Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Sylvester017]

Well that makes me feel better. She's only 2, like I said, but she also has, for several months now, pretty much all this year, taken to laying these super long, skinny torpedo-shaped eggs. Cracked, they look like any other egg. But they are so long they have to be placed at an angle to close a carton! She's also never taken a break from laying really. Slowed a bit in winter, but never totally stopped like the other girls. View attachment 3929400View attachment 3929401

Pretty egg colors!
Hi ~ I don't hatch eggs (& don't intend) but I got to wondering about hatching chicks from "torpedo" shape eggs. Seems like rounder eggs would give a forming embryo more room for movement & less growth deformities than torpedo eggs? Any thoughts or articles on the subject?

 

[Sylvester017]

Humor disguises the pain!

It's the reason I keep DH around!!!

 

[fuentemoon]

Quite the prize package, thanks @featherhead007

Off for a day at the coast. Hopefully the weather is as good as predicted, supposed to be 90 here in town.

 

[Sylvester017]

Poor Mr P

His one lone tail feather is rather rumpled! I will have to cut it short later on, I would pluck it out but those suckers are not easy to haul out! So it will have to remain cut short until he loses it naturally and regrows it.

Meanwhile Sophia is doing a bit better. Today is her last day of antibiotics; she also foiled Fluffy’s attempt at killing and eating a snake - snake got away. And she was trying to peck at Mr P and break his blood feathers, so she had to be removed from the summer house.

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Is Sophia the one w/ swollen belly? You still have to keep draining her?I was reading an article that said it is chronic & no cure? Gosh, what these pets put us thru!

 

[Sylvester017]

The weather wasn't good yesterday so she was out the back for most of yesterday

Today is so much better for her
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Princess has a lovely white fluffy butt it's such a shame her head is a mucky brown colour
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So cute! Yes, head feathers & tail feathers seem to always be darker for some reason on hens. Maybe it's a camouflage thing in the bird world.

 

[Ponypoor]

To be honest, without that influx of Mr. P, I don’t think I could have made it through that smell!



For fuentemoon… prize for catching up!:

Next time don’t leave eggs under your broodies

Unless you check them after 5 days or so of being brooded for chicklets.

Happy eggs!

 

[Ponypoor]

Is Sophia the one w/ swollen belly? You still have to keep draining her?I was reading an article that said it is chronic & no cure? Gosh, what these pets put us thru!

Yes I drained her belly last week.

Likely have to drain it every so often if it’s a chronic thing with her.

Will just keep an eye on her.

 

[Ponypoor]

Looks like the silkie babies have figured out how to get up onto the ledge in the Summer House. They were snoozing in there this morning when I left for work so I left them in there.

Fluffy had been chasing them about earlier, guess they got fed up and went up top to roost away from her.

Sophia is still in the chickies pen during the day, keeps her away from the darn Roos.

 

[Sylvester017]

One of the girl BR mixes
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My chipmunk mix - I think it is a girl, but not sure
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Your BR female mix has the characteristic black shading down the front of her legs/toes & a tight white head spot (both disappear as they become adults) ~ male chicks will not have that leg shading & males will have larger white head splashes. Looks like BR & Dominique mix chicks retain the auto-sexing features of pure BRs.

Sexing of chicks using toe color and pattern method.
Fields , Mark A. The American Dominique: A Treatise For The Fancier
"...the pullets show a grayish or blackish coloration on the shanks and toes, particularly on the front of the shanks and top of the toes. The degree of this darkish coloration will vary from pullet to pullet. The color difference between pullets and cockerels becomes less noticeable as the chicks mature."

Your chipmunk mix looks auto-sexed also ~ very much like a Welsummer pattern where the hatchling back & head strip is darker on females than on males & eyeliner is darker on females. These differences change as the chicks mature.

 

[Sylvester017]

Yes I drained her belly last week.

Likely have to drain it every so often if it’s a chronic thing with her.

Will just keep an eye on her.

According to medical articles it is chronic w/no cure . So heartbreaking.