Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Ok the answer to who is broody in the "wilds of the tall grass

The location
View attachment 3572133


The eggs
View attachment 3572134


The guesses (If I missed someone (again) yell at me)

@RebeccaBoyd : Primula because of broody reputation of Brahmas
@RoyalChick : Pear, Maizie at a stretch
@Ponypoor : "one of my lovely girls", more specific: hope it's not Thing, going with Silver due to older ladies going broody
@bgmathteach : Not Jessica (too obvious), so Maizie or Primula
@BY Bob : Thing for fun
@lightm : initial guess Twirp (not broody, but expected to be creative if she ever does), round 2: Maizie or Pippa.

Spoiler: The Answer

View attachment 3572129

Blue lady

View attachment 3572130View attachment 3572131View attachment 3572132My Storm cloud. Orphaned at 3 weeks, raised by Silver and Pear (and a slew of pullets, and Cheetah, only 9 weeks older than she is). A quiet lady, slips into the coop, lays her egg, slips out. No fuss, no drama, just goes about her business. An independent lady not willing to take much from young idiots. Whiskey was doing some serious courtship to which she responded well. Most (if not all) of her eggs in the clutch will be his. There are a few odd ones in there.

How wonderful!

 

[BY Bob]

We are FAR from winter - they will be fine WELL BEFORE then! I give them less than a week to be using enough for all 5 to be on the roost proper. Besides, they are young - I don't know about you, but when I was young, tent camping, with my sleeping bag directly on the tent floor, was fun and I would wake up with no aches and pains - ready for a full day in the woods! Now, well, I would even be lucky if I could get down on the ground in a tent - never mind back up. And to sleep on the hard ground? HA! So, in this heat, cool metal probably feels good - and sleeping like that for a couple of nights will not hurt them. It would only do so if it was long term. Besides, you already said they are adjusting - last night two were on the metal brackets - tonight only one!

And, I know you are a problem solver - if they do keep roosting on the metal bracket after a few more days, you could make it more comfortable for them by wrapping it with an old hand-towel or something similar and securing it with zip-ties and/or bungies. That said, I would NOT do that for a few days, so as to encourage them to roost on the actual roost....making the bracket more comfortable should only be a measure taken if they are unwilling to adjust over the course of a week to utilizing the whole roost proper.

I know you are just a worrying momma bear, but they are smart - they will figure it out. Just like having teens. They stress you out, but when given a good upbringing and a generally good environment, most of the time they really do make good choices - they are smart enough to do so. It is usually the need to 'fit in', or the lack of being able to see long term and the wider world that causes bad decisions when all else is decent (well, and their innate sense of invincibility - but I think that is nature's way of giving them the courage to 'leave the nest') Give them the time to ;think it through' on their own, and to get comfortable with making that move. Remember - they are cautious because they are prey - they will, over time, be able to adapt once they get over that initial fear/nervousness.

You worry like a mom sending her kids out into the big, bad world. But, this is like them moving out of the house proper into the apartment over the garage - they are still under your watchful eye ,and will be okay once they adjust. Deep breath, momma bear, all will be well!

 

[BY Bob]

I'm sorry. I am not ignoring you, but I do not know what is wrong/why it didn't work. Maybe @notabitail or @Ponypoor might know - they are both techy. Bob might as well, but tomorrow is a work day, and I suspect he is already in bed now - where I am off to in a moment.

You suspected correctly. I have tagged the post. If no one else helps I will post an answer tonight.

 

[BY Bob]

I am way behind, still have to read Tuesday through today. And have several things I want to post about, but this post is dedicated to Miss Z. Ironically it is “Pony Sunday”, the day we post about the other animals besides chickens that we love. This will be a long, sad post.

We don’t expect Miss Z to make it through the night. For the past three weeks we have been doing everything we can for her. Unfortunately what we originally thought was just an injured front leg turned out to be a parasitic infection that got into her central nervous system. We were unaware that there is a worm that is common in whitetail deer that uses snails as part of its lifecycle, and we are overrun with both. When llamas accidentally ingest the snails (or vegetation that they have been in and left the parasitic larva on), they make their way to the spinal cord. It causes lameness and weakness in the hind end, and progresses to cause lots of other issues.

There are treatments that are frequently successful if caught early enough and if the animal is otherwise healthy. We had taken her to a vet when she started limping, but like with chickens there are very few vets that know much about llamas and the ones that will agree to treat them are usually just large animal/livestock vets with limited experience with camelids. It wasn’t until almost two weeks after the initial symptoms that I called the person who comes to shear her every year to get advice, both because it was over the July 4th holiday and the vet was closed for four days, and also because I know she has had llamas for almost 25 years. She is the one who helped me figure out the real issue, and gave me advice on how to treat her.

We have been doing all we can, but she has been unable to stand for six days. She had started to show a little more control of her tail the past two days, and could move her legs a little with assistance. But even with appetite stimulants and trying to yemot her with mashed and treat this past week she wasn’t eating enough and also became dehydrated. With the horrible heat we have been having she needs more guide than normal, not less, and she has gotten too weak to keep fighting.

We had made the decision that as long as she still seemed alert, still acted like she wanted to fight, we would do everything we could for her. Today I could tell she was starting to give up. I still have her medication and used our jerky gun to help her eat some mash, just in case she rallied. But tonight when I went to check her one more time before bed she looked like she had been trying to roll over and had her neck twisted at an awkward angle and was barely responsive. So I helped her get rolled over into what looked like a more comfortable position, told her it was ok to go if she was ready, sat with her a little while and then left her in peace. I am hoping she passes peacefully in the night, but if she doesn’t I will make arrangements to help her pass on tomorrow.

We love her very much, and will miss her.

Here she is a few weeks ago, watching the chickens. She seemed to really enjoy them and would frequently watch them or sleep in front of their coop on guard duty.
View attachment 3572185

I'm so very sorry that this came to pass. It is very sad to lose a beloved animal like this.

 

[BY Bob]

I'm so sorry. So much loss on the thread recently.

There are so many people on this thread that loss is almost constant. It is something you never get used to but are constantly presented with. It is a sure reminder of the fragility of the animals for which we are responsible. The sheer number of chickens I have lost since beginning this journey is staggering.

 

[BY Bob]

Bob, when are you coming over here to fix my bathroom and coop. It'll on take you 24 hours to get here and about a weeks work

BY Bob, international handy man.

 

[BY Bob]

View attachment 3572276
This clever old girl laid me two eggs this week and I've just given one back too her and Tina beaten up with flaxseed and thyme

She is looking nicely camouflaged with dirt as usual.

 

[rural mouse]

Monday mugs....long range (lack of cooperation

Havoc is getting a black/chestnut muff

Shan and Tuff (Zulu attempting camouflage)

Chia and Enigma, with a Beak bomb from Cuckoo

Little Tuff is running with the adults for goodies. He's the only one to brave crossing the lawn (so far). Silver is making an attempt at challenging Princess for the title of Queen of Muck.

And Mera, day she gave up brooding. Fight to stay on nest (higher ranks pushing her out so they could add to it). She needs to rise in rank or follow Storm's example. At just over a year old, she's young for it, but displayed some good instincts (needs to get feistier, though). Good effort for first attempt, girl. Sat for @ 3 and a half weeks, so willing to stay the course. Decided to roost last night.

 

[bgmathteach]

I am way behind, still have to read Tuesday through today. And have several things I want to post about, but this post is dedicated to Miss Z. Ironically it is “Pony Sunday”, the day we post about the other animals besides chickens that we love. This will be a long, sad post.

We don’t expect Miss Z to make it through the night. For the past three weeks we have been doing everything we can for her. Unfortunately what we originally thought was just an injured front leg turned out to be a parasitic infection that got into her central nervous system. We were unaware that there is a worm that is common in whitetail deer that uses snails as part of its lifecycle, and we are overrun with both. When llamas accidentally ingest the snails (or vegetation that they have been in and left the parasitic larva on), they make their way to the spinal cord. It causes lameness and weakness in the hind end, and progresses to cause lots of other issues.

There are treatments that are frequently successful if caught early enough and if the animal is otherwise healthy. We had taken her to a vet when she started limping, but like with chickens there are very few vets that know much about llamas and the ones that will agree to treat them are usually just large animal/livestock vets with limited experience with camelids. It wasn’t until almost two weeks after the initial symptoms that I called the person who comes to shear her every year to get advice, both because it was over the July 4th holiday and the vet was closed for four days, and also because I know she has had llamas for almost 25 years. She is the one who helped me figure out the real issue, and gave me advice on how to treat her.

We have been doing all we can, but she has been unable to stand for six days. She had started to show a little more control of her tail the past two days, and could move her legs a little with assistance. But even with appetite stimulants and trying to yemot her with mashed and treat this past week she wasn’t eating enough and also became dehydrated. With the horrible heat we have been having she needs more guide than normal, not less, and she has gotten too weak to keep fighting.

We had made the decision that as long as she still seemed alert, still acted like she wanted to fight, we would do everything we could for her. Today I could tell she was starting to give up. I still have her medication and used our jerky gun to help her eat some mash, just in case she rallied. But tonight when I went to check her one more time before bed she looked like she had been trying to roll over and had her neck twisted at an awkward angle and was barely responsive. So I helped her get rolled over into what looked like a more comfortable position, told her it was ok to go if she was ready, sat with her a little while and then left her in peace. I am hoping she passes peacefully in the night, but if she doesn’t I will make arrangements to help her pass on tomorrow.

We love her very much, and will miss her.

Here she is a few weeks ago, watching the chickens. She seemed to really enjoy them and would frequently watch them or sleep in front of their coop on guard duty.
View attachment 3572185

I am so sorry for you and Miss Z. It is so terrible that we all can't find knowledgeable vets - the misery and suffering it could save! If she passes, I do hope it is peacefully - whether with the Vet's help or on her own.

 

[bgmathteach]

This morning he decided that I needed my ankle pecked and my foot attacked. He was also doing his rooster dance for me.

I took pity on him and let him have a bite to eat in the feed room. He was being pushed out from everyone, he doesn’t really fit in with the Tweens and school chicks who all grew up together, he grew up with his mums and the grups. Now he is pushed out by his mum and the grups, last night he slept by his Dada.

I may have to put him in the Summer House with the other youngsters, though I have a feeling that may not end well socially for him.

I would leave him with the Grups, if he is sleeping with his Dadda, then he is accepted by him. If you move him to the summer house, he won't have anyone.