Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

There. I knew I should have let you post about this. Much more tactfull.

We just need to tag team sometimes! Sometimes it just takes multiple perspectives to transfer the information.

It's funny, I have been so sick that I have not even seen the ladies for days. It got warm today and I am finally feeling a little better so I went out with some walnuts and sat on the deck. 4 of them gathered around me. Hattie stood off and Phyllis waited to jump in. Once I brought out the walnuts it was pandemonium. I actually think that Sydney got more than Aurora. I had a terrible time getting any of them to Phyllis.

After the frenzy was over, I was wistful. This time last year I had my crew trained to take turns with treats. The 4 would arrange themselves and as I called their name they would each take their piece. That group included Aurora!

I have to take some blame that I have not trained them but 6 just seems to be a lot more to handle than 4.

 

[BY Bob]

Enjoying some dirt

I just love dustbathing chickens!

 

[BY Bob]

I was always aiming for @ least a dozen with an upper limit of roughly 20. Numbers do change the flock dynamics & their relationship with you so you need to be clear in your own mind about the sort of flock you are aiming for.

I dont want or need lap chickens. The irony is I have chickens who have chosen to be just that & all my girls have chosen how they will bond with me. My flock no longer has any super dominant birds in it. What I have found is when I sit with the flock every single hen will find her own way to spend time with me. Some are happy to sit or forage nearby. Others ask for attention.

Having more smaller birds means I can run more comfortably in the space I have but @BY Bob is right: my deaths, vet visits, food bill etc is proportionally higher, though again, most of my present girls are t heavy on the feed.

For me, watching & enjoying the relatjonship my girls have with each other is more important than any relationship with me. That they choose to engage so closely is just a little bonus.

Well said.

 

[BY Bob]

Jaffar uses dust baths to his stubby advantage. He tries to mate, when the hens are laying down. Just saying!

I'm trying to picture that. My gosh. Smart man, poor ladies!

"A girl can't even bath in peace around these parts!"

 

[BY Bob]

Roostie update:

Well, I feel like a complete failure. It has now been a month, and no pigeon medications have been received in the mail. I just finished my tele-health appointment and I couldn’t get a prescription to save my life. I probably got bad luck of the draw, and I could understand if I was angling for narcotics, ADHD meds, or sleep aids. The Dr wanted me to attach a photo of my abscess, which would be fine if it was flaring up or actually there. My friend is going to give it a go for me maybe tomorrow.

At this rate I can honestly say I’ve spent more than I would have at a Vet, if only I could get one. Roostie has been more active lately, and even got some mating in yesterday, but getting the Baytril into him is a real struggle. I have never hoped for getting a bacterial infection myself before, or for that annoying abscess to flare up. I’m afraid I may need to cull him if his quality of life goes down or the infection continues to worsen.

Can you do tele-vet somehow?

 

[BY Bob]

I love this thread.

You are very sweet.

 

[BY Bob]

Thank you all. No tact needed on this one, I just appreciate the thought-partnership as I try to figure out what to do.
I think I am closer to @Ribh than to @BY Bob in terms of my relationships with my Princesses. I love that I can observe them going about their chicken-ey business, and feel flattered that they choose to come and share their gossip with me. I love that they rush to say hello to me and follow me around, but I don't need them to be lap chickens (though I admit having Minnie perch on my head was quite a special experience!).
I just don't buy the 10 square foot per bird standard. That feels like no space at all - the road runners like to fly, and Maggie likes to stretch her wings out full and pretend to fly while standing on her tippy toes (she has a big wing span). I could see if they got lots of free-range time that sort of space could be OK, but my free range time is limited to when I can directly supervise.
So bottom line I have to feel confident that they will be happy in the space provided by the Palace. I am confident they are fine now, and they definitely don't use all the space they have, which is why I feel I could take on more.
Maybe.

You have plenty of space for some more no matter what. I did not say get 40 chickens!

 

[BY Bob]

Some Days I really don’t like my Country. This is one of those days. If my friend gets a script I will make the trip into the Big city for them. I won’t risk mailing them even within my own country. This will in and of itself be breaking the general health order against traveling outside of my own health district for “non essential” reasons, and I will have to overnight in someone else’s household. It will be about ten or 12 hours of traveling on public transit into and through Vancouver, which is terrifying to me, or I will have to go in with DH in the truck. That would be the safest option by is much more expensive... then again, at this point I’m already into this for so much it’s ridiculous

It's a travesty. I'm so sorry Kris.

 

[featherhead007]

I'm trying to picture that. My gosh. Smart man, poor ladies!

"A girl can't even bath in peace around these parts!"

That's my point. I had a squawk with Jaffar about it too. (But he's a roo, so what can you do)

 

[RoyalChick]

I am also *this* close to looking one up, booking an appointment for my “cockatoo” And showing up. Any decent vet should care enough about animals to treat one that is in pain... regardless of species discrimination. Avian vets? Sure... see my chicken? Hard no!

I like this idea. Show up with a cockatoo and play dumb.