Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[rural mouse]

Just ran across this article

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...and-start-raising-your-chicks-outdoors.71995/

 

[ValarieF]

Are they just making noise or are they trying to scare your chooks somehow?

They are moving sheet metal.

 

[ValarieF]

I found a spot on Coco’s foot. Beginning of bumble foot. She’s sleeping on a soft blanket tonight.

This is the best bumblefoot video and works great no surgery

 

[RoyalChick]

Scroll down. They have chicken, turkey, duck, and rabbit... all with mouse.

Oooh. I missed that. I am going to see if I can get a hold of the rabbit one and give it a try. Thanks!

 

[Pastel the Rooster]

And that’s why it makes absolutely no sense to be checking far out of condition animals in the process of learning about body condition scoring. Commercial CX are processed between 8-10 weeks, and follow very specific feeding regimens… almost all of the process is highly automated and regulated, at least in Canada. The broilers shouldn’t be overweight if they are being used for training purposes. (My husband was considering leaving his career in retail meat department management to be a meat inspector (a federal government position here… so really good pension$$$) before we “retired” to the family farm here. We both work in the meat industry… now bearing in mind that commercial poultry bears zero resemblance to back yard flocks, or even small scale meat and egg farms like our own and those I am most familiar with.

I completely agree with you. Now, saying this, I still think it is animal abuse. But for the judging we needed different sized poultry, except for the laying hens. There were a few okay weight meat birds, but there was one that was way overweight. For the competition there needed to be four broilers of four different sizes or weights. The number 4 bird (there was four cages and one bird in each cage) was the lightest. Number 3 and 2 were about the same, but number 1 is the big one. It could hardly stand or walk. When it laid down, its body spread out so much. Poor baby. I am very surprised that none of them had heart attacks. I actually wish they did, that way they wouldn't need to be alive any longer. It broke me apart, hearing them with their little chirps. With the hens, we are seeing how well they lay. Number 4 (who Rudely bit my finger) had laid the most. Number 3 had hardy laid. Number two was the second best layer, and then number 1. So on my paper, I would buble in 4213. In order of how good of layers they are. I hope it makes sense now. It was fun for the most part, but it was the birds that ruined it for me. I enjoyed grading chicken carcasses ( I hope that those broilers are on their way to heaven) and I enjoyed grading eggs. Just seeing people hold the birds by the legs, and the birds freak out and flap around, and people dropping them, just broke my heart into millions of pieces.

 

[rural mouse]

I got thirsty mugs yesterday!

I also got bathing beauties

 

[RoyalChick]

A quick Eli update for Thirsty Thursday
I went out to the Chicken Palace just as everyone was waking up. That girl just cannot resist the offer of sunflower seeds!
Her crop was nice and empty this morning. I got to give her a cuddle (which she did not appreciate) and have her perch on my arm and eat sunflower seeds (which she appreciated very much!).
She is tail up and running around but I have not yet seen a big normal poop.
I will be on poop watch later today when the sun comes out.
Here my girl is yesterday drinking and drinking. Silly girl dunks almost her whole head in the bowl so her beard gets sopping wet.

 

[Ponypoor]

A quick Eli update for Thirsty Thursday
I went out to the Chicken Palace just as everyone was waking up. That girl just cannot resist the offer of sunflower seeds!
Her crop was nice and empty this morning. I got to give her a cuddle (which she did not appreciate) and have her perch on my arm and eat sunflower seeds (which she appreciated very much!).
She is tail up and running around but I have not yet seen a big normal poop.
I will be on poop watch later today when the sun comes out.
Here my girl is yesterday drinking and drinking. Silly girl dunks almost her whole head in the bowl so her beard gets sopping wet.

View attachment 3419493

Keep an eye out for poops, I say she looks really nice, if she is scratching around and fluffing about there can't be much wrong with her. Maybe she just needs more fluids to go with dry foods.

I give a porridge made from soaking the chicken crumble feed with hot water every morning - they really love it and it gives extra fluids to them. In the wild they would be eating bugs and what-not full of fluids.

I also wonder if she is playing with the water - I have a horse that does that - she put her head in the water with head in the water almost up to her eyes, then she starts swirling around the water and splashing and flipping her head so the water flies everywhere!

One of the chicks would dig the water and run his beak through it in the bowl like a duck would - made such a mess! so I went to a water fountain - still tried to scratch and dig the water but not as much of a mess

OK well I look forward to see a great big lovely fresh normal doodoo later on

 

[BY Bob]

What I cannot fathom is why there isn’t mouse flavored cat food

It's crazy right. They are fairly easy to raise in quantity. And cats supposedly love their flavor.

 

[RoyalChick]

I got thirsty mugs yesterday!
View attachment 3419479


I also got bathing beauties
View attachment 3419480

Is the tire/tyre the container of wild water?