Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[ChicoryBlue]

It will probably grow back, slowly... she probably damaged it pecking too hard at something like a rock or something. Hawk chipped his beak fairly badly and it grew back, and I have one girl named Crack Beak for a good reason too. Can you tell if the cracking goes any further up?

edit to add: I don’t see any bleeding, so that’s a plus

Have you had a look at the emergency forums yet? Try searching "Broken beak" or "cracked beak".

I seem to remember reading a post where someone kind of "splinted" the crack using fine tissue or gauze and affixing with clear nail polish to help stabilise it until it healed over.

Just how could that have happened?

There was and is no bleeding, yes good. I've looked on the Emergency Forum and from what I see there think that this is not too bad yet. As I've been researching all this the bent end has come off/ been pecked off I'm afraid, so the repairs I read about are not possible now.

I believe I caused this when I left out a mash that they didn't finish and in a few hours froze solid in the temps we just had (8-14F). They really like the mash. There is dry feed available but of course they love pecking at food they know they love. I can't think of anything else having caused it? Today I see Peanut has a tiny notch out of the tip of her beak, which appeared fine yesterday, it wasn't noticeable, so maybe it's something else, but it could have been in the making from before. Today I examined everyone's beak, determining it's only Hazel and Peanut with beak problems. I need to look at them all with a magnifying glass as Shad suggested.

Before you do anything you should read this.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1166494/
Next you need to get a strong magnifying glass and check for cracks going up the beak towards her head. If there are noticable cracks then you may have problems.
You can file her beak very carefully a bit at a time to help reshape it.
It took me two months to reshape a rescue hens beak here so that it looked something like normal.
The first thing to do is smooth the ragged edges. This will help prevent crack propogation when she pecks a hard surface,
Then it's every couple of days work on the protruding piece aiming to get a uniform roundish end. It takes a long time. Her beak will grow and if she doesn't damage it further, it will repair.

Thanks Shad. What kind of file should she use?

Oh no! Somehow I skipped this page of posts. How is Hazel?

@micstrachan Hazel seems good, she is eating both dry feed and a mash I brought out today (and checked it within an hour - but better temps today - and brought it in within two hours). She was a long time in the next box this morning, and laid another egg! She went crazy for some dry mealworms late this afternoon.

@Shadrach thank you very much. I appreciate your suggestions - I have looked at that article, from a link in another post of yours way back I think. I will check her and Peanut's beak for cracking with a magnifying glass and report. The part that was sort of protruding is gone now, she's either pecked it off or swiped it off. Today I had her on my lap under one arm, and she let me gently run my finger along the right side but not so much the left side of her beak. I can slowly and gently file the raggedness of the edges over many days with the softest file I have, but it remains to be seen how or if she will tolerate any of it on day one. Such a sensitive area.

 

[Kris5902]

Let me tell you a story:
Today at 8:09 PM
Me: Hey Siri
Siri: Yes?
Me: Your fired.
Siri: That’s not nice.
Me: To bad (stops listening to Siri)

Where’s our chicken tax? (Says she who almost never pays her own chicken taxes in a timely manner!)

 

[Duckbreeder2020]

Where’s our chicken tax? (Says she who almost never pays her own chicken taxes in a timely manner!)

Here is my chicken tax:

ITZ A CHICKENZ HIDINZ MY DUCKZ

 

[Kris5902]

I have maybe settled on a name for the little one. Arduinna... (ardwenna) thoughts? It’s a Gaulish Forest Goddess name. I was looking for forest in different languages, and DH hasn’t objected too strongly to this offering. He might just be tired from goat sitting while I did morning chore prep for making that early boat with Roostie and baby goat. Wish us luck, we both still need supper and showers, and to organize and pack up the truck.

 

[Scrambles83]

Fighting Weight vs Toughness & Determination

Now that I know what each bird weighs I find the below roost video even more impressive. Lilly is one tough determined little bird. They say is not the size of the bird but the size of the fight in the bird. Watch her try and remove Hattie from the prime roosting location. Using just her neck. Hattie weighs apx 40% more than Lilly. Of course the look of non- concern on Hattie's face is precious as well.

I love how she has to go over and have a go at the little ones as well when she couldn’t get Hattie off

 

[Scrambles83]

I have been accumalting a bunch of stuff since I got back. So i am going to put up a series of posts today. This should be fun.

Welcome Back Treat

Anyone who knows my flock knows that pasta and orange cheese are their favorite snacks (although peanut butter is clearly high as well). Well there is one food that combines both of these things.....Kraft Macaroni & Chesse.

I decided that Thursday night they deserved a speacial treat for all the time we were gone and I gave them some. Here is the video. Lots of chasing. I put 2 plates down so everyone could get some but they were more interested in what someone else had. I think that Aurora (bottom of the pecking order) wound up getting the most as she seemed to chase less and just eat more.

Hahaha, who doesn’t love a good feed of kraft Mac and cheese?!

 

[fuentemoon]

Bob, do you wanna know a meat treat that my flock is absolutely crazy for? Beef liver! I got it at first when Roxy got really anemic… Remember when her intestines were bleeding? Anyway, I had no idea, because I had never purchased it before, but it is super, super cheap! By cheap, I mean inexpensive. And it’s an amazing iron boost. My flock goes absolutely crazy for it. I cut it into tiny little cubes and I control who gets a bite at a time.

Do you cook it or give it raw? Mine mostly refuse all fish except some kinds of cat food blends ( they love cleaning cat dishes) so other treats are good to know about. I am a vegetarian, have been since birth except some seafood so don't have many leftovers to experiment with. My husband eats meat but not much.

 

[Scrambles83]

With Patsy passing earlier this year the saddest thing was the final time Lilly called out to her and she did not answer. I had to go and pick her up and take her to the rest of the flock, tears running down my face. She has not called out since then.

This whole thing was very interesting.
Our Bok would sing the egg song when alpha Penny (recently passed) was in doing her egg, celebrating her friends success we used to say
They would sing it to each other when on opposite sides of the house and didn’t know where each other were, sometimes I’d have to go out and usher 1 back to the other so the noise would stop
The same as Lilly, she doesn’t do it anymore, no one is laying and there was no one to answer her after the first day of Penny’s passing.
She did start each morning coming out with a growly almost crow once she was alone and that is what led me to get our 2 new ones.
I know we project human emotions onto them at times but I honestly believe she was lonely (being flock animals) and she was losing her zest for life.
The young ones have perked her up, who else will lazily lunge at them to let them know who’s boss?

 

[BY Bob]

I meant to put a pic... View attachment 2484338

Looks delicious, but feeding beans to chickens?! How did you learn what the effect of this bad judgement was? This must be a good story.

 

[micstrachan]

Do you cook it or give it raw? Mine mostly refuse all fish except some kinds of cat food blends ( they love cleaning cat dishes) so other treats are good to know about. I am a vegetarian, have been since birth except some seafood so don't have many leftovers to experiment with. My husband eats meat but not much.

I cook it.