Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[notabitail]

The Earth Hath Shaken
The news was even on Beakbook.
Yesterday morning, at around three in the morning, I was woken up by my Dad, yelling for my sister to check chickens that were making a huge ruckus, like the sky had fallen or something bad had happened. I woke up, and went outside. They were fine. Dominica had gotten loose when my Mom had checked them, and had ran to my door. Felictas saw my leg in the light of my watch and snuggled up against it. I picked her up, and she started to scream. The light from my watch is something she recognizes, so I turned it on, stuck her in the coop, and then went back to my bed perch (per Josey's crazy rules).

Later that day I heard there was a 5.5 earthquake a few hours from here and that it was felt here in the city I live in. We almost NEVER get earthquakes here, so this is a rare thing. And it would explain why those chickens made a ruckus. One probably fell on top of another and caused the Empress to squak up a storm.

As far as I know, everything is fine here, and nothing broke. Except my sleep.

Did anyone else here in Texas feel it?

 

[Ponypoor]

The Earth Hath Shaken
The news was even on Beakbook.
Yesterday morning, at around three in the morning, I was woken up by my Dad, yelling for my sister to check chickens that were making a huge ruckus, like the sky had fallen or something bad had happened. I woke up, and went outside. They were fine. Dominica had gotten loose when my Mom had checked them, and had ran to my door. Felictas saw my leg in the light of my watch and snuggled up against it. I picked her up, and she started to scream. The light from my watch is something she recognizes, so I turned it on, stuck her in the coop, and then went back to my bed perch (per Josey's crazy rules).

Later that day I heard there was a 5.5 earthquake a few hours from here and that it was felt here in the city I live in. We almost NEVER get earthquakes here, so this is a rare thing. And it would explain why those chickens made a ruckus. One probably fell on top of another and caused the Empress to squak up a storm.

As far as I know, everything is fine here, and nothing broke. Except my sleep.

Did anyone else here in Texas feel it?

We had a 4.3 quake about 20 min from here - the whole house rattled and it sounded like a freight train. In fact my dad said it was a train. He would know he worked for the railway for 32 yrs.

Couple hrs later I turned on the evening news and splashed across the tv was news of a quack in Collingwood. My dad looked at me and I snickered ‘ya nice train dad’.

Meanwhile all 5 of my cats, the dog, and 11 horses slept through it - non of them budged. So much for animals predicting quacks !

 

[Ponypoor]

Quack tax

Pumpkin head

 

[Ponypoor]

Quack tax

Pumpkin head
View attachment 3680014

Quack ? Darn autocorrect!

Quake !!!

 

[Ponypoor]

I am still stuck on the difference between walnut and pea combs!

Me too!

 

[Ponypoor]

Hold on. Which one is Muffy?!

This one

 

[Ponypoor]

Hold on. Which one is Muffy?!

Just kidding ….

This one - she needs a trim

 

[notabitail]

Quack ? Darn autocorrect!

Quake !!!

I had never heard earthquakes called a "quack" before. I thought it was just a Canada thing. Leave the misspelling there. It makes it funnier to read.

 

[notabitail]

We had a 4.3 quake about 20 min from here - the whole house rattled and it sounded like a freight train. In fact my dad said it was a train. He would know he worked for the railway for 32 yrs.

Couple hrs later I turned on the evening news and splashed across the tv was news of a quack in Collingwood. My dad looked at me and I snickered ‘ya nice train dad’.

Meanwhile all 5 of my cats, the dog, and 11 horses slept through it - non of them budged. So much for animals predicting quacks !

I'm from California. There have been some nice ones there. Including the one that caused a ton of stuff to break, including a bottle of WIndex, which spilled in the hallway. The floors have never been so clean! The next day there was a small one, and I thought going with Mom to the grocery store a mile away would be far enough for the earthquake not to "get me".

There was one where the water made a loud rushing noise, and then the house shook.

There were also two earthquakes in Ridgecrest that we felt-one at home, and the other at church. Those lights are scary when they swing. And the cabinet door randomly vibrating during breakfast.

 

[Ponypoor]

Théo had an issue with his gland before this summer. It was bright red and he kept rubbing it. I didn't do anything about it because I was afraid I would do more harm than help as he frets so much. It seems to have healed by itself. If it had happened on a calmer chicken I would have tried applying lukewarm compresses daily for a minute, with a drop of almond oil.

I think part of the answer is space. If you have to keep them confined in their actual coop or even in the bigger shed it is less likely to work out. Many cockerels have an hormonal phase implying chasing and mating, and the hen's chances to get away or out of sight vary greatly with the environment. I know others won't agree with me , but unless you want to hatch chicks, I personally don't think keeping a rooster in a coop and run with no ranging at all is a good idea, even with a lot of hens.

Depending on the chickens it can take a long time to grow back. Here is what I learned from dealing with Piou-piou when she was wounded. The hardest thing was to protect her wound. She wouldn't keep a bandage on. In Eenie’s case she won't be able to peck on it herself, but you really have to make sure the other chickens are not pecking her, and not just now but throughout all the healing process. We had a very unfortunate set back when Piou-piou’s wound was reopened again when it was almost healed. I understand Eenie is not easy to tend to, but I think you will need to pick her from the coop either at night or early morning to check her wound at least twice a week, more would be better. If anything happens to the wound you want to find out as quickly as possible.
Dustbathing can be an issue, it was for Piou-piou as she kept reopening her wound when she dustbathed. We had to keep her crated for a long time as much as she hated it because of this.
Also, I didn't realise that feathers growing back can irritate the wound and hinder healing, so you will need to trim those in a few weeks, or as soon as you see them growing over.
And last I think it was RC that told me to make sure my wounded chicken got extra-protein in support of the healing process.

In the end Piou-piou had to get stitches done by a vet as the skin that grew back didn't attach properly. After the stitches, the healing was a lot faster. In all it took her three and a half months to heal completely.

Princess is quite a big hen. She won't die if she eats less for a few days. She hasn't completely finished molting and she has just lost her companion, so her appetite and stools would be different from usual. I think you should pay attention to her global behaviour. Is she acting like a sick or unwell chicken ? Is there anything else that is worrying, or is it only that she is eating less than she should ?
Sometimes chickens are their best healer. If she got to five years of age, trust her to know when she will need to eat and what. A stool that indicates lack of nutrition is not just loose, it's water that has barely any solid in it and usually a strange phosphorescent green.
It's been very hard on both of you. Try to give her and you whatever will bring you some calm and a little happiness.


Sorry for the long post. A thirsty picture of Blanche, who had a sudden paralysis access last week and an unexpected recovery, with Nieva.View attachment 3679707
Théo and Piou-piou
View attachment 3679708
And Pied-Beau and Lilly. We re-homed Pied-Beau two days ago, and I am both sad and relieved.
View attachment 3679709

Very informative thanks.

sorry about Pied-beau but I do think you did the right thing. He sure is one handsome Roo though.