Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Léa thanks you for your article. She found it really explicative (though she would have liked a conversion to grams). Now she's trying to calculate how much she should eat

Funny stuff.

 

[RoyalChick]

DANGER DANGER RUN HIDE…


Just had some excitement here with a hawk - I was doing stalls and heard the crows kicking up a ruckus so I ran out and it was flying away - but were was everyone? They had been down in the paddock with the horses.

I ran down the paddock and didn’t see them
I started calling for them and whiskers came creeping out of the long grass and golden rod in the alleyway between the paddocks, then Misty, then I enticed Sophia out… but where were Blanche and Buttercup and Mr P - more frantic now I started running the fence calling them, oh there is Mr P, but he was all tangled and stuck in the golden rod and couldn’t get out, I hopped the fence and started breaking the stocks, but he started panicking and screaming, which brought Blanche and Buttercup running, ok good found those two..
The more I tried to get MrP out the more he panicked so I pretty much just pushed him through the goldenrod stalks till he was able to get through the fence!

They all beat a hasty retreat to the barn then, I did a head count. 13 ok good! I slammed the back door to the barn and told them no more running amok!

But one thing, I was happy to see that they knew to hide in the brush! Of course that’s were the foxes lurk! Oh me nerves! Who knew chickens could be so much stress !

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Oh Lordy heart stopping moment!
So glad you found them all. Interesting on the Goldenrod - mine hang out in great thickets of Goldenrod.

 

[RoyalChick]

I am rethinking not handling Mr P more. If I need to handle him I need him to be compliant and not kick up a fuss. Going to start desensitizing him today. He needs to learn I am not going to hurt him.

I need to do the same with Bernadette. She hangs out with me and will peck at my shoes and legs, but if I move towards her she uses her great long legs to get the hell out of dodge. She runs like an ostrich which always makes me laugh. And of course gives me great joy to see those legs of hers working!

 

[Ponypoor]

I heard bee wax is good

Yep but hard to get and to apply.

Today is iffy likely won’t get any blanket work done today.

 

[RoyalChick]

The rebar did 2 things...slide through eye bolts of both panels to hold them together, and helped to stabilize...particularly kept the roof in place when I put it on after the sides were up. These are terrible sketches, but this is what it looked like... (note,everything folded up so it was 5.5' long, 3' high, and 6 2X3's wide...great for storing) I've thought about making a bigger one,and putting it on a frame - same dimensions as pen will be) Using someting like this along the sides, and this at the corners with a pin with cotter pin to hold in place. Make moving it around easier, as base frame would have wheels, but sides/top would fold up, and when removed from base, base would be fairly flat (maybe 8" deep,at most, depth of tires) Since I would only use in warmer months (not winter) 2X2 or 2X3 will be enough for framing of pen panels, but I would use 2X4 for base it would rest on for pulling/moving.

But, alas, that isn't to be right now, as I need to build another coop before winter!

Ooops, EDITED to add terrible sketches!View attachment 3284626View attachment 3284627
Note, I decided on those dimensions as I made it out of 8' length wood (2.5 + 5.5 = 8'), and 8X8 would have been too big for what I wanted at the time.)

I have doggy play pen panels for temporary runs. I cover them in either deer netting or the 2x4” hardware cloth. I use twist ties to fix it to the top and sides. The good thing is the panels dismantle very easily. The bad is it is too low to walk in (unless you are a dog of course!).

 

[Ponypoor]

Oh Lordy heart stopping moment!
So glad you found them all. Interesting on the Goldenrod - mine hang out in great thickets of Goldenrod.

I think the issue is that it’s really thick and the stocks are like wood now. I think if they had been roaming in there all year they could have made paths through it.

But I don’t let them wander around because of predation here.

Mr P IS A WILD THING! But I got hold of him and trimmed his feathers - still need to do more on the one side though. He was so panicked I though he would have a heart attack

Definitely needs to be handled.

Believe it or not I did cut lots off!

 

[RoyalChick]

Oh Lordy heart stopping moment!
So glad you found them all. Interesting on the Goldenrod - mine hang out in great thickets of Goldenrod.

Goldenrod tax: Maggie in the Goldenrod

 

[RoyalChick]

I think the issue is that it’s really thick and the stocks are like wood now. I think if they had been roaming in there all year they could have made paths through it.

But I don’t let them wander around because of predation here.

Mr P IS A WILD THING! But I got hold of him and trimmed his feathers - still need to do more on the one side though. He was so panicked I though he would have a heart attack

Definitely needs to be handled. View attachment 3284667

Believe it or not I did cut lots off!

He is a fine looking fella. I think the Goldenrod gets woody towards the end of the season - I just had a look at some of mine and it is definitely thick and solid in some areas

 

[Ponypoor]

He is a fine looking fella. I think the Goldenrod gets woody towards the end of the season - I just had a look at some of mine and it is definitely thick and solid in some areas

I am afraid to chop too much feathers too short as I don’t know if they have a blood supply still! But that left eye needs to be more clear so will trim around it tomorrow.

 

[RoyalChick]

I don’t understand this whole molting thing. Maggie seems to get more naked by the minute and is not interested in any of the yummy things I try to tempt her with except apple cores that don’t seem like a high protein food to me!
Meanwhile, here is Diana. No sign of molting that I can see. I do hope she isn’t saving that up for when it is truly cold!