Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

Night time...

Ok all - I am off to bed - I have had a trying day, I haven't had the will to read everyones best wishes yet - still too raw - and surreal! And frustrating, I wanted so much to put cameras in the horses stalls but the lady 'didn't want anyone watching her clean stalls'...

I wanted to watch my horses - not her doing stalls
Maybe I could have had a different outcome if I had been watching (there's that would-a, could-a, should-a thing we are so good at).

But I am thankful I have my cameras with my chooks - so I can look at their antics.

Tonight is another 'lets roost anywhere' night. But at least I can count 13 of the little terrors!

Thanks all for your thoughts - very much appreciated.

 

[Grandma The Chicken]

Would-a, could-a, should-a.... Hard things to not do as a human: dwell upon things that we can't change. I have plenty of those also, to this day I blame myself for my father's death 100% - as a Nurse I should have known; could have done something; or would have done better. And while I know that I can't go down that path - I do.

I am not going to tell you to not feel guilty - because you will - even though you shouldn't.
I am not going to tell you it wasn't your fault - you won't believe me - but you should believe me - it wasn't.

I am also not going to agree with you that Mal was the only chicken that really liked you - that just isn't true - all your gals like you, and you know how I know this?

All I have to do is look at the photos of them waiting by the back door, jumping for blueberries, sitting near you.... being around you. The smile on your face, the stories you tell.

All your chickens - yes even Aurora think of you as part of their flock, they just show it in different ways - the same as people show friendship or affection in different ways. Everyone is different and animals are no different.

Should you forget 24 January? Nope absolutely not - it is a defining point in your life. But please be gentle with yourself - non of us can predict the future.

And remember - it's always ok to get misty eyed when thinking of loved ones. Just don't dwell on the sad too much - try to think of the good most of the time.

I would 100% agree to that. Most people blame things on themselves because they think it was their fault that something bad happened. But of course, it's not always your fault. Things happen for a reason. I know you, Bob, are a very caring chicken owner so don't blame yourself for Maleficient's (sorry if I spelled her name wrong) death. I mean, I've lost two chickens in the past and I really wish they were still with me. And yes, I also blame myself for certain things that aren't really my fault. Like Pony said, think about the good times you had with Maleficient. I mean, I can't even think of good times I had with Security Guard and Rose other than SG looking up at the sky and Rose following Grandma (then called Pip) around the yard. I mean, this was years ago but anyways, can we stop talking about sad stuff?

 

[featherhead007]

Greenland?

Greenland Iceland and volcanoes. And imagination! Look the movie up

 

[knoturavggrl]

I am so glad they are warming up to you - though I knew they would. They, especially Bab,s weren't unfriendly (well, she would chat with me at night when I put her in the coop - AFTER the initial blood-curdling screech -'you're gonna kill me'.......oh, no, maybe not)

Is there a way you could rig up a 'roost/landing board' in front of the nest box, like this? They might land on that...then be willing to 'explore' the nest box.

Perhaps, I will comb the garages and see what I can find that might fit the bill. Good idea thank you

Sally
Today has been a rollercoaster ride with my poor old Sally; the woman where I keep my horses when I am away, told me last night Sally wasn't acting right. She wasn't eating, and was just standing there.

This morning she still hadn't eaten and wasn't acting right. I asked them to call the Vet to come on out. Well things went from bad to catastrophic; she was doing 'head pressing' where horses press their heads into the wall, and she freaked out and tried to crash through the stall bars, in fact her head went through the bars and the bars had to be cut to get her free.

The Vet called me asking if she had a Rabies vaccine (YES! Always get rabies - it's a $10 shot which not only protects the horse but YOU and your family - rabies = death). The neurological symptoms she was displaying could be rabies, brain tumor, stroke..... So with Rabies cleared up and with no other thing he could find wrong with her, it was decided that the most humane thing would be to put her down. It would have done no good to try to get her in a trailer to go to the Vet College - that would have ended badly I am sure, I have seen horses freaking out in a trailer - not good. At her age also, she could have had a stroke, or even a tumor. Why let her suffer? and she was a danger to those around her, crashing around trying to bash through things

So my poor old Sally is no more. One needs to have nerves of steel to have kids and pets


View attachment 3386080

05 April 2000 - 25 Jan 2023

I am so very sorry for your loss and that you are away when it happened. The circle of friends you have here are gathered around and will be here when you need to talk, or cry or vent. Till then lots of these

Ask Aurora

Today's question comes from @RebeccaBoyd chicken "A disgraced and tired monarch".

View attachment 3386263

She writes......

Dear Aurora,

How does a reigning queen recover from being utterly humiliated in front of her entire kingdom, horses included by her human servant. I am molting now and therefore am entitled to be grouchy. I get no peace at night and constantly have to peck everyone who thinks it is wise to try to snuggle up close to me. I NEED my space right now. Tonight I desperately wanted a good night sleep so I chose to sleep in the hay pile. I worked so hard to arrange every piece of hay to hide all but my comb. Imagine my horror a few hours later when my human stumbled upon me while throwing down hay to feed the horses. I do not care what she said, I did not almost get crushed by a tossed hay bale, it missed me by inches. I also do not think I deserved to then be forcefully removed from my bed and carried in front of everyone loudly protesting only to be unceremoniously plopped down on the roost in the chicken coop and locked in. That coop is for the silkies and mothers with babies. Now I have to listen to non-stop chatter of the little pip-squeaks and their mothers until morning. If I wanted to hear children peeping I would hatch some myself. I just wanted a good nights sleep.

Yours sincerely,

A disgraced and tired monarch.


Dear A disgraced and tired monarch,

Human servants can be so frustrating. I am constantly being asked questions about “Why do they do this?” “Why do they do that?”. Invariably the indignity done to you happens to every chicken at some point in their lives. What is to be done about it?

Sadly as hard as we work to train our human servants some of them will never reach the status of the truly enlightened ones. Ones who respect our ways and visit as little physical indignity as possible. Of course, we want to be rescued from some location where we were trapped or god forbid the super dangerous pools of water that sometimes populate their yards. I don’t understand their obsession with jumping in water and splashing around. You would think they were imbeciles splashing around like a bunch of brainless ducks. Nonetheless, If that goofy Phyllis falls in the pool again (it would be at least the 4th time, my gosh she is dense) I am sure she will want our human servant to pull her out and dry her off. But that should be the absolute limit of any contact. If Glynda wants to jump up on the human’s lap and talk to him in order to make a point, more power to her. But don’t dare try to pick her up and hold her.

I’d like to say our human servant knows this and really most of the time he is pretty good. However, lately for some reason, who knows why, he has taken to picking Hattie up and moving her to where the rest of us are in the yard. I don’t know why he is doing this. It is very vexing to both me and Hattie.

I have worked very hard to get Hattie to understand that it is best she sticks around her house. In fact, I just spent more than 20 minutes trying to convince her that it is in her interest to sleep in her house and not in my coop. It was exhausting chasing her out onto the porch only to have her come back in. It feels like I have been running in circles for days and now I must sleep in a nest box because it is too dark to roost. Why won’t she just take the hint?

So everyone is mad, me because Hattie is with us again and Hattie because he picked her up and moved her about the yard like she was some kind of stupid garden gnome.

I’ll tell you what, last time he picked Hattie up I was so mad I sent Lady Featherington after him. She was going to peck him hard if he had not moved quickly.

Sometimes I really wish I had a newspaper………

And that leads me back to your problem. Unfortunately, there is not a lot you can do. The humans are bigger than us and sometimes they are quite dense, like yours. Try to train them as best you can but sooner or later they are going to pick you up. What you need to do is make them pay a price for picking you up.

You can do that immediately by pecking them hard and often. They do not realize how much a peck can hurt until you show them. You never know they might be startled and drop you. Look for a piece of their skin that is visible, peck it hard, and be ready to flap as soon as you peck so you can land gracefully. If pecking them doesn’t work there is another way to make them pay a price for being so disrespectful.

Humans really live in a mushy state where they feel all their chickens should like each other and get along. We all know that is not The Way of the Chicken but sadly most humans do not. Therefore a great way to hurt their feelings is to terrorize all of the lessor chickens in your tribe. Now you need to be careful not to go too far as you don’t want cause too much distress. The key is cause enough to make you feel better and to remind everyone that they will pay a price whenever you as disgraced in this manner. It has the added benefit of securing your reign as top hen by remind everyone of their place. Do try to pick on their favorites as that will cause them the most distress and be certain to do it while they are watching. Sudden and unprovoked is best.

Sansa was exceptionally good at this. Gosh I admired her moxie. She knew how to the play the game the right way. I’ll never forget one night Phyllis thought she should be allowed to roost in the prime spot on the roost and Sansa was torqued over the human giving Phyllis more walnuts than her that afternoon. Walnuts were Sansa’s special thing with the human, and she knew that goofy old Phyllis was one of his favorites. So with him watching she walked right up to Phyllis on the roost and just pecked her right in the face. Gosh it was glorious. I never laughed so hard in my life. She was a true chicken that Sansa.

Before I go let’s discuss this chick situation you have going on at night. You need to put a stop to the incessant cheeping. I can only imagine how annoying that is. You have erred greatly in permitting this to continue and you need to put a stop to it. Now let me first say, I love the young ones. Not enough mind you to waste months of my valuable time hatching and raising them. I am a career hen. I don’t have time for that. But I respect the hens like Sydney who decide to take on the task of raising the next generation. I have had many chances to be with the little ones and I think that when they are raised well, they are little darlings. I love nothing more than walking by and talking to them, showing them the best grass to eat, etc. Remember, chicks are our future. It is not their fault if they are badly behaved. It is their mother’s fault and that is where you need to address their behavior.

You have been lax and now you are going to have to drop the hammer. If a momma hen can’t keep her chicks in line than you need to send one of your minions to deliver a message. Of course, pick a hen who is smart enough to actually relay the message. Once they deliver the necessary discipline and message I assure you that things should calm down. I do know that I addressed this with Sydney up front. I threatened her nest. I told her I would destroy it like I destroyed Phyllis’s nest if she did not promise to keep her little ones in line. Sydney knew the ground rules and Ned and Lucky were perfectly behaved little darlings. I hope that someday one of my tribe will hatch out little ones again. I just hope that the human does not let that annoying Phyllis hatch eggs. She would be even more unbearable than she is now. And can you imagine, a bunch of those little weirdos running around. How annoying would that be!

View attachment 3386268

What an amazing resource Aurora is! You must thank her for all her on point advice. More blueberries for the Queen! I love these!!

Would-a, could-a, should-a.... Hard things to not do as a human: dwell upon things that we can't change. I have plenty of those also, to this day I blame myself for my father's death 100% - as a Nurse I should have known; could have done something; or would have done better. And while I know that I can't go down that path - I do.

I am not going to tell you to not feel guilty - because you will - even though you shouldn't.
I am not going to tell you it wasn't your fault - you won't believe me - but you should believe me - it wasn't.

I am also not going to agree with you that Mal was the only chicken that really liked you - that just isn't true - all your gals like you, and you know how I know this?

All I have to do is look at the photos of them waiting by the back door, jumping for blueberries, sitting near you.... being around you. The smile on your face, the stories you tell.

All your chickens - yes even Aurora think of you as part of their flock, they just show it in different ways - the same as people show friendship or affection in different ways. Everyone is different and animals are no different.

Should you forget 24 January? Nope absolutely not - it is a defining point in your life. But please be gentle with yourself - non of us can predict the future.

And remember - it's always ok to get misty eyed when thinking of loved ones. Just don't dwell on the sad too much - try to think of the good most of the time.

 

[featherhead007]

I thought maybe Jaffar would like Disney movies. Wow was I wrong about that. He growled at me and laid down and fell asleep on my bed. Okay, Clint Eastwood movies from now on it is,,,,, Gezz he’s hard to please!

 

[featherhead007]

Discontented rooster:
“Leave me alone and no Disney movies EVER!!”

 

[Ponypoor]

I was out after some pictures and this girl once again drew my attention to her. She is going to be a hard one to let go when it is time to place the pullet's I do not plan on keeping in a few months. Frankly if she stays much longer I may not let her go and keep her for Ducky's companion. If you cannot tell by her butterball shape she is my only cochin mix chick that I have managed to hatch out. She is also one of the ones that nearly froze to death that dreaded day. I swear if I were within a hours distance of @RoyalChick I would put her in a box, stick a bow on top and leave her in front of her coop door. This young chunky monkey is going to be too heavy one day to fly up to the rafters with the math majors. She would have to sleep next to Bernie.
View attachment 3386151View attachment 3386153View attachment 3386154View attachment 3386155View attachment 3386156

Her name is Perdita
It means the lost one, I know she isn’t lost but I like the name

 

[Ponypoor]

I would 100% agree to that. Most people blame things on themselves because they think it was their fault that something bad happened. But of course, it's not always your fault. Things happen for a reason. I know you, Bob, are a very caring chicken owner so don't blame yourself for Maleficient's (sorry if I spelled her name wrong) death. I mean, I've lost two chickens in the past and I really wish they were still with me. And yes, I also blame myself for certain things that aren't really my fault. Like Pony said, think about the good times you had with Maleficient. I mean, I can't even think of good times I had with Security Guard and Rose other than SG looking up at the sky and Rose following Grandma (then called Pip) around the yard. I mean, this was years ago but anyways, can we stop talking about sad stuff?

Yes kiddo we sure can

Here is a happy time with the chickies pooping all over the horses hay before I can stack it up and cover it so they can’t poop on it!

 

[Ponypoor]

Her name is Perdita
It means the lost one, I know she isn’t lost but I like the name

Sorry @RebeccaBoyd I am naming your chickies now hahaha

 

[BY Bob]

Would-a, could-a, should-a.... Hard things to not do as a human: dwell upon things that we can't change. I have plenty of those also, to this day I blame myself for my father's death 100% - as a Nurse I should have known; could have done something; or would have done better. And while I know that I can't go down that path - I do.

I am not going to tell you to not feel guilty - because you will - even though you shouldn't.
I am not going to tell you it wasn't your fault - you won't believe me - but you should believe me - it wasn't.

I am also not going to agree with you that Mal was the only chicken that really liked you - that just isn't true - all your gals like you, and you know how I know this?

All I have to do is look at the photos of them waiting by the back door, jumping for blueberries, sitting near you.... being around you. The smile on your face, the stories you tell.

All your chickens - yes even Aurora think of you as part of their flock, they just show it in different ways - the same as people show friendship or affection in different ways. Everyone is different and animals are no different.

Should you forget 24 January? Nope absolutely not - it is a defining point in your life. But please be gentle with yourself - non of us can predict the future.

And remember - it's always ok to get misty eyed when thinking of loved ones. Just don't dwell on the sad too much - try to think of the good most of the time.

This is really wonderful of you to say. I can tell it is from the heart.

I know that Maleficent is not the only chicken that really liked me but at that time she was the only one that chose to spend time with me regardless of whether I had food or not. She was like Daisy in all the good ways. Just sitting in my lap or doing all her grooming on the chair with me. She was special.

Yes, I know they all look forward to seeing me and I love them all for who they are.

For you to write this to me today of all days, with what you have experienced, well you surely are a special lady. I am super glad to have met you here. You are one of the good ones.