Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Marie2020]

Catch you soon my friends.

 

[janiedoe]

And @janiedoe As the Servant of a biting hen, though we have a bit of detente for now I was wondering about an "e collar" for when you have to do something on them and within their reach and can't wrap them well enough. Have you ever looked into one for Goliath? This doesn't apply to filing a beak, but I wonder for elsewhere? Nails / feet I think I can get a football hold and see their feet, but what about the other end!

I just grin and bare it. Goliath will only nip when he is scared. I have hens that nip me daily just for attention.
As long as I keep Goliath wrapped in a towel, he is calm and won't bite.
When he was younger, he tried to be a demon, but we had a come to Jesus meeting, and he turned out to be the sweetest of all my boys.

 

[janiedoe]

Catch you soon my friends.

Don't run off, Marie! I've hardly "seen" you lately.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Yesterday morning, I was about to leave for work when Sherlock barked in the house. I started to yell at him when the chickens lit up. I went out the door. Rounded the corner to see the fox in hot pursuit of one of the girls (didn't stop to not which beyond she was orange) I yelled, he whipped about and was over the side of the hill in an eye blink. I went after. He stopped just inside the horse pasture to watch me. (If I'd gone back in for a rifle, he'd have been back up and grabbing someone before I got back out the door. I skipped that and headed down the hill (he's running so not starving, rabid, protecting babies, or cornered, so safe bet, "he" because mate is likely at the den nursing pups this time of year). About halfway across the pasture, I'm thinking about going back for a rifle while looking around for the horses. They're the greys below my place and I haven't seen them in the half light of just before sunrise. Then they moved. The cheeky bugger is right between them. Lost him when he dropped into the creek bed, so headed back to let the family know....while keeping an wye out behind me.....and he's attempting to sneak back behind me. He hangs back while I'm climbing the hillside, so I slipped in the closest door, notified DH, ran upstairs just in time to catch the youngest coming back form putting Sherlock out on the lead. He thought I'd already left for work and Sherlock was more interested in the chickens than finding what he'd barked at (understandable as we were both out in the pasture by then). We all went back out on the deck. By this time light was behind , making the fox a dark shadow in the pasture. DH said it's awfully big for a fox (I saw the white tip clearly in the yard when I first went out). He thought it was almost as big as Sherlock. It eventually started moving off, so they went back in. I stayed there until I saw it moving up the pasture for the horses in the barn across the alfalfa field across the creek valley. It had decided on breakfast hunting elsewhere...for the moment. It's a fair bet that Thing's and Jessica's disappearances can be attributed to him.

Was almost late for work. As I got to work, I realized that while we don't have a 22 rifle (a safer shot with all the angles around my place than the heavier calibers we do have) my FIL does have at least 1. Sent him a text asking if we could borrow one for awhile. Answer came back yes.

After work, I sent a text to the neighbor who's pasture I invaded this morning and headed to FIL'S to pick up the rifle. Neighbor texted back while I was on the road: seen the fox last week. Had him in crosshairs but couldn't shoot as another neighbor's cows were in the background.

Spent an hour or so with FIL talking. He's starting seedlings for MIL'S beloved garden and feeding her chickens even though he's not fond of either. He's been going through papers, finding some surprises. Haven't been able to go through her cedar chest yet. I told him it's OK. If he doesn't touch that for a couple of years yet, it's fine. We laughed over the grow light not working (got it working) and over the heeler following him into the pantry room and getting shut in....for 2 hours....while FIL is calling him and out looking for him...and not making a sound. He greetet the opening door with a happy tail wag and a look of what took you so long?

Brought home a 22 for varmint shooting. Everyone was present in the coop, and half asleep. Sherlock's evening run was all over the hillside the fox used. We even lost one of Sherlock's rubber balls on it.

Birds tax from MIL'S flockView attachment 3773416The trio center back are all Cheetah's daughters. Front of the 3 is Nellie's (other one of those just off camera to the left). The 2 behind are Thing's. The black split to mottled can evidently pop through. The mottled one had 2 white feathers on one shoulder last summer. Last fall's moult grew back in as fully mottled.

Yikes! Glad nobody was taken. Good job, Sherlock!

Glad to see Thing's coloring popping through there.

 

[Pastel the Rooster]

Hah, I know nearly nothing about horses so I’ll defer to you all, but do know that the “ed” added to the end of colic changes the pronunciation of the C to an S sound. With words that end in C you can add a K to keep the sound right. So it’s colicked.

Ohhhh that makes sense.

 

[Pastel the Rooster]

Could be anything - you know horses…. I do need to worm her so will get that done this week.

She is a grey which are prone to all sorts of tumours, and she is elderly. There is always that wonder of what’s going on inside, there could be a tumour on her intestines that would be very bad in the long run. In the meantime I just make sure she gets proper feed and drinks lots of water.

Awe, poor baby.

I know a horse who is about 24 and she does have some skin cancer. She’s a paint. I really hope that Truly doesn’t have any issues.

 

[BY Bob]

Gassy colic likely, and it can be caused by just about anything. Horses guys are evolved to eat roughage - grasses. And to be always moving - take a bit move ahead take a bite move ahead. Domesticated horses that are in a stall are more prone to colic, the walking and eating is what keeps the gut moving.

At this time of year here the new grass is starting to come up but not lots of it so she might be eating some noxious weeds along with the grasses. I always put hay out in the morning so they fill up on that before they wander off to nibble at things. She could have not filled up on hay before wandering off.

And then there is always the ‘unknown’ of growths inside her. Those one can’t see and they can cause blockages. That is a situation where euthanasia would be the only option.

But this morning she gobbled up her grain, I gave her some more pain meds (I forgot to give her anti-gazz) and she went out to the hay hut to eat. Thankfully it’s the weekend so she should be under my eye for the next couple days.

Thanks! Very interesting.

 

[BY Bob]

View attachment 3773474
Getting my caturday picture in a day early. I'm completely tired out. Long story

I hope you are tired out for a fun reason.

 

[BY Bob]

Catch you soon my friends.

 

[CCsGarden]

Does that happen every time she is broody? I use to remove Phyllis from the nest, then she would start to eat etc. Otherwise she would sit there all day. But I did not have to force feed her.

Yes. Every time.