Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

I knew it, I knew it. I told you all as soon as Raven was done rearing her chicks she would throw her hat in to be top hen. She has officially been done being a momma for about 72 hours now. The decision is still not settled but Squirrel has stepped aside and it is down to Raven and Holly. Neither one are currently backing down. This morning when I fed Raven even pecked her chicks. It is so hard watching the drama and not stepping in to break it up. I have to let this play out for the future stability of the flock. I do not have a favorite. I can already see both girls will rule with a Iron beak. Holly if she wins this right now appears she will be more forceful about her position. Raven right now only delivers the beak if someone does not immediately back away from a glare. You have to be quick about getting out of her way though and she is quick to deliver a peck and rarely misses. The boys are also smart and are staying out of this. They initially tried to break up the hen fights, it earned them a thumping from the girls.

Wow - drama there! Who do you think will be the winner? Or rather who would you rather - I know you say no favourites, but if you had your druthers who would you want?

I feel very fortunate here, my Niece's hens have all fit in really well, there was a short spat between her Raven and my girls and an ongoing spat every now and again with Rico. But for the most part it's settled. It hilarious to see little Fluffy making a charge at this rather large hen and Raven running away But what really surprises me is that my Niece's hens are tolerant towards the chicks. Must be the way of the Chicken

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Oh I remember about stool softeners now and why I didn't use them. They act by allowing more water and fat to get absorbed into the waste material. This makes it softer and easier (less painful) for a person to pass.
My experience was with blocked crops and in one case nothing coming out the other end so it wasn't relevant.
But I was also a bit skeptical because it wasn't clear to me that making the stool bulkier and softer would help given chicken (vs human) anatomy.
Your situation may well benefit from a stool softener - though personally I would go with cellulase first (or maybe use both) because it is pretty clear from those poops that she has a lot of fibrous grass tangled up inside her.

I was about to reply to your earlier post and I am inclinced to try cellulase first, as the human stool softener works via one's metabolism, preventing water transfer to the rest of the body by the large intestine (my understanding), keeping more in there, whereas the cellulase seems to work on digesting the "stool" itself.

 

[RoyalChick]

I was about to reply to your earlier post and I am inclinced to try cellulase first, as the human stool softener works via one's metabolism, preventing water transfer to the rest of the body by the large intestine (my understanding), keeping more in there, whereas the cellulase seems to work on digesting the "stool" itself.

Exactly. Well put.

 

[Ponypoor]

And here is a 2fer 2 wish you all a happy Tuesday
View attachment 3603319

What happened to those adorable chicks?! These are full grown hens now

Can't wait to see what colour eggs everyone of them lays

 

[RoyalChick]

What happened to those adorable chicks?! These are full grown hens now

Can't wait to see what colour eggs everyone of them lays

I rather like this age - although I want them to not be quite so mature - everyone is getting very pink in the face. Well everyone except Tassels.

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

Wow - drama there! Who do you think will be the winner? Or rather who would you rather - I know you say no favourites, but if you had your druthers who would you want?

I feel very fortunate here, my Niece's hens have all fit in really well, there was a short spat between her Raven and my girls and an ongoing spat every now and again with Rico. But for the most part it's settled. It hilarious to see little Fluffy making a charge at this rather large hen and Raven running away But what really surprises me is that my Niece's hens are tolerant towards the chicks. Must be the way of the Chicken

I say I have no favorites between these 2 girls because I think when it is all settled and the drama dies down they would be very similar in how they lead the flock. Holly is older, but only by 8ish months, but in my mind the senior hen should take the top spot. What I find odd is both girls are chronic broodies. Butter never went broody. I wonder if once it is settled will they no longer go broody. I really could have saw Squirrel be a better leader to be honest. Same demeaner as her mother, never been broody a day in her life and if she had stuck it out probably been as fair as Butter was. She was holding her own against Holly. Raven trounced her. Then both Raven and Holly teamed up to trounce her to fully get the message across. Now it is just down to the 2 hard heads. Holly has been waiting in the wings gunning for this spot for a while now. Raven is sneaky, always a trouble maker from day 1 and in truth also trying to build herself up to this position. If the eventual winner never goes broody again that also throws me into a tough spot. Both are excellent mothers and while I am done with broody hens at the moment I do not wish to loose either one. For that reason alone if I had to loose one I would prefer it to be Holly. I know Raven adopts chicks, never tried it with Holly. Raven has done it twice, and hangs onto her chicks about 2 weeks longer then Holly naturally does.

 

[notabitail]

I rather like this age - although I want them to not be quite so mature - everyone is getting very pink in the face. Well everyone except Tassels.

Well, so long as they stay party chickens then it's fine!

 

[featherhead007]

View attachment 3603296View attachment 3603297View attachment 3603298

Any excuse for cat photos.

I believe that qualifies!

 

[Ponypoor]

I rather like this age - although I want them to not be quite so mature - everyone is getting very pink in the face. Well everyone except Tassels.

How old are they again? I think they are my School Chick age aren't they?

I get a kick out of the honking/whining sound that a couple of them make - especially Petunia. I think she has learnt that if she makes that sound around me I pick her up and cuddle her and give her treats - she has me well trained! Those School Chicks are 13 weeks and 1 day today

 

[featherhead007]

I say I have no favorites between these 2 girls because I think when it is all settled and the drama dies down they would be very similar in how they lead the flock. Holly is older, but only by 8ish months, but in my mind the senior hen should take the top spot. What I find odd is both girls are chronic broodies. Butter never went broody. I wonder if once it is settled will they no longer go broody. I really could have saw Squirrel be a better leader to be honest. Same demeaner as her mother, never been broody a day in her life and if she had stuck it out probably been as fair as Butter was. She was holding her own against Holly. Raven trounced her. Then both Raven and Holly teamed up to trounce her to fully get the message across. Now it is just down to the 2 hard heads. Holly has been waiting in the wings gunning for this spot for a while now. Raven is sneaky, always a trouble maker from day 1 and in truth also trying to build herself up to this position. If the eventual winner never goes broody again that also throws me into a tough spot. Both are excellent mothers and while I am done with broody hens at the moment I do not wish to loose either one. For that reason alone if I had to loose one I would prefer it to be Holly. I know Raven adopts chicks, never tried it with Holly. Raven has done it twice, and hangs onto her chicks about 2 weeks longer then Holly naturally does.

I could tell that Raven was trouble from the first time I saw her chick picture on BYC