Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[CrazyChookChookLady]

Awww! I have a soft spot for ginger cats. And black cats. And black-and-white cats. And tabby cats. Hmmmm. I guess I just have a thing for cats. My four are all rescued mutts but all believe they are of deeply special aristocatic lineage. And who am I to say they aren’t? Taz looks like a sweetie. All mine are sweet too except Piewacket is very feisty and Nightshade is a killer (mainly of mice).

My boys are both tabby and white. One is ginger the other black and tan. I also have a torti. Rich didn't want to add a 3rd cat, but Scooby showed up as a stray at a friend's house in the city, so we took him and brought him to the country.


This is Marigold.

This is Scooby.

This is Taz, again.

 

[ValerieJ]

Not really. I steal what I need and give some to the main house.
A lot of eggs get thrown out because of my keeping arrangements. I encourage the hens to sit by leaving their egg stashes alone. After three or four days of sitting I know their egg laying cycle has switched off. This means that for the next two or three weeks they won't lay eggs and that gives them a rest at peak laying cycle. Very broadly, the less eggs a hen lays the longer she lives; this is very roughly.
Once the eggs have been sat on for a few days they've developed too much for most people to want to eat....a bit strange given people eat chicken. These eggs get broken and left for the wildlife who aren't as fussy.
A proportion of the eggs I don't find at all, or don't find in time to make them edible.
Another factor is if one keeps stealing their eggs (remember they have unlimited choice of where they lay) they go and lay somewhere else. This means more nest hunting, not so much for the eggs but to keep the hens safer. A version of this is what happens in feral flocks, their nests get raided and eggs get stolen by other creatures but in general only humans take them all and keep taking them.

For as free as your chickens are to roam, they are more like pets than any of our chickens! We all collect eggs unless we want chicks, and have a broody hen. I think any chicken that lives with you is in heaven. Well, except for the predators, but really they are living the way nature intended.

 

[ValerieJ]

My Dr. Zoidberg used to do that. He would clean Isabel like that and then bite her at the end. I always wondered what that nonsense was about. It has to be dominance, right?

I think it's overstimulation. One of my cats does it, but he also bites if you pet him in one spot for too long, or just pet him too long in general. The other kitty will lay there all day if you pet him!

 

[ValerieJ]

Awww! I have a soft spot for ginger cats. And black cats. And black-and-white cats. And tabby cats. Hmmmm. I guess I just have a thing for cats. My four are all rescued mutts but all believe they are of deeply special aristocatic lineage. And who am I to say they aren’t? Taz looks like a sweetie. All mine are sweet too except Piewacket is very feisty and Nightshade is a killer (mainly of mice).

I share your love of cats! Only a cat can look a king in the eye. They are all royal.

 

[Shadrach]

For as free as your chickens are to roam, they are more like pets than any of our chickens! We all collect eggs unless we want chicks, and have a broody hen. I think any chicken that lives with you is in heaven. Well, except for the predators, but really they are living the way nature intended.

In many respects you are absolutely right. My objectives and circumstances are different from most I think. My interest in chickens is to study them. I hope when my book gets published that it will change peoples perception of the chicken.
I joined these threads, particularly ByBob's because he observes his chickens with empathy and a view I find more similar to mine than the majority of BYC contributors. There are others on BYC with similar views.

 

[BY Bob]

In many respects you are absolutely right. My objectives and circumstances are different from most I think. My interest in chickens is to study them. I hope when my book gets published that it will change peoples perception of the chicken.
I joined these threads, particularly ByBob's because he observes his chickens with empathy and a view I find more similar to mine than the majority of BYC contributors. There are others on BYC with similar views.

Thank you. They fascinate me. Sometimes I feel like I know what they are thinking and other times I clueless as to why they do things.

I'm going to try and get some run video today to show everyone how confinement affects their interactions.

 

[ValerieJ]

In many respects you are absolutely right. My objectives and circumstances are different from most I think. My interest in chickens is to study them. I hope when my book gets published that it will change peoples perception of the chicken.
I joined these threads, particularly ByBob's because he observes his chickens with empathy and a view I find more similar to mine than the majority of BYC contributors. There are others on BYC with similar views.

I'm certainly trying to be that kind of a chicken tender. I'm so thankful to have you and @BY Bob to follow and learn from! These little cockerels are making that difficult for me right now, but I'm not giving up any time soon.

 

[ValerieJ]

Thank you. They fascinate me. Sometimes I feel like I know what they are thinking and other times I clueless as to why they do things.

I'm going to try and get some run video today to show everyone how confinement affects their interactions.

I'm looking forward to that!

 

[Shadrach]

Time for a bit of silliness.
I'll just hide behind this tree.

Can you see me?

 

[Shadrach]

Somebody implied I just had a nestbox in my house for effect.
It seems to be working. Here's todays applicants. They all laid an egg.