Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[featherhead007]

No you are not wrong. I could write pages as to why I think so.
Of course, better is a subjective judgement.
That's when I present a very long essay on the evidence I would support my subjective judgement with.

Agreed!

 

[CrazyChookChookLady]

I have been able to get none. Mine does not have any sadly.

Mine in Newport does. I can pick up a bag for you, if you'd like.

 

[Shadrach]

I was making supper for the tribes when Tribe 1 turned up. I looked down at the floor and there were little pools of blood in a trail from the door!
I checked to see who was bleeding and it was pretty easy to spot because Cillings foot looked like he had been standing spur deep in tomato ketchup.
I got him on the chair where he did a bit of don't fuss me Bucket Boy, I'm fine, probably because the hens were there.
A bit of stern talking to and a closer look revealed he had broken a spur. The thing was, it wasn't broken all the way through. Got a problem now. Broken right off is easy. Can't do anything about it. Clean it. Keep him calm so the blood clots and by the morning, if he doesn't do anything stupid, it will have scabbed over.
Mostly broken off often means it won't stop bleeding because any movement pulls on the spur.
I sprayed plenty of Chlorhexedine on the break, cleaned up his foot and checked for any other damage and then let him escort his hens off to roost.

I know I'm going to have to go and get him and cut the spur off. There was no way it was going to heal back. This is not something I was lookinng foreward to.
I checked on him about an hour after roost and there was fresh blood blobs below where he was perched.
Came back to the house, had a cup of tea (tea is essential before undertaking unpleasent tasks like this) and went to get Cillin.
When I opened the coop the spur was on the floor below him.
Didn't even have to take him to the house. Cleaned the hole while he stood on the perch. Another spray of Chlorhexedine and a couple of pieces of walnut and that was it.
Sorry about the gory pictures.

 

[LozzyR]

Very cool. I hope you like it.

It looks good. It’s a different format to Duolingo so the two of them together should be a good combination.

 

[LozzyR]

Luckily you do not have to pay for developing the photos, right!

That’s what I love about digital photos, although it’s probably contributed to society being image obsessed.

 

[Shadrach]

And at the other end of the spectrum.......I was doing a mite check.

Just check behind my ears again

 

[LozzyR]

I think possibly (like Shadrach does) that chickens are better than people in most respects.
Shad, am I wrong?

I agree, although my Charlie is quite the bully!

 

[MaryJanet]

And at the other end of the spectrum.......I was doing a mite check.

Just check behind my ears again
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Awww so trusting.

 

[Kris5902]

I seem to remember something about stuffing the entrance with stainless steel wool or one of those metal scrubber things because rodents can't chew through metal ....yet.
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I've heard that too.

Spot on! But that stuff rusts, so if outdoors it is better to use copper. You can buy it on Amazon surprisingly cheaply. I got 200’ of the stuff and plug up any hole big enough for my little finger to get in.

Oh, they can chew it... they just really don’t like to and would rather start chewing right next to it until they can get their grubby little paws in and pull it out. If you use it, I recommend also filling the gaps with expanding foam to help keep the metal in place. Or just go whole hog and buy some basement foundation repair stuff. It’s a type of cement-like product that comes in a putty form. You can fix up concrete cracks with that and it is truly rodent proof! (Chew through some cement you furry little evildoers! Mwa hahaha!)

The actual item pictured by ACM won’t rust, at least not easily, though if you cut it it’s another story. You need to look for the really shiny wool pads. The ones that are dull grey or have soap in them rust super quickly. Just saying... because copper is pretty expensive here (not as pricy as about 10 years ago, when people were actually stripping the wire out of the street lamps and breaking into demolition sites to pull wire and plumbing out as scrap metal, but still comparatively high)

 

[LozzyR]

And at the other end of the spectrum.......I was doing a mite check.

Just check behind my ears again
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He’s beautiful! (But so is Treacle!).