Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Aussie-Chookmum]

I remember when I was a young kid, my uncle was talking and waving the hot dog in his hand as he did so. One gulp and my dog had swallowed the hot dog. My uncle didn't even realize it till he couldn't find the hot dog.

 

[BY Bob]

Moonrise over Fluffy Butt Acres

 

[Ribh]

Moonrise over Fluffy Butt Acres
View attachment 1954766

Oh! How serene is that! Lovely pic. All quiet on the western front.

 

[Kris5902]

Given what I know now I wouldn't attempt to breed. I also wouldn't keep more than one breed. The vast majority of the behaviour and health problems here on BYC are from people attempting to breed with no real knowledge of what the long term consequences will be. When your chicken is only living to 4 or 5 years old and is prone to reproductive disorders at an early age, that would indicate that there is a problem in the genetics somewhere. Bear in mind these are not technically battery breeds.
Many of the integration and aggression problems are I believe caused by various breeding programs.
When a couple of memebers of the chicken club here read some of the threads and articles on BYC they were appalled at the pick and mix buy from a bin in a farm store of hatchery approach to chicken management.
It's not at all unusual for people here to have chickens 11 and 12 years old.

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I really wanted about a dozen or so straight Marans, (and several other heritage breeds) but only managed to hatch out three, so I’m slowly working up from there. I plan on adding a second unrelated Marans line next year if I can afford them. I had planned on having several different flocks of single pure breeds, but that’s not how my hatch worked out, so I was left with a hodge-podge of chickens, not a single blue laying breed pullet... and way too many cockerels, all of fairly decent breeding and lines. Due to financial limitations I’m going to start my breeding with a “working with what I’ve got” angle, and an eye to sustainablity and the colored egg market niche in my area.

So far the biggest integration issues I’ve had is with certain white feathered chickens (Ehem...Sammy!) “preferring” other white birds, and my “Borrowed/rescued” Hy-line red layers. They aren’t very nice to each other, new girls, their former flock mates upon returning from even a short absence (“like, she was on the other side of the Hardware cloth for 30 seconds! She’s a stranger to us now!”) or their Rooster. Well, they kind of like him now... but they pluck all his foot feathers out mercilessly (he seems to be ok with that, even when they cause him to bleed). He’s an Olive egger (Marans/Ameraucana) and his daughter’s are throwing mostly green and some brown eggs.

I do want longer lived chickens, so I wanted to work with primarily heritage breeds. The other person here who does a large number of layer chickens, replaces them at 2 years old, regardless! He also just ate the Barnvelder Rooster I sold him because “he was looking a little down and ratty, and there must be something wrong with him” AKA he was molting!!! Then he asked if I had another “spare rooster” because he now wants fertile hatching eggs ummmm NO! (My boys also currently look a little less than prime, and there are feathers everywhere! 17 birds all in various stages of molt, but no one is in danger of the stew pot because of it here)

 

[drumstick diva]

Kris, I hope you will DROP that guy, like a bad habit

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

The other person here who does a large number of layer chickens, replaces them at 2 years old, regardless! He also just ate the Barnvelder Rooster I sold him because “he was looking a little down and ratty, and there must be something wrong with him” AKA he was molting!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did he happen to mention this habit of his when he accepted your rooster?

You'll have to put your prices up to discourage him from eating them. Make then too expensive to become a chicken dinner!

Geez. What a shock for you!

 

[Shadrach]

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I really wanted about a dozen or so straight Marans, (and several other heritage breeds) but only managed to hatch out three, so I’m slowly working up from there. I plan on adding a second unrelated Marans line next year if I can afford them. I had planned on having several different flocks of single pure breeds, but that’s not how my hatch worked out, so I was left with a hodge-podge of chickens, not a single blue laying breed pullet... and way too many cockerels, all of fairly decent breeding and lines. Due to financial limitations I’m going to start my breeding with a “working with what I’ve got” angle, and an eye to sustainablity and the colored egg market niche in my area.

So far the biggest integration issues I’ve had is with certain white feathered chickens (Ehem...Sammy!) “preferring” other white birds, and my “Borrowed/rescued” Hy-line red layers. They aren’t very nice to each other, new girls, their former flock mates upon returning from even a short absence (“like, she was on the other side of the Hardware cloth for 30 seconds! She’s a stranger to us now!”) or their Rooster. Well, they kind of like him now... but they pluck all his foot feathers out mercilessly (he seems to be ok with that, even when they cause him to bleed). He’s an Olive egger (Marans/Ameraucana) and his daughter’s are throwing mostly green and some brown eggs.

I do want longer lived chickens, so I wanted to work with primarily heritage breeds. The other person here who does a large number of layer chickens, replaces them at 2 years old, regardless! He also just ate the Barnvelder Rooster I sold him because “he was looking a little down and ratty, and there must be something wrong with him” AKA he was molting!!! Then he asked if I had another “spare rooster” because he now wants fertile hatching eggs ummmm NO! (My boys also currently look a little less than prime, and there are feathers everywhere! 17 birds all in various stages of molt, but no one is in danger of the stew pot because of it here)

I and a few others have a different view of chicken keeping to the majority.
The essential difference is I try to manage a chicken population rather than keep a few chickens. I want this population to be able to replace itself rather than go to the shops or hatcheries and replace those that die with yet another group of genetically challenged poor quality fowl. I keep a closed flock and I free range.
I want the chickens here to live as close to a natural existence as circumstances permit and I would rather not be burying them at 4 and 5 years old. I get attached to them.
Before the backyard chicken keeping craze took off in the USA most literature I read gave an average life expectancy of 10 years old for the heavier dual purpose breeds and 12 years old for the lighter bantam breeds. This is what I aim for. Next year I will have my first 10 year old Marans. My eldest bantam died at 9 years old earlier this year unfortunately.
Most of the local chicken keepers I know here expect their chickens to live to the above average ages if not culled, or predated. We don't have large commercial hatcheries or much in the way of keepers that describe themselves as breeders.
Many here start their flocks with an adult pair purchased form flocks with known heritage. Nobody here picks a few random chicks out a bin in the local farm store if they are serious about keeping chickens, or gets chicks delivered by mail unseen with no real knowledge of the quality of what they are getting. Some keepers here, particularly the game bird enthusiasts will travel to other countries to ensure they get quality birds.

 

[BY Bob]

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I really wanted about a dozen or so straight Marans, (and several other heritage breeds) but only managed to hatch out three, so I’m slowly working up from there. I plan on adding a second unrelated Marans line next year if I can afford them. I had planned on having several different flocks of single pure breeds, but that’s not how my hatch worked out, so I was left with a hodge-podge of chickens, not a single blue laying breed pullet... and way too many cockerels, all of fairly decent breeding and lines. Due to financial limitations I’m going to start my breeding with a “working with what I’ve got” angle, and an eye to sustainablity and the colored egg market niche in my area.

So far the biggest integration issues I’ve had is with certain white feathered chickens (Ehem...Sammy!) “preferring” other white birds, and my “Borrowed/rescued” Hy-line red layers. They aren’t very nice to each other, new girls, their former flock mates upon returning from even a short absence (“like, she was on the other side of the Hardware cloth for 30 seconds! She’s a stranger to us now!”) or their Rooster. Well, they kind of like him now... but they pluck all his foot feathers out mercilessly (he seems to be ok with that, even when they cause him to bleed). He’s an Olive egger (Marans/Ameraucana) and his daughter’s are throwing mostly green and some brown eggs.

I do want longer lived chickens, so I wanted to work with primarily heritage breeds. The other person here who does a large number of layer chickens, replaces them at 2 years old, regardless! He also just ate the Barnvelder Rooster I sold him because “he was looking a little down and ratty, and there must be something wrong with him” AKA he was molting!!! Then he asked if I had another “spare rooster” because he now wants fertile hatching eggs ummmm NO! (My boys also currently look a little less than prime, and there are feathers everywhere! 17 birds all in various stages of molt, but no one is in danger of the stew pot because of it here)

Good lord! He ate him because he was Molting! What an idiot. I'm so sorry.

 

[BY Bob]

I and a few others have a different view of chicken keeping to the majority.
The essential difference is I try to manage a chicken population rather than keep a few chickens. I want this population to be able to replace itself rather than go to the shops or hatcheries and replace those that die with yet another group of genetically challenged poor quality fowl. I keep a closed flock and I free range.
I want the chickens here to live as close to a natural existence as circumstances permit and I would rather not be burying them at 4 and 5 years old. I get attached to them.
Before the backyard chicken keeping craze took off in the USA most literature I read gave an average life expectancy of 10 years old for the heavier dual purpose breeds and 12 years old for the lighter bantam breeds. This is what I aim for. Next year I will have my first 10 year old Marans. My eldest bantam died at 9 years old earlier this year unfortunately.
Most of the local chicken keepers I know here expect their chickens to live to the above average ages if not culled, or predated. We don't have large commercial hatcheries or much in the way of keepers that describe themselves as breeders.
Many here start their flocks with an adult pair purchased form flocks with known heritage. Nobody here picks a few random chicks out a bin in the local farm store if they are serious about keeping chickens, or gets chicks delivered by mail unseen with no real knowledge of the quality of what they are getting. Some keepers here, particularly the game bird enthusiasts will travel to other countries to ensure they get quality birds.

That is very different from here, including me. I appreciate what you are doing and love hearing your stories. And I love having you comment and participate here. Frankly I would love to do the same but I do not have access to the land necessary.

Fluffy Butt Acres is a backyard pet operation. I want the girls to live as long as possible and be as happy as possible. I would like eggs but as they seem to have figured out right now, it is not required. I hope you are not offended by how I get my hens but that is what I have to work with right now.

 

[BY Bob]

Cob Webs

It had been so long since I have gotten eggs the are now cob webs in my nesting boxes.