Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

She told me she did. Said that she "frowneth on HP and their scammy practices."
She is referring to their printers, and the ink subscriptions. She saw it on BeakBook and won't stop making comments about how she dislikes them all day long. She wanted to hack a HP and yours was a perfect target.

Then she should know that Pitney Bowes has really great printers

Well I put the steps back and hoisted the silkies up to their roosting ledge. Found Sophia’s chicks, and got everyone settled. Sophia is back to sitting on a nest box. Not sure why but maybe moulting?? She always moults hard unfortunately.

 

[Ponypoor]

My latest baked good
View attachment 3669007
No you chickens our not getting this!!
TAX
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Looks yummy!

 

[CCsGarden]

Looks yummy!

Thanks

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Run work coming along

The gravel/grit/sand pile I got didn't work out. The sandiness and stones...as you all know I shoveled about half the pile into half the run (about 6x6 feet or 2m x 2m) six inches deep to try it. Verdict after two plus weeks: the gritty sand in it holds moisture. It also maybe acts like a wick, even after packing down. A very top thin layer would dry out but quickly get damp again. It never really dried. So I dug it all out.

The river stones in it and the remaining pile we /I screened out by hand with an old piece of very stiff hardware cloth, and used them to fill the trench. The French drain it meets needs more raking and digging but we think it will be functional this winter. I will do more after the run work is further along - racing the bad weather coming now. We decided the "berm" wasn't really doing anything to hold water back, it's too much loose old shale, and DH thought it would be better to be flat for snow removal, so I shoveled that away too.

@SimpleJenn Pavers are heavy to deal with! I snagged two 16 x16 broken half ones for super cheap, happened to be there when they were taking them off the aisle. Decided a few work out, so next time when there weren't any broken ones I got the 8x16 ones because they are lighter. Mostly though I'm using 12x12 pavers and small bricks. I bought a pile of everything this week to do the wettest areas and putting it all on the cart & then later out of the car was a workout (store employees loaded them into the car. We figured it was about 550 lbs. Checked the car door label and it said the car with people and cargo could take 837 lbs. The back end looked low).

Fitting the new pavers in, doing a mirror image of the other half, going to see how it meets the other side and go from there...
Spuds taking a dustbath in the shavings.

 

[fuentemoon]

Some may remember when Brenna suddenly had a brown spot on a feather last summer. Haven't seen it this year, but I discovered that her new tail feathers have white tips!

 

[Ponypoor]

Some may remember when Brenna suddenly had a brown spot on a feather last summer. Haven't seen it this year, but I discovered that her new tail feathers have white tips!
View attachment 3669070View attachment 3669071

When my cousin first dropped her hens off here ‘for the winter’, her one hen was black with her orangey neck feathers.

The first year she moulted here she feathered in with white tips. Since then she continues to get more white tipped feathers

This is one of the things I enjoy with the chooks - what their colouring is and how it changes over time.

 

[bgmathteach]

She just had a really hard molt. Luckily she did do it early on and will be fully feathered back in before it gets really chilly.

It’s my first year experiencing molting so it was a bit of shock I knew it would happen but the speed at which they drop feathers really is dramatic!

Yes! If you aren't expecting it, first thing that goes through your mind is 'Oh, my gosh, what got into the coop, and who is dead! First time experiencing a molt, i thought I had lost one or more chickens overnight - feathers, feathers EVERYWHERE. I was certain there was one or more chickens dead! Thank goodness I was WRONG!

 

[Ponypoor]

Run work coming along

The gravel/grit/sand pile I got didn't work out. The sandiness and stones...as you all know I shoveled about half the pile into half the run (about 6x6 feet or 2m x 2m) six inches deep to try it. Verdict after two plus weeks: the gritty sand in it holds moisture. It also maybe acts like a wick, even after packing down. A very top thin layer would dry out but quickly get damp again. It never really dried. So I dug it all out.

The river stones in it and the remaining pile we /I screened out by hand with an old piece of very stiff hardware cloth, and used them to fill the trench. The French drain it meets needs more raking and digging but we think it will be functional this winter. I will do more after the run work is further along - racing the bad weather coming now. We decided the "berm" wasn't really doing anything to hold water back, it's too much loose old shale, and DH thought it would be better to be flat for snow removal, so I shoveled that away too.
View attachment 3669054

@SimpleJenn Pavers are heavy to deal with! I snagged two 16 x16 broken half ones for super cheap, happened to be there when they were taking them off the aisle. Decided a few work out, so next time when there weren't any broken ones I got the 8x16 ones because they are lighter. Mostly though I'm using 12x12 pavers and small bricks. I bought a pile of everything this week to do the wettest areas and putting it all on the cart & then later out of the car was a workout (store employees loaded them into the car. We figured it was about 550 lbs. Checked the car door label and it said the car with people and cargo could take 837 lbs. The back end looked low).

Fitting the new pavers in, doing a mirror image of the other half, going to see how it meets the other side and go from there...
Spuds taking a dustbath in the shavings.
View attachment 3669044

Oh that looks great, and you will be happy with them. I originally had dirt floors in the stalls in my barn, it was misery cleaning the stalls and making sure I replaced the dirt on type floors yearly.

One day I got mad and started stripping the old dirt from the one side of the barn - all the stalls. Then I backfilled with fresh gravel and threw down brick pavers. I was never so happy to have those solid floors, I put down rubber mats for the horses to stand on. So much easier to clean!

Hmmmmmm you know actually you should look at getting some horse stall mats.

Like this

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/4-ft-x-6-ft-x-3-4-in-thick-rubber-stall-mat

 

[Ponypoor]

Yes! If you aren't expecting it, first thing that goes through your mind is 'Oh, my gosh, what got into the coop, and who is dead! First time experiencing a molt, i thought I had lost one or more chickens overnight - feathers, feathers EVERYWHERE. I was certain there was one or more chickens! Thank goodness I was WRONG!

Yes I was like that! I had no idea what to make of alll the feathers! Thank goodness for BYC.

 

[bgmathteach]

I don’t see wild birds moulting like this and never this time of year. For me I feel it’s a domestic poultry thing, a byproduct of their breeding I just feel so badly for them, and I know what you mean; some of mine also become very picky eating, I try to make sure those get special care to ensure they are ok.

I don't know about song birds, but I do know wild turkeys molt - they frequently have a soft molt in the spring (late spring) and a harder molt/full molt in the fall. Also, male for many songbird species must molt, as they have brighter plumage in the spring for mating/courtship, but they tend to have a duller plumage late fall/winter. (even cardinals - and the change in color is more than just 'fading' by the sun).

It certainly makes sense that they molt in the fall. When I see how ratty chicken feathers are when they molt - I would want fresh feathers to get me through the winter! Their molt might be harder than wild birds...but I am convinced that wild song birds molt - I have seen wild turkeys molting, so song birds must too!