Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[bgmathteach]

Fungi. Yeast are a member of the Kingdom, Fungi.

Sorry, but as a microbiologist I felt the need to add something useful to the conversation and assert my authority. There are a lot of smarty pants on this thread.

Yeast the noun, is treated as singular. yeast is a fungus, it is a member of the fungi family.



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No real intended, as you are SOOOOO much more knowledgeable in this area than I am! I'm just being a smarty-pants wise-***. Honestly, I bow down before your great knowledge!

 

[featherhead007]

Yeast the collective noun, is treated as singular. yeast is a fungus, it is a member of the fungi family.



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No real intended, as you are SOOOOO much more knowledgeable in this area than I am! I'm just being a smarty-pants wise-***. Honestly, I bow down before your great knowledge!

Tax!

 

[BY Bob]

I've been a bit distracted to be on BYC lately but I just had to share this story with my chook friends who I know will appreciate it.

I have been training Edwina to jump on to the garden bench on command. Well, I have just discovered that training goes both ways.

As many of you probably do, when I hear the escort call (Egg Song) I will often go out to check the nesting boxes for eggs, especially if it goes on for any length of time as I don't want to bother the neighbours.

This morning, before I had given the girls their scratch on the breakfast bar, I heard a very loud call from Edwina which went on for some time. Out I go to check for eggs and quiet her.
There is Edwina standing at the top of the ramp to the coop, chest puffed out, crowing for all she is worth.
I check the box.
No eggs.
Edwina jumps down from the top of the ramp and runs towards the breakfast bar. I don't respond so she comes back to me , starts crowing again and runs towards the breakfast bar.
The message is very clear.
" You hadn't fed us yet so I thought I'd remind you"

Listen girl, you have a treadle full of feed and a wide green lawn full of bugs and seed. I even found a cricket for you this morning!

Nope, she wanted her special serving on the breakfast bar.

Old photo of Pepper at the breakfast bar (with friend)
View attachment 3238219

Edwina is too smart for her own good.
View attachment 3238218

I love how they train us.

 

[BY Bob]

Did that sound sarcastic? I get that way, when it’s miserably hot out. 102f

It did as a matter of fact.

 

[BY Bob]

Paying my plant tax. I was saving it for Monday!

View attachment 3238236

What a beauty!

 

[ManueB]

@Marie2020 I am very happy that I was wrong and that Tina is better. I will be following for your updates on her health. You are definitely among those on the thread that have had enough chicken bad news for the time being!!
**************
@Ponypoor how are you feeling ?
************

So, I've been trying to work on improving my chicken's coexistence and haven't had much success.
( As a reminder I have two main groups who don't get along : 4 adult ex-batts and four 12 months old teenagers, plus one rooster and his free loader bantam true love Chipie who was a broody for the chicks and is hated by everyone except Théo.)

Since they all sleep in the coop, I've been locking them up together every morning in coop + run for 30 to 45 mn. Unfortunately this is not a success as the younger four just stay perched, until I open up for everyone, and the ex-batts are furious at being locked up and wait in front of the coop for the young one to come down so they can pick on them. So I'm.wondering how to change this strategy : do you think I should lock them up for a longer time ? Or should I just leave them be ?

I've also been working on improving the younger ones following me with food, the goal being to be able to lead them back to the coop. So that has worked a bit better, they now have a little bucket that they know means food and they will follow me with it, but not to the point of coming near the other chickens. They are more afraid than hungry!

One major development is that Gaston the cockerel has grown so much that he can not go through the chicken nettings anymore. My ex-batts are netted in a chicken zone of about 500m2, but the chicks and Théo and Chipie could just go through the nettings and wander anywhere. So now if I don't help Gaston to get out he's locked with the ex-batts. I thought this could be an opportunity to get them to learn to be together in a space big enough for all. Unfortunately the three other young pullets will stay with Gaston for maybe ten minutes and then they hop out and he's left on his own.
The ex-batts were not that nasty in the beginning but he's making such a fuss being afraid and jumping around that now they're beginning to be really tough on him and Léa, who's also getting quite big.

We had a sparrow hawk attack an hour ago (I spoke too soon saying those were over!). Everyone, even the group of teenagers , ran to go hide under the huge laurel tree in the middle of our chicken zone, but Gaston couldn't get inside the chicken nettings. I helped him because he was getting in a panic. Then, after the initial silence and alarm cries sequence, the ex+batts and Théo started chasing the young ones around, lots of shriek and shuffling (it's impossible to see what's going on under there) And now it's back to quiet, I'm hoping danger will force them to coexist more peacefully .
Tomorrow we're going away on errands and to see my mother so we are locking them up in coop and run for half the day. They'll just have to manage. My ex-batts are so not tolerant, and Gaston is just the worst coward. I really hope it's just a phase.

Sorry for the very long post and some photos of the teens from this morning. All that rain we have been getting the last two weeks is beginning to compensate the nine months drought!

Merle

Léa and Piou-piou

Léa, again

Gaston flower child

Chasing the small grass hoppers! Just like my cats when they were kittens!

 

[lightm]

A week later
Inky is still in her own little run even with Ginger gone . She has been sleeping with them fine at night, but in the morning, she won't come out. She is so scared that she hides in the nesting box all the time. During free range, it is all fine.

3 days ago Inky had one-on-one battle with Light and Honey during free range (apparently Light become the instigator after Ginger left, and she was the only friend of Inky before...). Inky won both of them! I thought she'd gain more confidence thus tried to put her in the big run again. Same result

Today we are going to swap Inky and Ginger, that is, my friend will give Ginger back and take Inky instead. I hope Inky can fit in there better with help of roosters.

Inky's new feather is coming in very nicely! New darker gray patch on the butt, soon to be fluffy

Fluffy butts from Foxy and Meimei

"Oh yes, we are coming!"

 

[lightm]

@Marie2020 I am very happy that I was wrong and that Tina is better. I will be following for your updates on her health. You are definitely among those on the thread that have had enough chicken bad news for the time being!!
**************
@Ponypoor how are you feeling ?
************

So, I've been trying to work on improving my chicken's coexistence and haven't had much success.
( As a reminder I have two main groups who don't get along : 4 adult ex-batts and four 12 months old teenagers, plus one rooster and his free loader bantam true love Chipie who was a broody for the chicks and is hated by everyone except Théo.)

Since they all sleep in the coop, I've been locking them up together every morning in coop + run for 30 to 45 mn. Unfortunately this is not a success as the younger four just stay perched, until I open up for everyone, and the ex-batts are furious at being locked up and wait in front of the coop for the young one to come down so they can pick on them. So I'm.wondering how to change this strategy : do you think I should lock them up for a longer time ? Or should I just leave them be ?

I've also been working on improving the younger ones following me with food, the goal being to be able to lead them back to the coop. So that has worked a bit better, they now have a little bucket that they know means food and they will follow me with it, but not to the point of coming near the other chickens. They are more afraid than hungry!

One major development is that Gaston the cockerel has grown so much that he can not go through the chicken nettings anymore. My ex-batts are netted in a chicken zone of about 500m2, but the chicks and Théo and Chipie could just go through the nettings and wander anywhere. So now if I don't help Gaston to get out he's locked with the ex-batts. I thought this could be an opportunity to get them to learn to be together in a space big enough for all. Unfortunately the three other young pullets will stay with Gaston for maybe ten minutes and then they hop out and he's left on his own.
The ex-batts were not that nasty in the beginning but he's making such a fuss being afraid and jumping around that now they're beginning to be really tough on him and Léa, who's also getting quite big.

We had a sparrow hawk attack an hour ago (I spoke too soon saying those were over!). Everyone, even the group of teenagers , ran to go hide under the huge laurel tree in the middle of our chicken zone, but Gaston couldn't get inside the chicken nettings. I helped him because he was getting in a panic. Then, after the initial silence and alarm cries sequence, the ex+batts and Théo started chasing the young ones around, lots of shriek and shuffling (it's impossible to see what's going on under there) And now it's back to quiet, I'm hoping danger will force them to coexist more peacefully .
Tomorrow we're going away on errands and to see my mother so we are locking them up in coop and run for half the day. They'll just have to manage. My ex-batts are so not tolerant, and Gaston is just the worst coward. I really hope it's just a phase.

Sorry for the very long post and some photos of the teens from this morning. All that rain we have been getting the last two weeks is beginning to compensate the nine months drought!

Merle
View attachment 3238674
Léa and Piou-piou
View attachment 3238675
Léa, againView attachment 3238676
Gaston flower child
View attachment 3238678
Chasing the small grass hoppers! Just like my cats when they were kittens!
View attachment 3238627

Love your pictures, especially the last one. It is majestic!

I am sorry that your chickens are not getting along. Maybe just let it be for now and when the others are too big to squeeze through the netting you can let them all be in the big area? But then I imagine Piou Piou would take much longer to be that size, so I don't know...

 

[RoyalChick]

The mad researcher strikes again. Will you leave me no old wisdom not debunked with real science?

Prolly not!


I love old remedies and wisdom - so much of it has a basis in chemistry and biology - and we learn more of that every day, but I am a scientist (and specifically a physiologist), so when I cannot imagine a biological basis for something I have to research it!

 

[RoyalChick]

This is such a better solution!! I try to purchase straight run just for this reason - so the boys don't get 'wasted'! I wish someone was doing this in the U.S., too!

I will not buy chicken in the store; instead, I use my extra boys as roasters (just like the article says, much better flavour and texture than any store bought chicken - plus I know they were raised lovingly) and my older hens I stew/slow cook in a crock pot. And make chicken soup or use the 'now tender' meat for other dishes. I may cry when I process.....but it is because they are loved and appreciated, and I know they had a good life here. I really can't say that about store bought (plus store bought chicken is bland and mushy in texture compared to my chickens grown normally and allowed to free range as much as possible.)

I do love this. Actually around me, several small family farms do similarly. It is why my own version of this has been to only buy from local farms.
The trouble is, I don't eat enough meat to make much of a difference to the survival of those farms. But I do what I can!