Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[drstratton]

I don’t normally see the Chicken Palace with the light on because I turn it off when I walk out, but tonight I forgot to bring new batteries for the cameras so I ‘popped back’ (by popped I mean balanced on my board walk over the snow). I thought it looked pretty.

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Inside there is a spherical and lonely Minnie.
Why Minnie? Why won’t you snuggle up to the others?

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The others have their backs to her.


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It seems to be her choice, but it looks sad to me.
Any ideas why?

I love your palace...such a great setup! It's hard to say what's going on here...she does look lonely!

 

[drstratton]

Well, when it rains... stay inside.
Roostie’s foot has been pushed back to Monday now, the cows are being pests, Arduinna is adorable but getting into everything, and I just got a call from a neighbor who is culling his flock of over 150 birds. He has been hit with Mareks (most likely based on some of his birds symptoms, others are just looking puffy then dying overnight without the classic paralysis or stargazing symptoms). This is where my last set of rescues came from. So far there have been no signs of any illness in my flocks, including the rescues. The other neighbor who shared in my purchase of the Red Rock Chicks late last summer has lost one randomly. She puffed up looked “un thrifty” and was dead two days later. With just two weeks before my first set of Meat Bird chicks are set to arrive, I’m concerned.

38 of my birds total were vaccinated for Marek’s as chicks. Roostie, Little Red, all the meat ladies and the Red Rocks. I believe that the rescues from the farm coop here and the three from my other friend were as well, that brings me to 46 likely vaccinated birds. My meat birds coming in April are vaccinated, I’m not sure about the ones coming in two weeks. I just did some math. 94 for my layers and their roosters, with 40 Mistral Gris meat birds maybe arriving February 22, and 60 Weatern Rustics coming in April 15th. This is why I wanted to do closed flocks and home hatched meat birds.

I am also thinking husbandry and living conditions could be a contributing factor. So fingers crossed, and obviously I’m not going to be returning those crates for a while! The other guy is saying he thinks a farm visit by some new island residents from Alberta (that also did chickens there) could have contaminated his flock. He also thinks you can cure Covid with ivomec oral horse paste, so grain of salt. And yes I know “Quarantine”! My meat chicks are going to spend their first month on my friends farm in his coop I’m cleaning out, the place I garden at.

If I lose my flock to Mareks I’m not sure what I would do here, or if I will stay.

Wow Kris, that does not sound good! Can you contact the place your next batch of birds is coming from and make sure they are vaccinated? I hope your flock stays healthy, at least you have a good amount that have been vaccinated!

 

[WhoDatChick]

I am so over this.

Oh! This is GORGEOUS!!!
But after hearing all what yall have to deal with when it’s like this I can totally understand the frustration with it!! I love it and think it’s most beautiful but I’ll take when and how we get it! I think that’s why it’s so special to us... it’s such a rarity! I would not want to deal with this while doing animal chores day in and day out!!

 

[WhoDatChick]

Ned is supervising the sledding activity today.
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@BY Bob your sled is AWESOME!! The girls are flying through the creek and up onto the other side!

But then and again!!!! I’ll take it for this reason

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

A happy Crybaby update. He just left for his new home. The guy that was supposed to come get him yesterday backed out. So the decision was made to eat him. This had my daughter and her best friend our next door neighbor in tears. Decided to do the deed after we got done cleaning stalls when both girls came running outside screaming they had him a home, don't shoot him. Rosie's best friend's papaw wanted him. Now Maddy loves my chickens, and ever since I got them she's been begging and pleading with her parents to let her have a couple as well. They can't have any so I've always let her help with mine, give her some eggs throughout the week and have let her name a couple that she's pretended were her own. Her papaw came to get him for her. And while he was here he asked me if I had any hens or pullets I'd let go of as well and he'd buy them for Maddy. Since I knew where they were going, and I can go visit anytime I asked her which 2 she wanted, already knowing which she would take. Of course they are 2 of my Marans, the youngest of my group Remi and Blackie. It hurts a bit to loose those 2 girls, but, when they were super little Maddy took almost a daily beating with Momma hen with me to help tame them. Besides myself Maddie spoiled them just as much. I also have myself a new egg customer. Until builds his own flock up to get enough eggs a week to eat wants to buy at least a dozen eggs a week, and has several old egg cartons he's going to bring me. So while I'm going to miss the 3 that just left, I'm very happy they have a great home. And it warmed my heart today to see Maddy jumping around shouting she finally had her own chickens. Oh and Crybaby has a new name. Toothless Jr.

 

[RoyalChick]

A happy Crybaby update. He just left for his new home. The guy that was supposed to come get him yesterday backed out. So the decision was made to eat him. This had my daughter and her best friend our next door neighbor in tears. Decided to do the deed after we got done cleaning stalls when both girls came running outside screaming they had him a home, don't shoot him. Rosie's best friend's papaw wanted him. Now Maddy loves my chickens, and ever since I got them she's been begging and pleading with her parents to let her have a couple as well. They can't have any so I've always let her help with mine, give her some eggs throughout the week and have let her name a couple that she's pretended were her own. Her papaw came to get him for her. And while he was here he asked me if I had any hens or pullets I'd let go of as well and he'd buy them for Maddy. Since I knew where they were going, and I can go visit anytime I asked her which 2 she wanted, already knowing which she would take. Of course they are 2 of my Marans, the youngest of my group Remi and Blackie. It hurts a bit to loose those 2 girls, but, when they were super little Maddy took almost a daily beating with Momma hen with me to help tame them. Besides myself Maddie spoiled them just as much. I also have myself a new egg customer. Until builds his own flock up to get enough eggs a week to eat wants to buy at least a dozen eggs a week, and has several old egg cartons he's going to bring me. So while I'm going to miss the 3 that just left, I'm very happy they have a great home. And it warmed my heart today to see Maddy jumping around shouting she finally had her own chickens. Oh and Crybaby has a new name. Toothless Jr.

I am so glad it worked out for everyone. I know it is sad to part with them but it sounds like they will be in a happy home.

 

[BY Bob]

Ned is supervising the sledding activity today.
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@BY Bob your sled is AWESOME!! The girls are flying through the creek and up onto the other side!

Outstanding! That sled was always a good one. It is flying!

 

[BY Bob]

It was your idea! You did all those slo-mo videos of the chickens and I was just playing around trying to figure out how to do that.

And yet I never thought of that.

 

[BY Bob]

A happy Crybaby update. He just left for his new home. The guy that was supposed to come get him yesterday backed out. So the decision was made to eat him. This had my daughter and her best friend our next door neighbor in tears. Decided to do the deed after we got done cleaning stalls when both girls came running outside screaming they had him a home, don't shoot him. Rosie's best friend's papaw wanted him. Now Maddy loves my chickens, and ever since I got them she's been begging and pleading with her parents to let her have a couple as well. They can't have any so I've always let her help with mine, give her some eggs throughout the week and have let her name a couple that she's pretended were her own. Her papaw came to get him for her. And while he was here he asked me if I had any hens or pullets I'd let go of as well and he'd buy them for Maddy. Since I knew where they were going, and I can go visit anytime I asked her which 2 she wanted, already knowing which she would take. Of course they are 2 of my Marans, the youngest of my group Remi and Blackie. It hurts a bit to loose those 2 girls, but, when they were super little Maddy took almost a daily beating with Momma hen with me to help tame them. Besides myself Maddie spoiled them just as much. I also have myself a new egg customer. Until builds his own flock up to get enough eggs a week to eat wants to buy at least a dozen eggs a week, and has several old egg cartons he's going to bring me. So while I'm going to miss the 3 that just left, I'm very happy they have a great home. And it warmed my heart today to see Maddy jumping around shouting she finally had her own chickens. Oh and Crybaby has a new name. Toothless Jr.

You cannot have a better outcome than this. Good for you spreading the chicken joy.

 

[featherhead007]

Wait... I thought you said your church members were going to choose the other names

I decided at church today, to wait, (Until the chicks choose their own names) Nobody there minded at all.