Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

Yes, those are the 5 I got last May. I ordered 3 Biels and 1 Blue. Mt Healthy sent a 4th Biel.

There was a period of time when I worried Pip might not be a Biel, and therefore a cockerel. She "combed up" very early. No worries now.

Robin might be the first of the pullets to lay. She got epaulettes (baby feathers on her shoulders), and butt feathers first. She's reddened up on her comb and wattles the most of the five.

They are lovely

My chicks are not Bielefelders, not sure what they are, I imagine they are Hoovers brand of coloured layer - so now I am very curious to see what colour eggs they lay.

 

[featherhead007]

How do I make her love me? How can I compete with him? The language barrier is a big issue with our relationship, but that doesn’t stop me from trying!
Sure he’s handsome and witty, but I can support her much better than he can!
Okay, so we’re not the same species either but I still love her!
Please come to daddy, Coco!

 

[Ponypoor]

How do I make her love me? How can I compete with him? The language barrier is a big issue with our relationship, but that doesn’t stop me from trying!
Sure he’s handsome and witty, but I can support her much better than he can!
Okay, so we’re not the same species either but I still love her!
Please come to daddy, Coco! View attachment 3646932

She adores you, you’re her Hooman

 

[ChicoryBlue]

I am traveling this week so only able to check the Princesses on camera and pop in here from time to time.
Babs seems to be reconsidering the rafters. I dint have bandwidth to share the video - just this screen grab - but a couple of times I held my breath because I really thought she was about to launch herself up there!
View attachment 3646846

Before I left I did some rearranging in the Chicken Palace.
I removed the brooder fire escape and added a hanging feeder. They already have two feeders but when I am home they get to go out foraging and now they will be confined until I get back.
This has all precipitated a new world order.
Sylvie now roosts with Babs and Bernie, and the remaining Pentagonists (the Quadratics?) get to have breakfast without Bernie chasing them. They seem to like the extra feeder a lot!

The extra feeder is up on the brooder platform?

 

[Ponypoor]

Nestboxes…..

My BIL tells me I need more nestboxes. I guess 7 isn’t enough for everyone.

But yes I am going to make a few more nest boxes and put them in the current shavings room which I will turn into Hen House B.

Does everyone think that 6 more is enough? I want them all on one level near the ground or at ground level, and put the roosting ledge up top. I love the ledges I have the are great! And a perfect height for me and the old girls.

The youngsters will argue they want to fly up high but I am not going to let them sway me into putting up a roost way up high. And am thinking that I will run the ledge along the long wall and across the back wall of HH B.

Then underneath I can place the nestboxes.

Does everyone think 6 is enough?

Oh and one of the Azurs laid an egg in the Hen House ‘A’ on the floor, it was scratched around and buried in the shavings, when I walked in I felt a crunch and looked and darn it was a blue egg. Sheesh! So I have it to Buttercup as a treat.

And I found another light tan egg in one of the nest boxes, is it Tippy? I don’t know, she is t squatting for me so maybe she isn’t laying yet.

 

[bgmathteach]

You miss her a lot. Tell me is this cross beak thing a genetic or congenital thing?

From what I have read, there are 3 potential causes:

1) Feed (lacking of a nutrient) This wasn't the case for my chick because no one else had even a hint of cross beak - and they all ate the same thing.

2) Genetics This is also most likely not the case with my girl. Seems that with congenital cross beak, it tends to show up around 6 weeks of age

3) Positioning in the Shell This is most likely what caused my cross beak girl's problem.. This usually shows up in the 2nd or 3rd week. This is what happened to her, it started showing mod-to-late the second week, and just continued to get worse.

It looked (you can't see it in the photos) like she had a 'fold' on the bottom beak left side, and the beak literally did a 90 degree turn/bend.

 

[Ponypoor]

How do I make her love me? How can I compete with him? The language barrier is a big issue with our relationship, but that doesn’t stop me from trying!
Sure he’s handsome and witty, but I can support her much better than he can!
Okay, so we’re not the same species either but I still love her!
Please come to daddy, Coco! View attachment 3646932

Hear my soul speak:
The very instant that I saw you, did
My heart fly to your service; there resides,
To make me slave to it

(Shakespeare - The Tempest)

 

[notabitail]

Nestboxes…..

My BIL tells me I need more nestboxes. I guess 7 isn’t enough for everyone.

But yes I am going to make a few more nest boxes and put them in the current shavings room which I will turn into Hen House B.

Does everyone think that 6 more is enough? I want them all on one level near the ground or at ground level, and put the roosting ledge up top. I love the ledges I have the are great! And a perfect height for me and the old girls.

The youngsters will argue they want to fly up high but I am not going to let them sway me into putting up a roost way up high. And am thinking that I will run the ledge along the long wall and across the back wall of HH B.

Then underneath I can place the nestboxes.

Does everyone think 6 is enough?

Oh and one of the Azurs laid an egg in the Hen House ‘A’ on the floor, it was scratched around and buried in the shavings, when I walked in I felt a crunch and looked and darn it was a blue egg. Sheesh! So I have it to Buttercup as a treat.

And I found another light tan egg in one of the nest boxes, is it Tippy? I don’t know, she is t squatting for me so maybe she isn’t laying yet.

6 boxes? Pfft. Give them one huge box. That way they can all pile in, because no way are they going to want to use separate nesting boxes.

 

[featherhead007]

Hear my soul speak:
The very instant that I saw you, did
My heart fly to your service; there resides,
To make me slave to it

(Shakespeare - The Tempest)

That’s exactly what I said to her!

 

[Ponypoor]

From what I have read, there are 3 potential causes:

1) Feed (lacking of a nutrient) This wasn't the case for my chick because no one else had even a hint of cross beak - and they all ate the same thing.

2) Genetics This is also most likely not the case with my girl. Seems that with congenital cross beak, it tends to show up around 6 weeks of age

3) Positioning in the Shell This is most likely what caused my cross beak girl's problem.. This usually shows up in the 2nd or 3rd week. This is what happened to her, it started showing mod-to-late the second week, and just continued to get worse.

It looked (you can't see it in the photos) like she had a 'fold' on the bottom beak left side, and the beak literally did a 90 degree turn/bend.

Hmmm - so nothing could be done then.

If I ever do hatch again I would like to try with Topsy, but with her funny beak I am a bit leery, I am thinking it’s from the beak cutting back and it just isn’t sittin properly now. But who knows with these factory birds. I don’t know how ill bred they are.

But I think with her topknot and Mr Ps dreadlocks it might be an interesting cross.