Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Shadrach]

Something is Wrong with Hattie

Listen to her voice in this video. She normally has a high squeaky voice. She is eating, drinking, and only sounds like this when talking.

Has anyone encountered this before?

I've got no computer sound atm Bob. I've been fixing stuff.

 

[MaryJanet]

Will there be towers? And battlements? I don't see any battlements!
The plans look great RC

Of course, Queen Mary wants all that stuff, but I'm afraid it's going to have a skillion roof with a deep overhang.

Maybe I'll put up a few postcards of castles in the roosting box so she can dream of grandeur.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

The Story of Elphie

Elphie’s time with us was not very long and her story is a tragic one. Her story is one that is integral to my deep affection for the amazing animals that chickens are. Elphie is the hen that reminded me of what wonderful companions they can be. The fact that her death was directly my responsibility is ironic and still haunts me to this day.

The initial flock that we had were primarily raised by my wife as we agreed. They were her companions in the backyard. When Dolly was attacked and killed by the hawk the innocent fun that they were for my wife went away. In fact her initial response was that she did not want to keep them anymore. After I reminder her that it would not be fair to Trisha, she agreed to let me look for another hen to keep Trisha company.

So I hit up craigslist and found someone selling full grown leghorn hens about 45 miles away. (Yes @Shadrach , I did purchase her for $10). We went that night to get her and placed her onto the roost with Trisha that very night. There was very little fuss as Trisha accepted her right away. I guess Trisha figured Elphie was better than living alone.

My wife having raised Trisha from a chick was her best friend. Trisha hung out with her when we would be sitting outside. However, Trisha was not what you would call a cuddly hen. She hung around but not like Daisy, the greatest hen ever, would do. Where Daisy was obsessed with humans and would jump in your lap, Trisha would come by, say hello, hang out for a minute and then move on. It turned out that Elphie determined I was a weak spot and could get me to feed her some of whatever I had. She loved people food, especially Cheese Itz, which she quickly figured out was my usual snack.

So Elphie focused her attention on me. Frankly I loved it. She had personality plus and we started hanging out together whether I was working in the backyard, reading in my chair, or relaxing in the pool.

When not interested in us, Elphie and Trisha were a good flock with little pecking and what seemed to be an easy companionship.

Then tragedy struck again.

I was outside with them one day and they were both in the coop. I figured they were laying their eggs for the day. Well Trisha was laying her egg and doing so unsuccessfully. Eventually she would come scrambling out of the coop with Elphie running right behind her. All kinds of squawking accompanying them.

Obviously I was drawn to them and rushed over to see what was occurring. Elphie was trying to peck at Trish’s butt. When I finally caught up with them I found an egg stuck in Trisha’s butt. Elphie was trying to peck it and break it.

Lord help me I did not know what to do. I had never seen anything like this before. I placed Trisha into a cardboard box and brought her inside. I the hit up the web to try and locate a veterinarian anywhere near us that would treat a chicken. I remember the phrase I used begging vets to help me, “She is a dear pet and I desperately need help to save her”. It was all to no avail; I could not find anyone willing to try and help me.

I was getting desperate. Running out of options, I found a vet online that would consult with me over the web for a fee. Not finding any other help, I signed up.

I can hear you all now. What about Backyard Chickens? I so wish I had known about this site at that time. Unfortunately I did not.

The online vet worked me through a couple of things but I simply could not get the egg loose. I eventually had to break it and then make certain I had gotten all of the shell out of her. He then advised that I shorten her daylight exposure to try and suppress Trisha’s laying instinct for a while. So every night for two weeks I would go and gather Trisha off of the roost and would place her in a cardboard box in a dark room and keep her there for more than 13 hours. I would then place her back out with Elphie.

Elphie never acted up and Trisha remained top hen. Trisha acted like a normal hen and everything seemed good. Trisha would never lay another egg but we did not care about that. Unfortunatley a month or so after we stopped the darkness treatment my wife would find her passed in the run one morning. We have always assumed it was a result of the egg binding. I did not feel the need to have her autopsied, at this point what difference did it make why she passed.

This hit my wife hard and she wanted to pack it in again. At this point I had gotten attached to Elphie and I simply waited until my wife was gone on a Saturday and I went and got Daisy. I was not done with chickens at all. Elphie was slowly worming her way into my heart and sucking me into the chicken lifestyle.

What Elphie would teach Daisy over the next few months and the way in which they were fascinated with us would make us chicken people forever.

Here are some photos of Elphie. I don’t have a lot as I was not quite into chicken photography yet.

Elphie with her birthday cupcake
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Enjoying Captain Crunch for breakfast
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After Falling in the Pool
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Raiding the tomatoes out of the garden with Trisha
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Legally entering the garden after the growing season with Trisha (Elphie is on the left)
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Enjoying Thanksgiving stuffing with Trisha. (Elphie is on the right)
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Braving the snow to come see us at the backdoor
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Finally, enjoying a strawberry
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Thank you for sharing Bob. Your stories really bring your hens and their personalities to life. I love to read about them

 

[Shadrach]

Thought I’d share a couple of photos from our garden. The avocado tree is self-seeded and has taken years to fruit. I bought two Frangipani trees from Gumtree, one is going really well, it’s twin not so much. At least it’s alive though, not like the George Brown and Blood Sun I bought from near the QLD border and transported down. $100 for two baby trees and they both carked it last year!
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It may have taken a while to get going but it's making up for it now.

 

[MaryJanet]

Of course, Queen Mary wants all that stuff, but I'm afraid it's going to have a skillion roof with a deep overhang.

Maybe I'll put up a few postcards of castles in the roosting box so she can dream of grandeur.

Whoops!! Don't mind me *whistles nonchalantly*

 

[Shadrach]

Here's my snow picture. We ended up with about 3 inches. I realized that I need to put up a center post for the netting. Hopefully it holds until then.View attachment 1996970

Good on them for still coming out in it.

 

[Shadrach]

We beat you. We're are at 4 inches. Beautiful storm though. Her's a look around my backyard right before dark.
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And the dwarf maple in my front yard after night fell.
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That Dwarf Maple looks gorgeous Bob.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

I'm going to tell Bob off now.
I've watched many of your videos Bob and I think they are wonderful. They have rather given you away on the indulgence front though.
This is what I feed, as an example, 20 chickens for late night treat. They may get to share a walnut between three, or four during the day.
It contains; Tuna, rice, chopped peanuts, tomato, chopped mixed leaf salad, sunflower seeds, a small piece of mixed grain bread chopped, a few oats.
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It gets them out of the trees.

Ah, bribery and corruption. A good method of getting chooks down from trees. Thanks for showing us Shad, I like getting treat ideas for my girls.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

Something is Wrong with Hattie

Listen to her voice in this video. She normally has a high squeaky voice. She is eating, drinking, and only sounds like this when talking.

Has anyone encountered this before?

Laryngitis? That is a very weird sound, sort of husky.
Sounds like she's muttering to herself.

 

[Shadrach]

I got a dozen eggs today! View attachment 1997053

What breed of hen laid the dark brown eggs?