Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Marie2020]

You can supplement with sugar water if you have too. Also want the hive somewhere sheltered from winter winds and where the sun can help warm the hive.

@Sally PB
Some bea keepers put thyme near their hives to. It helps to keep diseases away

 

[featherhead007]

I’m going to have trouble catching up on this thread. Bear with me.

 

[Marie2020]

Miraculously my landline started working and the modem is working again too. Maybe I have a gremlin on the property.

No I don't think so, you're the only gremlin around my dear

Good to see you here again

 

[Marie2020]

I'm boiling hock, locally sourced as well as new potatoes and the carrots I haven't a clue what this vegetable is it has yellow skin and seeds . My vegetable guy comes up with some weird and wonderful veg.

 

[featherhead007]

I didn't give her a chance to react. Left a voicemail in the Center's Ohone (she come in later - the receptionist who directs students needs to know first thing - they let my boss know.) This was before I knew it was covid & just called out for the day. She called my house when she got in, but I was in br vomiting, so she got hubby - not too much was said.

After calling my doc who said to go to ER (I am asthmatic & was having trouble breathing, rescue inhaler not helping) determined it was covid & note to be out 5 days. I emailed a picture of the note to both her and HR. If there is any fall-out, it will be when I return - i.e. in person/spoken, not written. I'm sure if I had picked up the phone, not hubby, the conversation would have been vastly different.

How frightening!

 

[fuentemoon]

Our dryer is probably 35-40 years old. There is no spot for liquid softener. Is there another way to do this?

I got a plastic ball with a pull top for this purpose (i think Downey made it) it works well.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

The second chick died in the night as I expected. The three remaining all have normal crops, soft but not large yet. Acting very normal.
Just found this this morning, I see a bit of suspicious dark bloody red blobs, on the right side from about 1 to 4 o'clock in the pics. I've removed the electrolyte water in case they're getting more B vitamins that are overcoming the medicated feed (just a theory?).
Without flash or light adjustment
View attachment 3600152

With light adjustment and flash
View attachment 3600151

Saw a chick just poop the below, liquidy and lots of tiny bubbles
View attachment 3600157

I had a horrible thought upon waking up, that mold might be the culprit - The box came from the barn second floor and I didn't disinfect it with chemicals, just wiped it down with a dry cloth. Some things up there have had mildew before being put up there. The box was near a motorcycle jacket and other jackets dear to DH that he refused to throw out that definitely are mildewy. And then also I thought of the wood chips, the bag was unopened with heavy plastic but it's been sitting on a damp floor in the barn for months.

I'm moving everybody into the clean tote for now with just paper towels for flooring.
I'm going to look inside the poor chick that died last night, on the theory if it's aspergillosis there might be visible white nodules.

Just FYI, I buried the poor chick with her hatch mate, next to Peanut. I did not open her up, after thinking it through. It would not change the outcome for the three remaining chicks. Since I changed out everything- bedding, location, brooder, and added grit on the theory they needed that and didn't get it, looking inside her might possibly solve or rule out what happened to them, but it would have been for informational purposes only. If their deaths were due to a mold infection, the other little ones have already been exposed same as the two that died. I've removed the suspect mold sources, and now they will survive the presumed exposure or not; I've added grit, lack of which is a suspected cause too. So far they seem to be doing well. My, how fast they are growing!

 

[featherhead007]

View attachment 3600649

Very saddening to see this.

 

[featherhead007]

I wonder whether they are wild or belong to someone with a hive who sells honey.
I always worry about someone selling honey because they spend a lot of time here - currently on the mint and later on the garlic chives. They love both, and neither seems like a good flavor for money!

Imagine garlic honey, mint flavored honey ? Clover honey is bad enough.

 

[featherhead007]

The dryer vent points at the coop. I couldn't free range then yet. And the dryer was on. There usually is a piece of wood directing it away from the coop but someone moved it. The heat went in and killed Abigail.

A real tragedy Sorry for Abigail