Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[SimpleJenn]

Marble and I fed the chickens earlier. I came out with the bucket, he looked at me, pecked the feeder, then the bucket, then looked back at me. Understood, my good sir! I filled the feeder and he proudly called everyone to the meal he prepared for them. he even let me stroke his wing without any fuss.

 

[SimpleJenn]

I do know that they'll grow larger and faster and outcompete the other chicks (brown headed cowbird chicks do not push other chicks out of the nest though), but it would still be cool to observe from a ornothological point of view, because I never have before.

On top of that, here's an article by the Audubon society about why you shouldn't remove cowbird eggs from a nest.

"It’s a natural process and we shouldn’t attach human values about killing or being sneaky to the natural world."

Brown headed cowbirds are native here, so not only is it illegal to interfere with their eggs, it's also detrimental to their population.

"While permits for cowbird control are granted, it’s only done when they’re considered a threat to endangered birds. For example, in Michigan, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service traps an average of 4,000 cowbirds every year to protect endangered Kirtland’s Warblers."

And the mother cowbird checks on her nests, if she sees her egg or chick was removed she may destroy the other eggs or nest of the host bird. I found this all out last year when some purple finches hosted a cowbird in their nest.

 

[Sylvester017]

If you give your chickens extra vitamins- what are you giving them?

You'll get lots of opinions & recommendations. Do what you can afford or what you know your birds need most. Our vet never recommended any specific brand but said we should supplement w/vitamins for our chickens in addition to their regular feed. He always reminds me to give our chickens vitamins every time we leave his office visits.

There are vitamins sold specifically for chickens to add to their feed. But chickens are picky eaters like children & only pick the stuff they like & waste the vitamins & sometimes waste feed too so supplementation mixed into treat foods is a good way to ensure a balanced diet. So we resorted to pulverizing chicken vitamins to a powder & mixing it into a treat mix like Greek yogurt, or mix into meat or fruit/veggie treats, etc.

We've had a couple Silkies that liked infant's
Poly-Vi-Sol liquid vitamins & would lick a drop or two directly from liquid drops in our palm!

These are our chicken supplements besides the regular organic Scratch & Peck feed they get. We make a fermented feed out of Scratch & Peck for their morning feed. Throughout the day we hand feed dry treats like raw sunflower seeds, millet, mealworms to socialize w/our birds.

Some supplements we use:

77 TRACE MINERALS ~ a little added to daily waterers

ROOSTER BOOSTER ~ occasionally use this a little during laying season pulverized down to a powder to mix w/treats platters

THE MISSING LINK AVIAN ~ we mix into a treats platter every day ~ our birds have never moulted hard. I'm thinking this may have been the key reason over many years of use.

 

[bgmathteach]

Marble and I fed the chickens earlier. I came out with the bucket, he looked at me, pecked the feeder, then the bucket, then looked back at me. Understood, my good sir! I filled the feeder and he proudly called everyone to the meal he prepared for them. he even let me stroke his wing without any fuss.
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smart boy.

Wish more people could be patient and understand chicken behavior/talk....also wish I could understand what they were actually saying with their chirps/cackles, etc!

 

[RoyalChick]

smart boy.

Wish more people could be patient and understand chicken behavior/talk....also wish I could understand what they were actually saying with their chirps/cackles, etc!

Mine are saying nothing good about me I feel confident!

 

[bgmathteach]

Mine are saying nothing good about me I feel confident!

Well, you do know that servants need to be dealt with sternly/with a firm hand - or they go soft on you all too quickly!!!

But, in the quiet of the early night, as they chat amongst themselves, they make note of your progress and good points - after all, they haven't fired you yet!

 

[Pastel the Rooster]

I posted about it on the emergency thread, but I want to get some of you opinions too in case you don’t see the thread…
One of my polish pullets got her head completely pecked open. Yesterday I thought I saw part of her skull, although I don’t have pictures from yesterday.
I put vetericyn and neosporin on it, along with gauze and vet wrap, but she got the bandage off.
I’m not sure what to do. I’ll cull her if she’s in pain and I can’t help her, but she seems to be doing fine for now.
I just don’t want flies or gnats to lay eggs in the wound.

 

[BY Bob]

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day all you Mums out there from all the Mums at FBA!

 

[Sylvester017]

Melon-Choly Ladies

Normally when I introduce something new to the chicks they are very cautious. Not so when they got their first watermelon today. They jumped on it and started eating like they had not eaten in days. They loved it!

It's a chick fix for you @Ponypoor

Watermelon, grapes, & bananas have high sugar content is why birds love them. Watch your chicks bounce off the walls after their sugar rush

 

[Sylvester017]

Well she didn’t feel full of fluid, so I am just keeping an eye on her. If she gets short of breath again I might give her some prednisone.

I put Clyde on some
as he was wheezing like crazy and sneezing. His breathing is much better and I don’t hear him sneezing, I have started weaning him off of the med.

Sophia has been having light coloured clay/green poops - solid not runny, not sure what up with that, she has lost a lot of weight so I started her on some antibiotics. She is about 7 yrs old now, so anything goes with her.

These chooks are as much trouble as the horses!

Very true that chickens are work but they don't weigh 1/2 a ton either