Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[RoyalChick]

Chicky pics just because fuzz is cute. 7 days old. All 13 are doing well. I noticed today that most have some tiny tail feathers coming in.
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Love the little white one diving head first into the food dish. S/he knows where the good stuff in life is!

 

[knoturavggrl]

Wait another week until you have FLYING velociraptors, tee hee hee. Then life with the cute fuzz balls get even more exciting!

Oh they are already launching their tiny bodies off the perch at an alarming rate! And hopping straight up in the air as well. Its amazing to witness all the practicing going on so soon and to see knowledge being passed to the rest of the flock as well. One figures something out then they all copy it.

 

[RoyalChick]

All you hawk experts I am trying to identify the hawk that has taken up residence. No good photos yet but it swooped quite low over me just now so I got a good but fleeting glimpse.
It is white underneath but I didn’t see any red on its tail or belly.
Do red tailed hawks ever not have red tails?

 

[knoturavggrl]

All you hawk experts I am trying to identify the hawk that has taken up residence. No good photos yet but it swooped quite low over me just now so I got a good but fleeting glimpse.
It is white underneath but I didn’t see any red on its tail or belly.
Do red tailed hawks ever not have red tails?

I am no expert, however juveniles don't typically show red tails and they have quite a few regional differences as well. In addition there are quite a few color variations (genetic mishaps?) that just randomly happen which can result in no red tail particularly when viewed from below as most of us see them.

 

[GregnLety]

One of our bantam GLW hens was plugged up with a dried brick like plug of poop this morning. We soaked and cleaned and lubed her up. We mixed up baby aspirin and electrolytes and syringes some down her. She is isolated but near her flock so we can keep a close eye on her.

I checked one hour ago and she was moving around. I gave her fresh food and water and she eating and drinking.

 

[GregnLety]

Wow! Great job catching it. How did you happen to notice?

Lety saw it when the girl was acting sluggish. She's perky again and eating and drinking.

 

[featherhead007]

Bathing beauties with their lifeguard:

 

[ChicoryBlue]

I promise you all it is not just for vanity's sake that I prefer to keep my yard not to overgrown. It is the snakes. I'm not just dealing with copperheads. If it were just copperheads, while I don't want bitten it most likely would not be the end of the world. We also have Rattlesnakes, both Timber and Eastern Diamondbacks. I have been fortunate enough so far to not have one in my yard....yet. Half a mile up the road, they have killed 2 this season alone. Big ones at that. Of course if I ever do run across a rattler the bite will not kill me, I'll drop dead of a heart attack. I do NOT do snakes.

Safety is a HUGE reason to mow! Yep, the little I know about venomous snakes would have me mowing!

 

[ChicoryBlue]

All you hawk experts I am trying to identify the hawk that has taken up residence. No good photos yet but it swooped quite low over me just now so I got a good but fleeting glimpse.
It is white underneath but I didn’t see any red on its tail or belly.
Do red tailed hawks ever not have red tails?

I am no expert, however juveniles don't typically show red tails and they have quite a few regional differences as well. In addition there are quite a few color variations (genetic mishaps?) that just randomly happen which can result in no red tail particularly when viewed from below as most of us see them.

If Red-Tail - Yes as was said, and there are various morphs. I've seen a very white Red-Tail. So white (only very faint brown streaks here and there) that first impression was of a small Snowy Owl. It eventually had a very pale orange-ish tail in the band where it should be rusty. I think in a grown one you would see the demarcation where the color bands would be, but juveniles likely hard to see.

If something else - could be a Northern Harrier, likes to fly low over open fields, hunts mice. Slender wings. Very plain above (variations in color, but it's generally plain), white below. Look for wing wrist markings sometimes visible, and a white rump is definite.
Could it be a young Cooper's? It has no horizontal bands on the tail?

 

[RoyalChick]

If Red-Tail - Yes as was said, and there are various morphs. I've seen a very white Red-Tail. So white (only very faint brown streaks here and there) that first impression was of a small Snowy Owl. It eventually had a very pale orange-ish tail in the band where it should be rusty. I think in a grown one you would see the demarcation where the color bands would be, but juveniles likely hard to see.

If something else - could be a Northern Harrier, likes to fly low over open fields, hunts mice. Slender wings. Very plain above (variations in color, but it's generally plain), white below. Look for wing wrist markings sometimes visible, and a white rump is definite.
Could it be a young Cooper's? It has no horizontal bands on the tail?

It is quite vocal and the sounds are like a Red-Tail or Red-Shoulder hawk (I am listening on the Cornell 'all about birds' site). I would have to listen to them side by side to be sure as they sound quite similar to me.
But they sound nothing like a Cooper's hawk or a Northern Harrier.
I will try and look more closely for color bands - honestly when it swooped over me it looked pure white but maybe I missed details because I did have one eye on the chickens to make sure they were under cover.
A juvenile would make sense as it is a newcomer to the area and seems to have moved in here.