Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[micstrachan]

Hi friends! I need to catch up, but was too excited to wait to post this . Check out today’s offering!

 

[featherhead007]

I just named another one. It was pecking the iPhone screen. “Xzt4@“. But I don’t know how to pronounce it!

Alright. I shortened that name that the bird typed, so I could more easily remember it (And to share it) "Xzit"

 

[BY Bob]

Hi friends! I need to catch up, but was too excited to wait to post this . Check out today’s offering!
View attachment 2522507

That's awesome! Way to go ladies.

 

[BY Bob]

Alright. I shortened that name that the bird typed, so I could more easily remember it (And to share it) "Xzit"

Pronounced "exit"?

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

After surviving the holiday season hoarding every egg to be used for baking thanks to only 2 girls laying, I now have a happy problem. 6 of my girls are laying, getting at least 5 eggs a day now, sometimes 6. I just took this photo, and this is after I sold a dozen yesterday, and eating several throughout the week. Oh and the white eggs, they are NOT momma hens like I thought. They are Bread's. If I hadn't saw her lay today's egg myself I would not have believed her to be a white layer. Her momma lays a tan egg, so was expecting some shade of tan or cream not white. I think its time to make a couple more Cheesecakes. Have not baked since New Year's Eve.

 

[featherhead007]

Pronounced "exit"?

"ZIT"

 

[Ribh]

Pronounced "exit"?

Definitely a rooster!

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

"ZIT"

I know she named herself, but I am never giving mom grief about Dirt and Bread's name ever again.

 

[Kris5902]

Found blood on a part of the roosting bars today. The roosting bars (which is basically a barred floor) are next to the nestbox with a doorway between them.

Two days ago right after I had let them out for a bit I noticed a tiny bit of blood tracked onto the snow near the door of their run. I looked as best I could at everyone's feet and vent. Nothing found, but the foot inspection wasn't great, I had trouble looking at their feet bottoms, it was windy and they were flighty. It also was just that one bit of blood, not a series of spots like a bleeding foot. No blood on or near anyone's vents. Butters had had a frozen poop on her which I was about to deal with when I saw she had pulled it off while roosting (a featherball found in the poop tray). She's missing the small feathers that were there but there's no sign of injury.

Today's find was a big drip on the side of one bar, intact and frozen, and a couple smaller drops on top looking the same, then a few smeared prints from being walked on. It doesn't look like a foot injury unless it bled while she was holding it up, because of the lack of smear. Is chicken blood lighter in color than human blood? This has a rosy hue to it.

So I looked again at everyone's vents and faces today, and didn't see anything. I notice Hazel's vent, and I think Peanut's too, evert somewhat when they squat and I'm petting them. Could this be concerning?

I felt all their crops. Seemed fine. I felt three hens' keels and abdomens and noticed Queenie's abdomen feels more plump than the others, also wider, but her body is wider. I don't have a good reference for her usual abdomen because I haven't been inspecting that regularly (unfortunately). One Buckeye has just started laying, I don't know who for sure, though I suspect Butters.

Of course they all act fine otherwise. There's been a lot of ruckus the last two days as they wait for the nest boxes to free up. They call and hop up onto the perch and go into the coop and come out again. Peanut was in there a very long time yesterday. Two Buckeyes will share the long area sometimes, one in each end. Yesterday Queenie wanted to go in and share but was prevented, and another Buckeye jumped the line and went in ahead of her and got to share. Queenie eventually got in. But today it seemed they wanted to be in there one-by-one and everyone was not happy. When I checked Hazel today in there she was sitting almost in the middle, partly blocking the doorway.

I relate this because I wonder if the blood may have happened during this time. Because it's hard to imagine the blood not getting smeared and tracked around if it happened during roosting.

No poop has had any signs of blood, old or new. Everyone's poop looked darker yesterday, due I think to the extra soldier worms and a different scratch they got the day before, but there was no visible blood on any of it; today's poop looked more like usual - light green & white, dark green and white, & small brown poops. In the run there was one fresh poop with a bit of bubbles in it yesterday.

I've been researching this and so far am finding that it could be a cracked egg inside somebody, to a bleeding comb or a nail injury. From bad news, to nothing to get too excited about. Does anyone have any specific instructions on what to look for in checking everyone again tomorrow? Thank you everyone!

In my experience comb, wattle, and nail injuries are spectacularly bloody. You won’t miss those and there would be a lot more blood I agree with most of what has been said already, but pictures would be helpful. Here are some of mine, they are behind a spoiler for good reason...

Spoiler: General Gross-ness and Blood/Poop

post coccidiosis bloody poop, this was after a severe infection that killed one of my first chickens at 9 weeks of age, these pics are about 1~1.5 weeks after finishing treatment.


And a related cecal core? This was very firm, fibrous, and smelled awful when cut in half. If I recall correctly, apparently a side effect of the severe coccidiosis caused part of the chickens intestinal system to essentially break off, die and be expelled.

Beginnings of a prolapsed vent this was Mrs B’s second or third round of prolapse note the urates leaking and the bright inner vent tissues starting to protrude.

Lash egg, because I might as well throw it in here


Intestinal shed this is a fairly recent shot, culprit is suspected to be one of my latest rescues


Sammy after a little fight, he’s fine, they were little comb/wattle injuries but this shows most of the stages/colors you will see in chicken blood against a very proud, very white background... dumba** dips**t rooster

Note how where it is clotted on and around the wounds it’s almost black, but where it rubbed on his breast it’s kind of pink with the thicker coverage on his feathers looking brownish. His earlobe was still bleeding and it’s a bright red.

edit I just spent like 1/2hr resizing and inserting those pictures can anyone actually see them? How did I screw that up and what good is a spoiler if you can’tuse it to hide gross pictures?

 

[micstrachan]

That's awesome! Way to go ladies.

That was Flash’s first egg.