Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[ChicoryBlue]

Yes!!! We accidentally watched the newest one “Legends of Arcadia” I think it was first, it’s an interesting spin off on Arthurian legends, of a sorts. Sadly we only have 73G of data a month...

I’m tempted to upgrade my phone and get a few more “free” Gigs with the upgrade, but our cell bill is pretty extravagant already. Almost $500/month now for the three lines, and Shared data. If we can get internet out here it might be worth the infrastructure expense... my phone battery is not holding charge very well anymore though (iPhone 7+) so that’s a tempting option

Your monthly cost just blew my mind, so sorry you have that! Just a suggestion but you may want to examine where you really need the services you are paying for. Our experience is that we've saved a lot of money by going with a more a la carte method.

We currently use a dedicated 4G LTE cellular hotspot for wifi internet in our house with 100G per month which costs $63/month. It cost $120 to purchase outright I think. In the East this is through Sprint. There is no cable here and satellite which we've had in the past is really slow. We can get 4G LTE because we are up on a mountain (nearest tower is about 3 miles away). We have the cell hotpsot in a window and it has a good range inside and around the house. 1 hour of watching streamed sports or a show = 1 Gig we figure. We have several devices connected to the hotspot - 2 PC's, 2-3 tablets and 2 phones. We considered tethering through a phone but the PC's make that impossible.

Further away from the house we each use our own phone's data for internet, email etc. We each have pay-per minutes/data/texts for the phones, and buy them as we need them, we're not on any phone monthly plans. We buy our phones outright (we don't get the latest-greatest, but could) and they come with a bunch of data gigs, minutes & texts pre-loaded. Then we buy as needed. My DH uses so little minutes that it actually makes sense for him to buy a new phone when he runs out, generally once a year. Once in a while he does add data.

We discovered when we analyzed our use that we don't actually need monthly plans with unlimited this or that. We do each listen to streams and podcasts when out and about away from the house, doing chores or woods work, walking, etc., and I yak with my sisters a lot but we tend to surf & watch stuff when in the house (we prefer to watch & cast to a bigger screen). We don't go through thousands of texts a month either (I know people who do!). So depending on how you need to use wifi, talk minutes, phone data & texting, it can be very cost-effective to do it this way. Just saying what has worked for us, YMMV of course!

 

[ChicoryBlue]

You could put an outdoor table in the walk in run and put the new perch underneath. That would give them extra cover as well a place you could put the chickens on if you need to examine them.

Excellent idea, thank you @Aussie-Chookmum!

 

[BY Bob]

Sleeping in?

Aurora stayed in bed. I can't tell if she was asleep or not but she stayed in chicken bed.

 

[Kris5902]

Your monthly cost just blew my mind, so sorry you have that! Just a suggestion but you may want to examine where you really need the services you are paying for. Our experience is that we've saved a lot of money by going with a more a la carte method.

We currently use a dedicated 4G LTE cellular hotspot for wifi internet in our house with 100G per month which costs $63/month. It cost $120 to purchase outright I think. In the East this is through Sprint. There is no cable here and satellite which we've had in the past is really slow. We can get 4G LTE because we are up on a mountain (nearest tower is about 3 miles away). We have the cell hotpsot in a window and it has a good range inside and around the house. 1 hour of watching streamed sports or a show = 1 Gig we figure. We have several devices connected to the hotspot - 2 PC's, 2-3 tablets and 2 phones. We considered tethering through a phone but the PC's make that impossible.

Further away from the house we each use our own phone's data for internet, email etc. We each have pay-per minutes/data/texts for the phones, and buy them as we need them, we're not on any phone monthly plans. We buy our phones outright (we don't get the latest-greatest, but could) and they come with a bunch of data gigs, minutes & texts pre-loaded. Then we buy as needed. My DH uses so little minutes that it actually makes sense for him to buy a new phone when he runs out, generally once a year. Once in a while he does add data.

We discovered when we analyzed our use that we don't actually need monthly plans with unlimited this or that. We do each listen to streams and podcasts when out and about away from the house, doing chores or woods work, walking, etc., and I yak with my sisters a lot but we tend to surf & watch stuff when in the house (we prefer to watch & cast to a bigger screen). We don't go through thousands of texts a month either (I know people who do!). So depending on how you need to use wifi, talk minutes, phone data & texting, it can be very cost-effective to do it this way. Just saying what has worked for us, YMMV of course!

There are a lot better options in the USA when it comes to mobile plans and coverage... my mother was on a pay as you go minutes type plan when we moved here (she hardly uses her phone at all) and we did a cost breakdown before moving her and DH onto a family plan saved $180 per month there. We are looking at around $300-500 for internet set up, but want to hold out until we can put it at the house site where it belongs (that’s for the router, receiver, and signal stuff, Solar and batteries for the equipment not included) DH and I were each paying $120 per line on our own, and we use our phones for everything now, work, entertainment, and socializing.

 

[Kris5902]

More Giant Land Chickens, wanting fed... these are tKen from the trailer bedroom windows! Gus knows exactly where I live!

 

[Ribh]

Whoa! I didn't get expelled because of anything I had done. My Old Man and Mum got me expelled.
I'm not sure I can afford the chicken pic tax to tell the story.
I'll go and ask a few to strike some poses for me.

Ok, ok...but it sounds like a great story.

 

[BY Bob]

More Giant Land Chickens, wanting fed... these are tKen from the trailer bedroom windows! Gus knows exactly where I live!
View attachment 2417138View attachment 2417143

Hi Gus.

 

[Ribh]

Sleeping In

I have not seen this before and I am wondering if I should be concerned. The flock has been out of the coop for 30 minutes now. Aurora is still roosted. Thoughts?
View attachment 2416788

Lavender will often take her time about arriving for breakfast. She'll often still be roosting for ages after everybody else is up ~ but that is normal for her. I'd keep an eye on Aurora if this isn't normal behaviour for her.

 

[BY Bob]

Shucks!......Darn it!.........Drat!..........Argh!...........no those aren't right..........

RATS!

I finally caught the bugger on camera! They do not come by at night. So I left the camera on today during the day. I caught the nasty little thing. I can't tell if they live here or are coming by to snack. There is a passage into the run that i have found that extends outside the perimeter fence. It was the first clue that i had a problem. I have not closed it because I have baited it.

It hurts me to kill any living creature and I feel bad that I have to do it. But they cannot stay. I will close off the entrance once I have eliminated some vermin.

I will be extra vigilant on Phyllis' roosting for sure until things are closed back off.

 

[goldenfingers]

More Giant Land Chickens, wanting fed... these are tKen from the trailer bedroom windows! Gus knows exactly where I live!
View attachment 2417138View attachment 2417143

Do you think you could get one of these?

I'm not allowed to have Giant Land Chickens in my backyard and I think they are great. Maybe I could have one vicariously through you?