Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

We called a few vets around our area in advance of getting chickens so we'd have emergency contacts if a bird fell ill suddenly. We lucked out finding a vet nearby who is a dog/cat/exotics/bird vet. He's reasonable compared to an avian-only vet but it's still costly to use a vet.

DH took our Suzu to our vet this morning to clean out her hardened clogged nares cuz I didn't want to go digging in unfamiliar internal areas myself.
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Hi Doc

Glad she is unclogged! I could use that hahaha.

I really should get a new puffer, my allergies are just miserable!

 

[ChicoryBlue]

@RoyalChick

Took measurements on video, warning it contains some rather miserable looking birds.

While waiting for the upload, I heard a kazoo....twice....same one...pitch around/slightly below middle C. No idea which of the lads, but as Hawthorne has been so quiet/shy since hatch, and Mortimer is so much smaller that I expect his to be near Cheetah's dulcet operatic soprano, flip a coin on Jax or Tundra (who has sounded the most goose like). 16 weeks old.

Very interesting, I really liked that you measured while roaming around describing each spot. Thank you for doing that! Such varying heights and slopes. So - at least for your group there they really prefer the ground, and within that area, there are preferred areas. Stand-alone objects of some height, 4- 7-14 inches, and also tipped surfaces, are not conducive to mating, and everybody seems to know it? The hens know they are “safe” to run to (and also that narrow opening between two rocks)?

Today Shehnai pinned a pullet in a surprise move on her, and when she got away she immediately ran and jumped up to a low perch to shake, fluff and get her feathers right again, and it appeared to maybe avoid anything further too. I was thinking of you when I saw that!

 

[Ponypoor]

It's so cute to watch them too! Our Silkies sometimes disappear in their dustbath holes & all we see is no bird ~ just dirt flying out of a hole!

Lately they graduated from the sandbox to using our raised garden bed which we let them use to direct deposit their fertilizer :

My gang has tore my one small garden to bits and finished off the Brussels sprouts, all that’s left is the stalk!

I’ll plant more of that next year for them

 

[drstratton]

It is a digestive supplement that some people use. I got it in capsules on Amazon and just popped a whole capsule down the gullet.

Thank you. I will get some for her!

 

[BY Bob]

I will tell this truth. I did have to go to three therapy sessions for the loss of Sir Jaffar. (I told the therapist that I had lost a dear family member) I never mentioned he was a chicken pet. !
Note: mental therapy only works if you allow it! Sir Jaffar is deeply implanted in my memory

 

[BY Bob]

Blue is a great hen too!
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And beautiful.

 

[drstratton]

I had a hen with a crop impaction, I had been giving Ducosate and massaging for a few weeks and finally decided I would do the surgery.

Gathered all the gear from my Vet, then told BIL he would be my OR Nurse. So we planned for the next night.

Next morning went to the barn to massage her crop as usual and no more crop

I think I scared it out of her! But it resolved so I was glad I didn’t have to remove anything.

Unfortunately she passed away about 5 months later. I am sure she had some serious health issues, she had been egg bound, laid egg in an egg…. Then the crop…. Then she was ‘sick’ nothing specific - and passed away suddenly over night one night.

I wonder if she had a heart issue.

How often did you give her the Docusate?

 

[BY Bob]

For Thirsty Thursday I bring you the ‘(not so) Littles’.
Apologies to those who saw this already earlier in the week.
12 weeks old. Tassels has finally given up tidbittting for them and has started to lay again (which probably means she is about to go broody!).
Roosting time has been taking some odd turns. Not sure how it will settle.

They are so big now.

 

[featherhead007]

Hi Doc

Glad she is unclogged! I could use that hahaha.

I really should get a new puffer, my allergies are just miserable!

I’m home. And I just picked up my prescriptions. Five puffers

 

[Sylvester017]

It was our first time buying chickens and we didn't know that a Cornish Cross got so big. I had done research on chicken care and different breeds but I didn't know what a Cornish Cross was at the time. I just assumed that they got a little bit bigger than the average egg layer.
I was wrong.

She can actually walk surprisingly good. The colder weather seems to be making her more active. She's been doing this little hopping run.

I'm glad you researched C-Cross to be aware of all the possible health issues the hybrid can develop. The poultry/food industry dresses them from 6 to 8 weeks for market before they develop health issues ~ so sad. They are prone to overeat, even as chicks, so that may be the contributing factor to her overweight. Not sure there's any way to control her appetite in a flock environment. She sounds like she will have good care w/ you however she develops Keep posting how she's doing.