Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

Today’s egg count

Spoiler: How many?

How many? 21! Well one broke, so 20 in total

 

[bgmathteach]

So, most of you know I have a mated pair of geese. The past 2 weeks, Sampson has started getting quite 'hissy' again, so I assumed Delilah was starting up again with the hormones...

Yup, yesterday we got our first goose egg of the season. I'm thinking of giving it to my neighbor who will only hard boil jumbo eggs so he only has to peel two for his breakfast on work days. (He will gladly accept our pullet eggs in exchange for his jumbo cartons - we use those for our duck eggs - as he will crack and scramble or fry the small ones - but gosh, nope, not peeling 3 regular eggs when we can peel just 2 jumbo for breakfast on the run work days!)

DH will go over today to swap an 18 pack of pullets eggs for all of his jumbo cartons - and will ask if he would like a jumbo egg for his weekday morning breakfast (he will say 'sure') and hubby will pull out this:

for size reference, here is a picture of it next to a standard large sized chicken egg:

 

[Ponypoor]

Thanks, I printed these off, and tried to match the font on my stamp when I changed the location the best I could… I actually got them off Etsy from a designer down in South Carolina, of all places! she has a lot of cute designs and a ton of wedding stuff as well, I think that’s where the main business was, and the chickens were a side note. She also did a matching one for Andrew’s sausage with a pig… I think it turned out so well because she had the design experience to get it all laid out perfectly, then sent me proofs. I’m now printing them out with a cheap Black and White Laser printer, don’t use inkjet, it runs and doesn’t hold up to refrigeration or freezers! I just googled “custom stamp egg labels” then went down a two day long internet cruising rabbit hole.

Arduinna certainly can and will take this dog out given the opportunity… it’s terrifying, honestly. I’ve never going to get video of her attacking him because I’m always running out trying to de-escalate it and contain the goats, then remove the dog. The littles were up on the stanchion with the adults and Ciaran in between, and she was in a full on showdown with Vladdie, stomp, charge and attack by hooking. I will say his owners are being great about it. The husband is dropping logs along their side of our fenceline to stop the digging. We actually had another incursion yesterday through another frigging hidden wire gate. And I now *officially* hate disc golf. Unfortunately (I think) yesterday the goats were all still up when he got in, and he decided to chase the chickens and Ducks instead. Feathers were lost, he caught and released a few. Everyone was traumatized.

Suggestion: if you have perimeter fencing… Don’t cut it halfway down and turn the cut wire ends into hooks and eye closures out and think it’s a “gate”. It is not. It’s a hole in your fence with any slight pressure, and it destroys the integrity of your fenceline, tension… it’s not even a proper “wire” gate ffs.
View attachment 3757040
My Uncle (in the late 70’s? Maybe early 80’s) and his raccoon “rocky”View attachment 3757046
A nice shot of our little murder-hobo goat’s pointy bits they are a bit longer now, and just as pointy!
View attachment 3757048
And for Chicken Tax… Sammy my best boy ever

Awwww Sammy definitely the best boy ever

 

[bgmathteach]

Update on broody girl:
This was what was in the nest:

There were 14 eggs in there, and all but 2 I am pretty sure were hers.

that said, that means 3-4 weeks of laying -as she is an older girl...so all but 2 had definitely been frozen, 2 were questionable. plus, there is NO WAY she can cover 14 eggs, especially now that in her older years, her egg size has increased. Dark Cornish as squat, compact girls with hard feathering. 6 is good, 8 is an absolute max for those size eggs. I removed them, marked and replaced the 2 that might be okay, and added 5 that were laid today by other girls. We will see how she does. (btw, I'm disappointed that none of her other 2 siblings laid today - I like my DC crosses, which is why I kept the two that may well be ruined - just in case. - I'm hoping at least one hatches - and it is a girl!!!) (Oh, and yes, I added bedding - she wasn't at all happy I disturbed her nest - butI did this when she got off to eat and drink.)

I put in 2 from my EE girls who are penned with my ee boy. I put in one pale green egg, one welsummer egg, and 1 BR egg. These last 3, the girls could have been mated with any one of a number of boys (1/2 EE, 1/2 Red Star Roo; 1/2 DC/ 1/2 EE Roo; BR roo, or my newbies: blue egg layer boy (can't remember his breed? prairie blue bell egger? got him in a straight run batch for $1 clearance when I bought some to put under my broody girls) and my dark young black roo who also came in a clearance run from TSC. The straight run was marked 'Marans', but the girls, if they are marans, are not laying dark like they should, nor are they any where near as heavy as my french black copper marans (though the coloring is similar, they only weigh half what my other girls weigh - they could still put on some weight, but not that much!) So, we will see what happens. March 16th will be the day to 'watch'

 

[featherhead007]

I sure hope he is ok, these older chooks - they make us worry at times!

I just checked on him, and he seems fine.
But one of the hens is an egg eater and I have to find out who!

 

[Ponypoor]

So, most of you know I have a mated pair of geese. The past 2 weeks, Sampson has started getting quite 'hissy' again, so I assumed Delilah was starting up again with the hormones...

Yup, yesterday we got our first goose egg of the season. I'm thinking of giving it to my neighbor who will only hard boil jumbo eggs so he only has to peel two for his breakfast on work days. (He will gladly accept our pullet eggs in exchange for his jumbo cartons - we use those for our duck eggs - as he will crack and scramble or fry the small ones - but gosh, nope, not peeling 3 regular eggs when we can peel just 2 jumbo for breakfast on the run work days!)

DH will go over today to swap an 18 pack of pullets eggs for all of his jumbo cartons - and will ask if he would like a jumbo egg for his weekday morning breakfast (he will say 'sure') and hubby will pull out this:
View attachment 3757089

for size reference, here is a picture of it next to a standard large sized chicken egg:
View attachment 3757091
View attachment 3757092

That’s amazing and wonderful

 

[Sally PB]

But one of the hens is an egg eater and I have to find out who!

Some of my pullets will eat a cracked and leaking egg. SO FAR! the worst offender has not broken one herself.

 

[RoyalChick]

An unwelcome visitor for Pony Sunday

 

[featherhead007]

Let’s hope

Some of my pullets will eat a cracked and leaking egg. SO FAR! the worst offender has not broken one herself.

that never happens with a good egg

 

[featherhead007]

An unwelcome visitor for Pony Sunday
View attachment 3757182View attachment 3757183View attachment 3757185

Are the girls away safe?