Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

Behind Bars
Betty is in the house. My office to be exact. It will be a nice warm night for her.

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Awww the indignity of it! Caged Women - remember that old TV show?

Don't worry Betty - it's for your own good What about Phyllis? or is she ok not being a frizzle....

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Is a friend going with Betty?

The Buckeyes have been using the Cozy Coop Corner as their base and making little forays about the run. Butters rested by one of the panels two times that I saw, sitting, and each time she turned onto her side against it, like she was sunbathing with the panel.
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I was out with extra mealworms and some corn this afternoon and found the nipple waterer frozen. Glad they have the heated dog bowl, which I topped up. -7F and going lower (that’s about -22C) right now, with wicked wind. Put the heating pad back in the coop, placed longwise so all hopefully can use it, set on low.

Snow is getting in the back vent with the intense wind. Good to know for next year, prob will place the coop so the back faces south next year. Last year it was that way and was better for this weather. I’d hoped the placement had it a bit more sheltered this year, but no.

I don’t know if the pad warmer is a good idea or not, just had the thought that snow coming in would melt, and the towel will get wet.

All my cams are not working. Think I read somewhere they don’t work below -4F?

Went out to check on them since no camera is working. All four are in the coop, but all trying to cram into the nest box. So there’s three in there and the fourth on the doorway half into it, that’s as far as she could fit. And yup, the towel with heating pad under it was wet on the north end where snow blew in on it, so I took it out, and instead lowered the air motion under the roost bars a little by dumping some hemp there and down in between to the tray below. Everybody talked (yelled at me?) while I was out there and put hemp around, but nobody moved an inch.

 

[TX Chick Noob]

Oh she is a beauty

I learnt my lesson a few years ago out on a job site when they plugged a new genny in and didn't reset the power from 480 to 110 - fried everything in the office trailers! Including the 2 high output office printers worth $9000 each - ooooops! I had removed the powersurge protectors from them because the printers wouldn't work - ooops! I got my fingers rapped for that!

So now I always make sure I have a power surge bar on everything (oooops!)

Bad Kelly Tax

Everyone is snuggled up tonight, it's -21C and snow squalls still back home. I love how Mr P is snuggled up to Buttercup haha!
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We have most important electronics on surge suppressors. Unfortunately the one GFCI plug at the end of the island was not. And some things we have no way to put in one. Like the electric water heater, and the inverter system that charges the 12 volt battery. Those may have gotten fried too.

 

[featherhead007]

Power finally back on. Praying it stays that way.

Your outage knocked out my internet service!

Behind Bars
Betty is in the house. My office to be exact. It will be a nice warm night for her.

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Hi Betty

 

[featherhead007]

Betty, don’t worry about anything. I have a good lawyer and he can help. I don’t believe any of the rumors about what put you behind bars anyways! Sit tight and I’ll get you out very soon.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Oh lord. I hadn’t thought about the cameras atopping working. I know they won’t charge in the cold but I didn’t know they didn’t work. Ugh.
I think after this experience I may invest in a second flat panel heater so I can have one at ground level like you have.
Off out to put my space heater out in the coop now everyone is in bed.
Socks, scarf, hat and gloves are all needed for that task.

I’ve thought a coop panel in their little coop space, even on low, might be too warm otherwise I would set that up. Maybe not on a night like tonight though. But with everyone feathered now they’re probably okay.

What, you are hardly equipped to venture out! Double wool socks! Balaclava, ear warmer headband, retrofitted N95 mask, no skin exposed! Double long johns, wool sweater, fleece hoodie, double windbreaker, leather mittens with wool liners. Then go forth!

 

[featherhead007]

Awww the indignity of it! Caged Women - remember that old TV show?

Don't worry Betty - it's for your own good What about Phyllis? or is she ok not being a frizzle....

I am gonna help Betty, don’t you worry.

 

[RoyalChick]

I’ve thought a coop panel in their little coop space, even on low, might be too warm otherwise I would set that up. Maybe not on a night like tonight though. But with everyone feathered now they’re probably okay.

What, you are hardly equipped to venture out! Double wool socks! Balaclava, ear warmer headband, retrofitted N95 mask, no skin exposed! Double long johns, wool sweater, fleece hoodie, double windbreaker, leather mittens with wool liners. Then go forth!

Actually you are right - even with just a short walk to the Chicken Palace I was very chilled coming back in and it took a while for my toes to stop tingling. No lasting damage, but it shows how careful you need to be. My face was exposed but I have a big hood (on top of my very warm beanie hat) and that meant my face was out of the wind. The wind is brutal.

 

[featherhead007]

I left the house this morning and headed to the car. Jaffar was following me all the way. I told him that I had to go to town and he had to stay with the girls. He got mad at me and screamed at me ( wow watta grouch) ! He’s okay now that I have more meally worms for him and the others.

 

[BY Bob]

Neither the automated phone line or the online system had any way to indicate special issues. I think anyone who has “permanent” medical issues is supposed to register with them so they know in advance.

Oncor is horrible. There are lots of power poles in our area that have been about to fall over for more than a year or two and they never seem to do anything until they actually break or fall. Maintenance of trees, poles, power lines, etc is ridiculous. After the past two February’s in the area they definitely should have been more prepared but weren’t. The number of total outages may not seem like much compared to total customers. But they don’t have the resources to deal with even that many at a time.

We had ice still on the ground and coating everything until early yesterday, but have been above freezing most of the time since then. Some areas still had bad roads but most were passable. So they should have made a lot more progress yesterday than they did.

The generator had tripped again when I woke up at 7:30 am. He got it going again and we have managed to limp it along since then by adapting plugs to run the trailer on the 30amp circuit. Just means we can’t have our supplemental heaters/etc going or it draws too much power. Replacement breaker shows to be in transit for delivery today.

So far we know our Keurig and electric kettle got fried, possibly some other things as well, when the breaker malfunctioned the first time and pumped 220v into the system instead of 110v. We are lucky it didn’t destroy a lot more. Would love to make them pay to replace things but no way to prove the generator was at fault.

Electrical whining tax:
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So much unnecessary hardship. I wish companies cared enough to actually take care of their customers.

Call the Attorney General at some point and file a complaint. It should be easier for people in need to tell the power company they are.