Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

I got no fluffy butts today. Im weak (my legs arent working very well) and tired and the run is muddy. I fed and watered the chooks and gave them treats.

Feel better soon.

 

[Kris5902]

Boreal owl

Has anyone had any experience with boreal owls and chickens?

This owl has been hanging out in the tree right beside the largest of my runs.
View attachment 3374398

It looks large in this photo, but it is very small. I am worried that it could fit through the fencing as gray jays regularly do. It's body is more squat than a gray jay, but it is also puffed up due to the cold.

I have closed off that run and just left the covered one accessible to the hens. Am I being overly cautious? This owl is here during the day and at dusk and is not at all phased by our two dogs barking at it from inside the house.

Edit to add that the run is netted.

Netting won’t stop an owl. I’m not sure about the size, but I have Barn and Pygmy owls that haven’t been a bother to the chickens at all (about 1/3 the size of a chicken). I have had a LOT of problems with Eastern Barred though. They are preferred bird eaters, and easily large and aggressive enough to take out 1-7chickens at a time. They also climb readily and can use this to slip between your netting and trees/hay bales. They are not protected in my area as a destructive and invasive species. If it’s a very small owl it might not be a problem, but caution is advised for sure.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Snack bar today, a couple of fluffy butts. Peanut is in the back, second from left, she's fully feathered but the length is not complete. Her feathers have come in a dark maroon-ish brown, very lovely.

I've found so far with the cardboard sides that they peck at wet soft stuff mostly. When I've replaced it, the pecking stops. They will investigate white labels so I remove them.

 

[Ponypoor]

Everyone tucked in for the night - wow Mr P's feathers are very shiny!

 

[Ponypoor]

Boreal owl

Has anyone had any experience with boreal owls and chickens?

This owl has been hanging out in the tree right beside the largest of my runs.
View attachment 3374398

It looks large in this photo, but it is very small. I am worried that it could fit through the fencing as gray jays regularly do. It's body is more squat than a gray jay, but it is also puffed up due to the cold.

I have closed off that run and just left the covered one accessible to the hens. Am I being overly cautious? This owl is here during the day and at dusk and is not at all phased by our two dogs barking at it from inside the house.

Edit to add that the run is netted.

They are tiny - I wouldn't think they would be a threat to a full grown chicken....

A snowy owl I would worry about though!

BTW Great Photo!!!

 

[Ponypoor]

More math. I was told there would be no math! First it is chicken math, addition and subtraction. That is bad enough. Then there is chicken calculus for flying chickens. Now we are doing chicken economics which is also calculus if I remember right. @bgmathteach must be thrilled.

Don't forget that in all economics there is an Elasticity of Demand on all commodities... And add in substitution, and well then it gets just plain crazy!

Chicken Economics Tax

Last night - Blanche had it all to herself - for a while!

 

[Lexicon]

You might consult your local Audubon chapter for how these owls behave in your specific area. My guess is that adult chickens are too big for them to consider prey and it is after the mice. Bantams would be probably small enough, and chicks would be, definitely. The owl may have spotted that mice are scurrying around getting feed and scratch and whatnot on the ground. They wait above on a branch, watching, and swoop down when ready to pounce. The mice may be going in and out of the run in their foraging. Edit to add you have voles more than mice?
Yes then the voles…

We have more voles outside, but it is always mice that get into the house! I do see the little footprints in the snow in the run, so yes they're there. I wouldn't mind if it took care of some of those! It's really a gorgeous owl.
My husband took another photo of it today:

 

[lightm]

Snack bar today, a couple of fluffy butts. Peanut is in the back, second from left, she's fully feathered but the length is not complete. Her feathers have come in a dark maroon-ish brown, very lovely.
View attachment 3374621
View attachment 3374622
I've found so far with the cardboard sides that they peck at wet soft stuff mostly. When I've replaced it, the pecking stops. They will investigate white labels so I remove them.

So chubby and fluffy!

 

[lightm]

Not the best fluff from Foxy, but I think it is a great picture of her.

 

[Lexicon]

They are tiny - I wouldn't think they would be a threat to a full grown chicken....

A snowy owl I would worry about though!

BTW Great Photo!!!

Thanks, the owl is seriously tiny, about the size of a robin. A snowy owl would get tangled in our netting, but I was worried that this owl could fit between the wires in my fencing, but it doesn't sound like that's how it hunts. I have let the hens out into the big run as it's a lovely mild day (-10C) and I want them to enjoy themselves.
Bistro laid the first egg since last October!!