mean to leave you with such a downer of a post. So, to make up for it, here is a Tiny Tim the Frizzle Roo update that so many of you have been BEGGING for!

 

Remember Tiny Tim? You might not think this is Tiny Tim... but it is! Quite the change from the last time you saw him, eh?

This past winter I kept nearly naked coat wearin' Tiny Tim in a bachelor pad, so I could keep him warmer than the other chickens and move him from the chicken yard to the utility room quickly when the temperatures dropped. I noticed his feathers started slowly growing in, so I kept him in his bachelor pad in the chicken yard all spring. He could talk with the ladies and they could talk with him, but they just couldn't pull his feathers! While his feathers did grow in, they just looked dull and dusty.

So last weekend, I gave Tiny Tim a bath (well, more of a shower really)!

He was LESS than thrilled with the process, although I think he really did like the warm water. When he was done, he smelled Green Apple scented Dawn fresh! I wrapped him up in some fuzzy towels and held him for a couple of hours while Alan and I watched TV. That part I KNOW he liked!

And this is what he looks like today! He STILL has lots of new feathers coming in! You can see them at the top of his neck -- they look like they have long white beads on them since they are still in their protective feather sheath.That covering will flake off as the feathers get longer.

I know for a fact that not only did his last summer/winter nakedness happen because of his weird extra frizzled feathers, but I think he also let some of the ladies groom him a little too much. He can't help it if he likes the extra attention from the ladies! I guess his nakedness was a small price to pay for love from the ladies.

It's hard to believe that THIS little rooster is our little coat wearin' Tiny Tim, but it's true. It is. In all his curly, shiny feathered glory!

Isn't he handsome! I love his tail feathers! Like ringlets!

Want to know more about Tiny Tim? You can read all of the posts about him, here.

Random Chicken Portraits

I took some other chicken photos yesterday and thought I'd share a few just for fun.

Tiny Tim in his coat. He's on watch guard over the "ladies". Hopefully when the weather warms up, he'll grow in some new feathers! He's pretty much naked! And it looks like he's been busy dusting himself as well. What a mess!

Toe Picker, being cute on a perch. Toe Picker is a small buff Silkie hen, who is ALWAYS under-foot. She weighs about 24oz (small!). In the summer, when I'm wearing open-toe sandals, she loves to peck at my toe nail polish. *grin* She is very fuzzy, and very "silky". Ha! Silkies are like holding a stuffed animal -- they feel so different from regular chickens.

Gretta, one of the Cuckoo Marans girls. We have 8 of them, and they can be difficult to tell apart if you're not looking for something specific on each hen. They're responsible for the very dark brown eggs you've seen in the photos. Very nice hens to have around! But boy, she sure looks serious, doesn't she!

This little guy is a Black Japanese Bantam rooster. I usually call him Little Fella, but he gets called a few other choice names when he's being a troublemaker. If you happened to watch the first video I posted last year, this is the little guy that crowed on demand. He hasn't changed much. But his comb sure got big!

Tiny Tim Learns to Crow

I can't even begin to tell you just how hard I've been laughing, for two days now! Yesterday evening, Tiny Tim started crowing. We've never heard him crow before, and it's likely that he's just now figuring out how.

The nights have been in the low 30s to high 20s, and that's just too cold for Tiny Tim to be out with the others, so we keep him in a small kennel in our utility room at night. I took this little video this morning, while we waited for it to warm up enough for him to go back outside with the rest of his chicken friends.

The little "hiccup" he does at the end of his crow is there every time! It's a stinkin' RIOT!!

Oh, and by the way, to make the entries about Tiny Tim easier to find, I've created a Tiny Tim the Frizzled Roo category - you'll find it over on the right side, in the categories section. Who knew such a crazy little chicken would have such a following! I'll get the other posts about Tiny Tim added to that category as well.

The video:

You should be able to view the video here on my blog, but if not here is a link to the video as posted on YouTube.

PS: Looks like it's time to toss Tiny Tim's coat in the wash! *grin*

Santa! ...or is it?

Tonight I decided to make Tiny Tim a *new* coat! What do you think of it?! This one is a bit "fancy" for every day wear, I think... *grin*


I tried to get a photo of Tiny Tim in the coat, but it was late, and all he wanted to do was SLEEP! Honestly, Tiny Tim. A sleeping chicken isn't a very good model.

 

Learn more about Tiny Tim and why he needs a coat, and see him in VIDEO wearing his original brown coat!

Tiny Tim's New Coat

By request, here is Tiny Tim & his new coat!
(Mom and Dad, you've got to watch this!) *grin*

Sorry for the choppy quality ... I tried to get the video file smaller than 130mb, and I think YouTube reduces the quality even more!

The video is posted on YouTube.

Project Poultry

Tonight the temps are dropping down into the low 30s, and it's supposed to get a bit cooler than that over the weekend. I had to move Tiny Tim's "sweater" up the priority list. When I was in town last weekend, I picked up a yard of brown fleece. Couldn't beat the price at less than $3/yard! Just right for chicken outerwear.

Learn more about Tiny Tim and his extra frizzle-frizzledness HERE and HERE.

I started by creating a little body form about the same size as Tiny Tim. I used one of the dog toys and a couple of sheets of tissue paper, and it worked like a charm! I was able to wrap the form and create a pattern before I cut into the fleece. Once I had what I thought might work for a pattern, I cut it out and hand stitched it together!

The original version was a bit longer, and the seam you can see was supposed to help the overcoat wrap around his body. But, it was just a bit too long, so I ended up having to shorten it a bit. The front of the coat is fastened with a single button so that the rest of the opening allows his little legs to move.

On the back there's a shoulder flap to cover up his nearly-bare wings. I needed to make some V-shaped slits over his shoulders so his wings could move freely. But to keep them warm, I added a shoulder flap that's even tack-stitched down at the center to help keep it in place if he gets too flap-happy.

Overall, I think it's a good design. (OMW, I am laughing so hard!!) He seems to like it so far. Every now and then he slips into "reverse" and tries to back out of it, but as soon as he bumps into something, he's back in forward motion. (*snort!*)

Let's just hope his chicken friends don't laugh at him! He's got enough problems as it is!

I laugh hysterically when I see these photos! And seeing him in action is even more hysterical! It might be time for a farm video! Eat your heart out, Tim Gunn!

Measurments of a Chicken

This cracks me up ... here's a little sketch I thought I'd post that shows Tiny Tim's measurements (4" around his neck is a loose measurement). And yes, Alan and I actually took is measurements using a tape measure. I laughed and LAUGHED the entire time! Poor Tiny Tim wasn't too thrilled with the situation. He's such an odd little bird! And I told you he was LITTLE!

Finally feeling like Autumn...

I thought it was time to pull out my little she-crow again from Harvest Blessings for a fall inspired card! I stamped her in black StazOn ink and painted her with re-inkers and a water brush. I added some warmth to the layers by sponging on some brown inks.

Every time I use the little square chick from the Crazy for Chickens set, Alan chuckles and tells me that chickens aren't square. I don't know about that though... Little Buddy is as square as they come!

Cosmo Cricket came out with the cutest paper and accessory line this year called Happy Camper. I *love* it! One of those paper lines that I'll use again and again, so I should probably find more of it! I used one sheet of paper from the line for the background on this card. The paper is double-sided which makes coordinating a snap!

The temps are finally feeling like fall around here. Tonight it's supposed to get down in the mid to low 30s, so we'll be bundling up the critters tonight.

Speaking of bundling up the critters, Tiny Tim is a Red Frizzle Bantam. He got a little too much "frizzle" in his genes, and doesn't have the nice soft fuzzy feathers that he would have if he didn't have so much frizzle in him. So, he's always cold. He shivers.

I don't want to remove him from the flock, but I'd like to help him stay warm. I think he needs a chicken sweater, but I don't crochet. If I measured him up, is there anyone who would be able to crochet him a little chicken sweater? He's not very big, and it wouldn't take much yarn! *grin* Anyone?

Portrait of a Chicken: Part II

While out taking photos of the guineas last night, I took some chicken portraits as well. Enjoy!

This is Little Buddy. He loves me. *grin* He is most certainly a favorite ... except when he decides he needs to attack my toes (out of love, I'm sure). Then he's a pest. Little Buddy is a Red Frizzle, which is why his feathers are all curly-crazy.

This is Fozzy, another Red Frizzle.  He's standing guard, making sure all of "his" ladies are behaving. He's a very serious little chicken.

This is Lovey, one of our three Red Frizzle hens. She is just as sweet as can be, and *loves* to be held. We have another Red Frizzle hen who looks very similar to Lovey, but is just a tad darker red.

This is Ginger. She's also a Red Frizzle, but as you can see, her feathers aren't curly. According to hatchery information, about 25% of all Frizzle chicks have a chance of *not* being frizzled, though they still have the Frizzle gene. Ginger is so SOFT! Her feathers are just silky, and fine. And very transparent. She is the only Frizzle we have that does not have the typical Frizzled feathers.

This is our third Red Frizzle roo. He totally CRACKS me UP! His feathers, the few that he has, are so curly and kinked that they twist up into little ringlets! Unlike the other Frizzles, he is not soft. Holding him is like holding a big wiggly piece of steel wool. He's referred to by many names, some of them being Kinky, Frazzle, Fro-Boy, Twice-Frizzled, and Tiny Tim.

This is one of two Silver Laced Cochin hens we have (and we have three Silver Laced Cochin roosters). These birds are massive in size compared to our little Frizzles and Silkies! At least 4 times as large ... maybe more. Aren't her feathers lovely!

This is a Golden Polish Bantam hen. We have six Polish Bantams. Two are this gold and black color, two are white and gold, and two are solid black (actually called Crevecoeurs).

If you're interested in more things chicken related, I have a category on the right side of my blog called POULTRY. You'll find my chicken illustrations, cards, and chicken photos all in one section! It's chicken mania! I am, as you know, CRAZY for CHICKENS!