Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[rural mouse]

Found her! Hiding up high - Bob said they love to fly....

Anyways here is the story:

Went to the feed mill this morning, and they have baby chicks - sooooo cute. But I don't need any more chickens ok?

But the owner at the mill told me 'I have ready to lay pullets here - seems the person who ordered them doesn't want them'.

Oh no I don't think so... well what kind? I asked

The owner told me: Red sex-link (oh, no won't get those), and Azur Blues

Darn - my kryptonite I wanted Azurs - but not POL pullets, I wanted chicks. Then I thought, hmmmm, well I won't have any issues selling eggs, oh why not I will get a couple. What's the harm.

So I said: OK I'll take 3 of them

And that is how I ended up with 3 wild as the west wind POL pullets who can really fly! Those Azures are Leghorn crosses so they can really fly well and they have floppy combs and wattles. Mine though look like they are splash, and one even has a topknot.

What I am EXTREMELY displeased with is the beaks on two of them, I don't know if they were cut back incorrectly or if it is cross-beak. But I am really annoyed, as to me if I have 2 out of the 3 with this anomaly then it is likely due to poor breeding factors or environmental factors.

I am glad I bought the poor things, they look a bit ratty but that is likely from transport, and they are scared to death of me, so likely never seen a human before.

Since I wasn't aiming to get any more chickens then I am now scrambling to house the poor wee lasses, but that is minor, their comfort is of the the utmost importance. I was showing them how I picked up and fed Fluffy so they could at least see that I wouldn't murder them. They are in the Summer House, I have no way to quarantine the suckers, so I hope to H E double L they don't carry anything (highly unlikely with the biosecurity on these poultry factories here), or that mine don't have anything to give them!

I am sooooo very glad I bought them and wish I could have bought the other 3 but with me not working at the moment I need to really save my moolah. But I am glad I got to get these three and if they do have cross beak it doesn't seem to be bothering them, and I can deal with filing a beak every so often. I just need to gentle them now, with any wild beast it's a slow process of desensitizing them to me, and showing them that food is always there for them - Is this what chicken math is?



Here is the background for these Azur Blues
https://layinghens.hendrix-genetics.com/en/our-brands/special-layer-breeds/azur/

Topknot girl I will call Topsy (she has a cross beak I think)
View attachment 3604248View attachment 3604249

The one with the black spotted beak and upright comb will be Turvy
View attachment 3604251View attachment 3604252

The one with the obvious cross beak I will call Twister (or twisted sister hahaha)

View attachment 3604253View attachment 3604254View attachment 3604255

They all look like they will have splash colour pattern.

Bad Kelly.....

Topsy's beak looks like she'll be able to scrape it straight just from the papers in your barn. Not sure on Twister's. You are correct on the splash color. Give them time to get used to you and they should settle down. They have much to get used to.

 

[rural mouse]

“but mamm, that wound looks surprisingly like a 2x4 hit him!

Horse kicked him, kicked him into one.... (or one fell on him)

 

[rural mouse]

Lightning stone of some sort for the white one.... going to go look at rock properties..


Edit: Chert is a light form or rock, like Flint (a dark rock). Both are types of Quartz and produce sparks when struck with Steel. Quartz also conducts electricity fairly well.

Now pondering Granite and Chert or Quartz for the 2 light chicks.

Going with Granite and Quartz.

Ok. Here they all are:

Hector in the very front

left trio: Quartz, Cardhu, and either Cumulo or Nimbus

Right pair: Granite and either Nimbus or Cumulo

Cumulo-Nimbus hasn't been fully assigned yet. Nimbus is the one who ends up darker, Cumulo the lighter (or with greater color bleeding through the blue/black).

 

[RoyalChick]

Found her! Hiding up high - Bob said they love to fly....

Anyways here is the story:

Went to the feed mill this morning, and they have baby chicks - sooooo cute. But I don't need any more chickens ok?

But the owner at the mill told me 'I have ready to lay pullets here - seems the person who ordered them doesn't want them'.

Oh no I don't think so... well what kind? I asked

The owner told me: Red sex-link (oh, no won't get those), and Azur Blues

Darn - my kryptonite I wanted Azurs - but not POL pullets, I wanted chicks. Then I thought, hmmmm, well I won't have any issues selling eggs, oh why not I will get a couple. What's the harm.

So I said: OK I'll take 3 of them

And that is how I ended up with 3 wild as the west wind POL pullets who can really fly! Those Azures are Leghorn crosses so they can really fly well and they have floppy combs and wattles. Mine though look like they are splash, and one even has a topknot.

What I am EXTREMELY displeased with is the beaks on two of them, I don't know if they were cut back incorrectly or if it is cross-beak. But I am really annoyed, as to me if I have 2 out of the 3 with this anomaly then it is likely due to poor breeding factors or environmental factors.

I am glad I bought the poor things, they look a bit ratty but that is likely from transport, and they are scared to death of me, so likely never seen a human before.

Since I wasn't aiming to get any more chickens then I am now scrambling to house the poor wee lasses, but that is minor, their comfort is of the the utmost importance. I was showing them how I picked up and fed Fluffy so they could at least see that I wouldn't murder them. They are in the Summer House, I have no way to quarantine the suckers, so I hope to H E double L they don't carry anything (highly unlikely with the biosecurity on these poultry factories here), or that mine don't have anything to give them!

I am sooooo very glad I bought them and wish I could have bought the other 3 but with me not working at the moment I need to really save my moolah. But I am glad I got to get these three and if they do have cross beak it doesn't seem to be bothering them, and I can deal with filing a beak every so often. I just need to gentle them now, with any wild beast it's a slow process of desensitizing them to me, and showing them that food is always there for them - Is this what chicken math is?



Here is the background for these Azur Blues
https://layinghens.hendrix-genetics.com/en/our-brands/special-layer-breeds/azur/

Topknot girl I will call Topsy (she has a cross beak I think)
View attachment 3604248View attachment 3604249

The one with the black spotted beak and upright comb will be Turvy
View attachment 3604251View attachment 3604252

The one with the obvious cross beak I will call Twister (or twisted sister hahaha)

View attachment 3604253View attachment 3604254View attachment 3604255

They all look like they will have splash colour pattern.

Bad Kelly.....

I think you are a tad crazy but I love them so can totally see why you have in. Blue eggs?


Edited: I just read the link. Very pretty blue eggs

 

[GregnLety]

Handled with extreme prejudice anyway!

#9 birdshot to the culo would be considered extreme prejudice

 

[Ponypoor]

Well I have some ideas - surrounding throwing them on the barn floor tied up and let the peck their eyes out

I can attest to the pecking out of eyes, yes once again I have been taken out of commission by a 6week old chick. Sheesh! Talk about painful…. This time my eye won’t stop running along with my nose running.

Darn I really have to start wearing safety goggles around these chicks.

Bad Kelly

 

[RoyalChick]

I can attest to the pecking out of eyes, yes once again I have been taken out of commission by a 6week old chick. Sheesh! Talk about painful…. This time my eye won’t stop running along with my nose running.

Darn I really have to start wearing safety goggles around these chicks.

Bad Kelly

Geez. Look after yourself!!

 

[Ponypoor]

No, Good Kelly. Through no fault of their own those beaks will need some form of tlc. I will think of those as rescues. Now, as for the flying, um, you saw that one of my Marshmallows now roosts in the tree right? Have fun, if any girls lay in your hay loft, it will be them. Good luck taming them. My Marshmallows are semi wild still and I had them since chicks. They will eat out of my hand but no touching is allowed willingly. I cannot reach under them to get a egg, they bite. If they are not bright enough to get on the big roost and are on the stall boards when I go to lock up the coop, well, they get carried to the coop to be locked up. They bite the entire way and angrily squawk. I think they like to bite me, every other night I have to pack at least one of them to the coop. They really have paid too much attention to Momma Hen. But oh those leghorn smarts, let's hope they inherited it, that alone is worth the biting. One of my Marshmallows alerted me to a unwelcome devil bird sitting on the power pole out back the other day. Her alert sent the whole flock running for cover and allowed me to get outside to shoo it away. It was bold, banging two kettle lids together did not phase it. I threw a water bottle up at it and almost hit it to make it fly off.

Good chickie

Well by end of day I was able to put them in their pen - that darn Fluffy ran into the pen and proceeded to pummel one of them - sheesh! That one is sneaky she squeezed between my feet!


If I wanted to quarantine them Fluffy made that a moot point.

 

[Ponypoor]

No, Good Kelly. Through no fault of their own those beaks will need some form of tlc. I will think of those as rescues. Now, as for the flying, um, you saw that one of my Marshmallows now roosts in the tree right? Have fun, if any girls lay in your hay loft, it will be them. Good luck taming them. My Marshmallows are semi wild still and I had them since chicks. They will eat out of my hand but no touching is allowed willingly. I cannot reach under them to get a egg, they bite. If they are not bright enough to get on the big roost and are on the stall boards when I go to lock up the coop, well, they get carried to the coop to be locked up. They bite the entire way and angrily squawk. I think they like to bite me, every other night I have to pack at least one of them to the coop. They really have paid too much attention to Momma Hen. But oh those leghorn smarts, let's hope they inherited it, that alone is worth the biting. One of my Marshmallows alerted me to a unwelcome devil bird sitting on the power pole out back the other day. Her alert sent the whole flock running for cover and allowed me to get outside to shoo it away. It was bold, banging two kettle lids together did not phase it. I threw a water bottle up at it and almost hit it to make it fly off.

How often are they laying? I hope these girls don’t lay more than 5 a week.

 

[Desertvalleychickens]

Good afternoon fluffy butts and all!
I'm back with a new video!