Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

No brains
I don't subscribe to the theory that chickens are in general without brains. However, I am beginning to think I may indeed have a flock of brainless chickens.
It is cold. It is raining. It is miserable out.
My chickens have a spacious, draft free Chicken Palace with food, fresh water and many perches, roosts and tree stumps to jump up and down from. They have not one, but two covered runs including en-suite dustbathing, a long ladder, a perch with a view, and food and fresh water stations throughout.
They also have two open runs with a small muddy river (stream really) flows down the middle of one, and until I install gutters the drip line of the roof goes into each of the open runs.
They have all this. And what do they do?
They stand with their feet in the muddy stream, under the drip line in the open run. They are sopping wet and yelling at me.
My chickens are literally too stupid to come in out of the rain!

Mine have a completely covered and dry coop and run complex. I left them out to free range in case the rain let up. They are currently standing around on the deck in the rain. There is no food there. They are just standing out in the rain. Go figure.

Perhaps they are so pampered that they feel the need to rough it and complain at some point.

 

[BY Bob]

Yeah, YouTube is so helpful for that! (patterns) I’m not sure I have the patience at this point for complicated patterns. Blankets, scarves and hats are what I enjoy right now. I’ve also made a few shawls... easy and satisfying! Two of the shawls were made with a mix of stitches and a mix of yarns. It’s a fun way to experiment. I love yarn. I don’t buy anything fancy like hand dyed or hand spun, but I could see getting back into crochet more seriously in retirement someday.

Ok, back to chickens! Daylight savings is this weekend, so it’s very likely they’ll go to bed before I get home from work. So sad. No freer range time and no cuddles.

You could add a light in their run so they would stay up to greet you and then turn it off so they go to bed after your visit.

 

[BY Bob]

Oh wow! Perhaps this is the root of my problem!

“Excuse me? You want me to lay a WHAT? We need to talk!”
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Union negotiations can be quite tricky. @RoyalChick has even survived a strike this past year. Be careful!

She definitely looks ready to lay. What a beautiful girl! It is so nice to have another leghorn in our group.

 

[BY Bob]

The Eye of Phyllis

All this hurricane talk on the news has me think eye of the storm metaphors for Phyllis' molt. It appears that Phyllis' molt has reached her head and has inadvertently improved her eyesight. I can see her eyes for the first time since she arrived. I do think it would help her greatly if those feathers never grew back. I wonder if other Polish owners trim them? I am very scared to put anything pointy near her eyes. She is always surprised and jerks a lot. I would hate to damage her sight while trying to improve it.

Check out how easy it is to see her eye.

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

[QUOTE="BY Bob, post: 23455909, member: 394996"

She definitely looks ready to lay. What a beautiful girl! It is so nice to have another leghorn in our group.


Thank you. I never formally named all my chickens, but this girl is “Blanche”. I know, very original.

 

[BY Bob]

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I love her name. Hi Blanche! Nice to meet you.

 

[Shadrach]

That is exactly what I have been telling Mrs BY Bob. I am concerned.

We are way overdue for a bad winter.

The locals here are predicting a hard winter. Last year was very mild.

 

[BY Bob]

The locals here are predicting a hard winter. Last year was very mild.

You too. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. We have started to prepare for it. I will be enclosing the porch and run in plastic shower curtain this weekend. Step 1.

 

[RoyalChick]

You too. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. We have started to prepare for it. I will be enclosing the porch and run in plastic shower curtain this weekend. Step 1.

Oh Lord I am so bad at that forward planning stuff - I really must prepare too. I hate the thought though.

 

[Shadrach]

The Eye of Phyllis

All this hurricane talk on the news has me think eye of the storm metaphors for Phyllis' molt. It appears that Phyllis' molt has reached her head and has inadvertently improved her eyesight. I can see her eyes for the first time since she arrived. I do think it would help her greatly if those feathers never grew back. I wonder if other Polish owners trim them? I am very scared to put anything pointy near her eyes. She is always surprised and jerks a lot. I would hate to damage her sight while trying to improve it.

Check out how easy it is to see her eye.
View attachment 2390273View attachment 2390274View attachment 2390275

She's probably wondering why the world is getting bigger.