Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[MaryJanet]

Hello! My family is all new to chickens except my husband was somewhat exposed a very little bit as a child. His Dad was actually a chicken catcher for a poultry a very big time meat bird raising company in the Deep South. This allowed him to bring home a few birds off of the chicken truck whenever he wanted at his on discretion. The good animal husbandry really never got to take place long at their house before the birds were made into dinner so his teaching opportunities for his Dad were not many to take use of or rather he did not choose to take them at best. So our knowledge base is new for chicks and only on what I have read and researched basically which is quite a lot but you can never beat hands on experience in my book especially for comfort in what you are doing. So far we have nice sweet healthy chicks about 12 days old. I do like your coop, your flock name, and your hen’s names. We asked for the most part very friendly birds and one specific breed which were the Buff Orpingtons. The hatchery was out of those so we got a lavender-black cross Orpington Which is both an egg layer or a meat eater but such a sweet personable hen. Then our more heat tolerant lighter weight birds are our full egg layers. Three Swedish flower hens, and three Creme Legbars. Now personally I think they sent 4 Creme Legbars and 2 Swedish Flower Hens. I know that flower hens can have very different coloring but this fourth one is a shade lighter but looks almost exactly like the Legbars and nothing like a Flower Hen. I want to call and ask the hatchery but all were expensive and she is my favorite bird and I’m not going to part with her unless she turns out to be a rooster but I don’t think she will. She is so friendly. We have names for all our girls too. Tina for our tiniest bird. Matcha for our lead girl or unsure origin, Poppie- the other flower Hen And Verbena. There is Thelma and Louise Betty, Onyx, and Jemima. We will plan to paint our coop yellow based on what my husband says because we need some brightness around here so we were all over that. I love the color you used on the Fluffy Acres Coop. Good Job! Today I have to chick proof the sides of our dog kennel so that I can take down the cardboard around the sides. I want them to be able to see the world around them but not fly through the side when they see me coming to try and get to me first ahead of everyone else. They are love bugs already but too fast for me to catch 9 at one time off the top of my head to keep baby chick poop off of it when they get all excited that’s what they do. Especially whe they are proud of themselves or excited.

Have a great day!

Pam

Hi Pam I'm a beginner chicken keeper too I've kept hens for almost two years and I'm still learning amazing things almost every day! Shadrach is the most widely experienced chicken keeper I've encountered and he's also got strong ethics with respect to his chickens. He's written some articles that are worth reading. Actually, this might be a good time to read his stuff - before your chicks are grown. That way you'll have a stock of knowledge later on when you'll need it. And I'd like to second the requests for photos! I love looking at little fluff balls and yours sound very cute!

 

[MaryJanet]

Yes. The New Jersey chapter is based in the Chicken Palace. Today's demand is that I wake up earlier because I am late letting them out of the coop. This morning there was so much shouting I pondered donning riot gear before entering.

Can I join the IFLC? These early morning starts are a bit much.

 

[MaryJanet]

Broody, 20 days left

I figure I will include the countdown with each broody post. Just keep everyone up to date.

I felt like I was in a spy movie today. When Sydney left the nest for her daily eating and bathing session, I snuck into the coop.

I quickly marked the eggs without touching them.
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I then entered the coop and installed broody cam. Here is Sydney returning to the nest after her break. If you zoom in you can see her adjusting the eggs as she settles in. It is very cute to see her wiggling around as she gets them into place.

It's amazing to watch her flip into her trance. It's like she flicked a switch.

Thanks for providing the countdown!

 

[MaryJanet]

High Speed Eating

One of the fun parts about watching Sydney right now is the high speed at which she does things when she does leave the nest. I posted earlier as to how I snuck around and added a camera and marked the eggs. I also had a moment to provide her with a treat. This video was not sped up. Check out how fast she shovels it in! For the most part she gets all the purple ones first as well!

When she lifts her head she's saying:

Wait. Did the eggs say something? *listen* no, keep eating nom nom nom Wait! They called to me. *listen* no, keep eating.

 

[MaryJanet]

I let them out again this morning
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Your gold and black crested bantam with the black face reminds me so much of Peggy! Same shape, same posture, same expression!

 

[Butterscotchbitesfinger]

Your gold and black crested bantam with the black face reminds me so much of Peggy! Same shape, same posture, same expression!

Haha that’s Alice.

 

[MaryJanet]

Haha that’s Alice.

They could be sisters, they're so alike.

 

[RoyalChick]

Can I join the IFLC? These early morning starts are a bit much.

I think you are inexperienced in union negotiations.
The IFLC union leaders demands are that I get up earlier in order to tend to their living conditions. My negotiating position is that I will wake up earlier if they will reliably come and dig in the veggie garden. We may need arbitration.

 

[BY Bob]

The wiggling does a few things. It gets the eggs clean. It gets them in good contact with the hot spot on her chest and in earth nest, makes a very small impression in the soil that helps keep the eggs in the correct orientation. Incredible to think that for the next 21 days she won't sleep; she'll trance but the eggs need to be turned. I've timed a few hens in the house nest box and they turn the eggs every 20 minutes on average. Well, to be precise, they move them or one every 20 minutes. I've tried to see how many in the clutch change position each time the hen reorganizes them but no luck.
Given the house nest box is only a few metres away from my bed I was quite surprised how much noise they make.
I also discovered that some of them snore.......

That is amazing. Mrs BY Bob logged into broody cam from work today and saw her fussing about. I guess she was turning the eggs. Thanks. I knew I would learn a lot through this process!

 

[BY Bob]

One thing I didn't mention is broody poop. It doesn't get much worse than that.

That I noticed right away.