Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

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There's something really interesting down here

You are taking great photos. Thanks for sharing!

 

[BY Bob]

Our turkeys and their chooks.View attachment 3574534View attachment 3574536Chester photo bombing, lol. The Lav Orpington is part of the turkey tribe along with a few others.

She is running with the big girls then! It's fun to see an orpington seem small.

 

[Ponypoor]

I’m hot and my chooks are hot. Just trying to make everybody as comfortable as possible

Just been watching the news and I was very sad and distressed to see the extreme heat my wonderful neighbours to the south have been experiencing.

While we here in Canada are having our own challenges with the weather, it just seems that more extreme in the US.

Please everyone be very careful, keep your chooks and livestock safe.

Weather tax

A smile for everyone with this BFTP photo of Eli-too.

 

[Ponypoor]

"Flock Check" successfully moved up to tomorrow, vet is coming here, woo hoo!

Butters is eating slightly better. Not enough, but I feel all is not lost. Her energy is better too. She is hanging in there, somehow. She has a messy butt, so she is eating something to poop out, normal color but more wet, more green perhaps. She does seem interested in greens and might eat a tiny bit. Today she appeared to chop off grass pieces and leave them. Maybe in the chopping she's getting something. I cleaned her up a bit today to see how much poop collects on her fluff in one day.

Been trying various ways to tempt her; found that tiny bits of chicken thrown in front of her she'll chew on (Popcorn zooms in to get the bits that fall), and I think a little gets in. Plus, it looks like competition with Popcorn (just below Butters in pecking order) drives her to rush to whatever Popcorn is interested in and it keeps her engaged with my efforts. Popcorn, the wonderful little pig, will rush to a bit of chicken, then Butters joins her and I try to throw a piece where Butters will see it before Popcorn does.

Popcorn has never met a food she didn't like. Well, not quite. She does not like red currants, which are ripening now. I also discovered that Butters likes half-ripe blueberries better than ripe ones, and will actually eat maybe a third of one. Tangy and bitter over sweet seems to be her thing.

She does a lot of beak digging in the dirt at the bottom of grass stems. I saw her scratch today too.
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Very late afternoon she started acting tired again. But until then she was pretty energetic.
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Popcorn
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Butters, left, Popcorn on the right. Butters is keen on whatever Popcorn can find, but actually eating it is another matter.
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Wishing best wishes for today’s flock check.

 

[BY Bob]

Status update on Butters, she seems unchanged, she is out foraging and napping when she returns, and I’m happy one of the traveling vets is coming here tomorrow, to see Butters and do a “flock check” on the two that haven’t really been examined, Popcorn and Hazel.

There is comfort in having a professional look at them. I hope the news is all good.

 

[Ponypoor]

Still a week behind in reading but wanted to post a few things.



It’s a pretty decent town.
The Dr Pepper museum is in Waco.

Belated Happy Hatch-Day Hen-Rietta









Thank you all. We lost her on Monday, but at least she isn’t suffering any more. And she is reunited with MacArthur and Boo in a lush green pasture at the rainbow bridge.

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So sorry for Ms Z passing, it’s difficult when our old friends pass on.

 

[Ponypoor]

I just published three new articles about the breeds Bahamas, Booted Bantam, and the Lakenvelder!

I have challenged myself to make an article on every type of poultry!

You should put a link here so we can also review

 

[BY Bob]

@Ponypoor
I saw a day or two ago you had a new egg customer wanting 20 dozen eggs every few weeks. Congrats that is a feat and good luck meeting his request. If you girls cannot provide all 20 maybe make a deal with him to supply what you can and point him to another local chicken person who may fill in the gap. 20 dozen is a lot and I could not even meet that request. I have 2 loyal customers who request 5 dozen every 2 weeks. Thankfully things lined up that they do not need them on the same week. I only sell the big eggs so the smaller ones are kept for me, family and neighbors. Not going to lie, winter can be rough when the girls go on strike. This is where chronic broodies comes in handy. I have found that if I let the girls set to where they hatch out from the end of August to first of October they are actually back on line and laying again by the end of November and do not take the winter off. Combine that with young pullets if I have them in their first season I can make it work to where I have enough eggs for my customers and myself. I could put lights on the girls to where they do not take the winter break but I really do not mind it and the girls need it. Truth be told I really do not mind them going broody even though they drive me crazy. The amount of time they spend setting and then raising chicks gives their bodies roughly the same amount of a break that they take in the winter. I fully believe that is one reason why Momma Hen is still laying and as healthy as she is at 9+ years old. Besides winter breaks that hen goes broody and raises chicks at least 3 times each year.

It's amazing how nature and natural processes can extend their lives.

 

[BY Bob]

I've been busy and didn't get a chance to take pics of chickens until a few mins ago. Thought I'd go sit outside a take a few pics- a few of the chickens came over to hang out with me well we are preparing for triple digits starting Sat with 100, Sun 105 mon 101..... it'll probably change a degree or so before then, guess we'll see how it goes... the stuff on the ground is dried pea shells. We harvested what peas were left a few days ago and let them dry and DH shelled them and we'll let the peas continue to dry and save for seed. The chickens don't care much for the dried shells.
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Such beautiful chickens!

 

[BY Bob]

Yes. Well counting more than math.