Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

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.

I'm so sorry you had to experience this. The world and humans can be so disappointing at times.

 

[rural mouse]

Is the tire/tyre the container of wild water?

Usually, yes. I did a lot of filling yesterday. During the summer, I use the hose and just go around filling the tires (I've got 5 at the moment) so there are several drinking sites. 4 are leaning against the garage to catch roof runoff. Yesterday it was an empty vinegar jug filled at the kitchen sink....on repeat....but I got at least some water in every tire. They're all frozen again this morning, but today's temps should do some thawing and the dark color should help too.

 

[BY Bob]

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

This all seems like good news to me. Now for poop watch.

 

[bgmathteach]

Don’t forget the pet food industry and frozen baby chicks… and ground cockerels (yes bad, awful… I agree) go into pet food etc… so if you are feeding your Pet dog a quality kibble with Chicken as a Main ingredient…

A lot of 'spent' laying hens go into commercial pet food - they break too many bones in transit (bones too fragile), that the meat isn't usable as regular chicken meat due to spoiling from broken blood vessels. They mostly get used for animal food.

 

[bgmathteach]

@RoyalChick I was thinking this morning as I let the chooks out of the coops - maybe you should consider getting an Astralorp? They are beautiful black birds with clean legs ( no muffs/beards), that are iridescent in the light. They are also calm, even-keeled girls, and have a fair amount of fluff on their bottoms! Not unlike Hattie - Astralorps were created from Orpingtons.

Just a thought of a breed to consider! (and, they wouldn't be roosting in the rafters once they hit adult size!)
@BY Bob what do you think?

Based on the couple of girls I have, if I spent the time with them that you do, I am sure they would be lap birds!

 

[rural mouse]

@RoyalChick I was thinking this morning as I let the chooks out of the coops - maybe you should consider getting an Astralorp? They are beautiful black birds with clean legs ( no muffs/beards), that are iridescent in the light. They are also calm, even-keeled girls, and have a fair amount of fluff on their bottoms! Not unlike Hattie - Astralorps were created from Orpingtons.

Just a thought of a breed to consider! (and, they wouldn't be roosting in the rafters once they hit adult size!)
@BY Bob what do you think?

Based on the couple of girls I have, if I spent the time with them that you do, I am sure they would be lap birds!

@RoyalChick Hector is an australorp (so you have an idea of body shape)

He's the one who developed bent toes as a chick. Calm, unflappable inspite of having his toes taped (smart, he figured out how to take them off). I can still handle him, but he's and armful.

 

[TX Chick Noob]

There is! One of my local pet stores carries it they have at least 4 kinds.
https://www.muridaepet.com/mouser-pet-food

Interesting concept, but waaayyyyyyy outside my budget.

Just ran across this article

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

I have read that one before. If I ever get chicks again, I definitely plan to try to set up a brooder area in the coop. I had the current batch in the coop at 2-3 weeks of age, but there were no adult chickens to worry about at that time.

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

Fingers crossed for normal poops today. And love that picture.

 

[rural mouse]

I have read that one before. If I ever get chicks again, I definitely plan to try to set up a brooder area in the coop. I had the current batch in the coop at 2-3 weeks of age, but there were no adult chickens to worry about at that time.

I've raised chicks in the coop with adults from 2 weeks. Have to redo the coop again to set up for it again, but also like the idea of the heating pad for Mama concept, so now pondering how. The biggest key with the chicks and adults: 1. let the babies settle in that it's home before allowing them to roam. 2. Lots of escape ways, and access to the boody heat source needs to be restricted enough that the adults can't get in. Every time I've done it, at least one of the bigs manages to get in with them. It's only been 1 at a time which makes a difference too. The adult getting in has always gone to taste the baby food, reinforcing that the babes listen to the adults. I've had babes running with the adults (freeranging, unsupervised by humans) as young as 3 weeks, although that wasn't entirely by choice. Storm was broody hatched, only chick, raised by mama and Mama (and my roo, Rusty, see profile pic) were killed by a wandering dog when Storm was 3 weeks old. At that point, I made the call to leave her with the survivors.

It was a tough call, but she grew up well, is a canny asset to the tribe and is still a bit wild (good around here).

 

[micstrachan]

Alarming poop - any thoughts?
Eli produced this just now. Overnight poop was normal and she is running around eating and digging as normal.
It is sort of off-white and gelatinous. Only one and a half episodes - earlier she produced a healthy poop with more of this stuff on top.

Spoiler: Icky poop picture

View attachment 3418773View attachment 3418774

I don’t like the looks of this one bit, but would not worry if it’s a one-time thing. My girls produce sick looking poops once in awhile and then go back to normal.

 

[Lexicon]

@RoyalChick I was thinking this morning as I let the chooks out of the coops - maybe you should consider getting an Astralorp? They are beautiful black birds with clean legs ( no muffs/beards), that are iridescent in the light. They are also calm, even-keeled girls, and have a fair amount of fluff on their bottoms! Not unlike Hattie - Astralorps were created from Orpingtons.

Just a thought of a breed to consider! (and, they wouldn't be roosting in the rafters once they hit adult size!)
@BY Bob what do you think?

Based on the couple of girls I have, if I spent the time with them that you do, I am sure they would be lap birds!

Annie, my flock's alpha hen agrees, although she is not a lap chicken. She is not skittish, but she just minds her own chicken business and prefers that I follow her example and mind my human business as well . I don't make an effort to have lap chickens though, so you may have different results and of course each chicken is an individual.

Annie :