Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[bgmathteach]

Spoiler: It Was Over Quickly

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OMG, my heart was in my throat until I hit the spoiler button!

You really got me good!

 

[rural mouse]

That's what I was thinking.
Yes, I applied chicken math to it. I figured we might get more chickens in the figure. As of right now we are in a small yard so we want something big enough for them that can be disassembled and moved to a bigger yard.

Kinda depends upon your climate and run space. My place, the grass is just starting to green up and snow is frequently measured in feet. I'm going to build heavy to hold up to the wind, roomy enough that staying inside for a few days isn't a problem and with heat sources/keeping water liquid at -40 methods. Someone in Florida is going to build in hardware cloth with 1-2 solid walls on the side of prevailing winds/afternoon sun, and possibly with lots of panels that can be opened/closed depending upon the weather each day. Are you in town, suburb, country? Can you have roosters? Will your birds be coop and run only, coop & run with supervised excursions out, tractor &pasture, coop&free range on their own recognizance? Do you want a coop you can walk into and stand up in or something in smaller height dimensions? On stilts so they can have shade under it or built to the ground?

Edit: you don't have to answer all these questions. They are to help you think through your needs.

 

[Ponypoor]

Dear Aurora,
I am a white female guinea hen named Ridges. Mom loves me the most- She says so every day. I want to hatch her out some of my keets.
She has gotten to hatch out some of my keets herself, don't ask me how, I highly doubt she went broody because she came out every day, and there were no keets.
I have a wonderful nest that I share with my awesome big Pearl sister. Her name is Madame Pearl, but she pecks me unless I call her Madame, or Maddie.
A few days ago I realized that she started hanging out with MY boyfriend. They started trying to stay out at night together, but luckily Mom put them both away in the coop.
I always like to perch next to my boyfriend, but Maddie has started shoving me out of the way. When I puff my feathers up, she pecks me. I end up sleeping as far away from her as possible.
I feel like I should stand up to her, but I am tiny. I also really want to go broody, but Mom says no. She says that since I am such a vibrant white color, something will pick me off and she would cry for days.
She tells me that if lay eggs in the coop and go broody there, she will be fine with it. It is so annoying, being shoved around by my awesom-awful sister, and wanting to go broody, but not wanting Mom to pick me up off of the nest.
Oh, yesterday Mom thought that I was broody because I was on the nest for a while, and I was hissing at my boyfri- Ex-boyfriend.
I am sure you have dealt with questions like this, but guineas are so much different then tame chickens.
Guineas will headbutt preadators. I do it to Mom all the time.
We will also make awful noises to make Mom think we are being killed.
It is so much fun. We do kill snakes and eat bugs though, so we are worth tons.
We don't eat gardens, unlike you rude chickens.
I am talking about everyone but you, Queen Aurora.
I doubt you have ever dealt with a guinea problem before, but I would greatly appreciate it. Oh, I may not have a beard, but I am very sassy and I have pearly white plumage.
Yours truly,
Princess Ridges.
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That's awesome
Your Majesty I sure hope you can assist with some advice for this young Guinea gal

 

[bgmathteach]

No cats!

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Heaven forbid!

I just LOVE that last one. Wish Davis was grinning - so makes me thing of the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland!!!

 

[bgmathteach]

It just felt like you didn't give them a chance to answer before asking the next. Rapid fire like.

Well, it isn't like she was on then - it would be read, and all could be responded to...better than one question per post - and adding another full page to the thread!

 

[BY Bob]

There's a chick missing, is there?!!

I don't think so.

I checked. All of the chickies are present and accounted for.

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

That's wonderful! Glad she is 'happy'

What eggs did you give her? I can't remember if you said.

She has 4 of the Rural king Orp girls eggs. I was in a bind last night when I moved her and put her in chicken jail. She was throwing a fit and they were the closest big eggs I could grab. By 10 am this morning those 2 girls had laid again so I gave them to momma hen as well. I thought about just leaving her with 2, then thought better of it incase only 1 hatched.

 

[BY Bob]

OMG, my heart was in my throat until I hit the spoiler button!

You really got me good!

That was unintentional. I was just trying to protect everyone from being scarred by the image.

 

[Ponypoor]

That's what I was thinking.
Yes, I applied chicken math to it. I figured we might get more chickens in the figure. As of right now we are in a small yard so we want something big enough for them that can be disassembled and moved to a bigger yard.

I currently have 13 with 10 chicks arriving on Thursday, and an additional possible 6, plus 2, plus 12 (in about a month). I won't keep all the chicks, maybe 5 or 6.

I have a 4x10 Hen House for night time roosting, which is built inside my barn. They have the run of the barn.

Outside I have the Rooster Run which is about 90x16. I am still working on finishing this. But I also put up temporary chicken fence so they can free roam when I am around.

I don't let my gang roam free without my watching I have too many predators.

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

She is not the only hen that got set yesterday. Holly has been broody and sitting on nothing on the porch. I've been removing her and trying to break her. Grandma came in yesterday evening and set her with 6 eggs. I now have 4 broody girls sitting on eggs. Holly was close to being broke darn it.