Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Already dosed them. Now we just have to wait.

I'm so glad to hear that.

 

[BY Bob]

I was pleased to read that, flexi is molting and only eating small amounts off the plate, she will eat more out of my hand. After I read about the grass I let them further back in my garden so she could have her fill, she likes grass a bit of docleaf and the dandelions

Excellent! They are very good for her.

 

[RoyalChick]

That's why I'm here. I have some ideas. Some of them are even good ones!

And I thank you for all of them.

Watching the Princesses this morning I notice that they carefully avoid all dandelions. So I really hope grass has lots of calcium!

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

Hi all. It's been a while. Still having sad days, but the children have been so wonderful. Thankful for the his, mine, and ours! They have surrounded me with love and help. Thankful for them. I'm not alone, thank the Heavens. Our son and wife..and cute little two year old is living here. I think I shared that a while back. I'm going to go back a bit and check posts..two pages I think.

It’s good to hear from you. I am glad you have your son and family with you. It makes such a difference.

 

[BY Bob]

Oh my gosh, that reminds me! I forgot to share that Dorothy managed to put a shell on an egg. It looks like a “body checked” egg, but still!
View attachment 2715932

Hooray! Way to go Dorothy!

 

[BY Bob]

No eggs here today. They were disturbed by my neighbour spray painting my fence and it was hot. I think they thought it was the hose, that hate it.

Princess laid a lovely hard shelled egg yesterday.

More excellent news. Great job Princess!

 

[BY Bob]

Hi all. It's been a while. Still having sad days, but the children have been so wonderful. Thankful for the his, mine, and ours! They have surrounded me with love and help. Thankful for them. I'm not alone, thank the Heavens. Our son and wife..and cute little two year old is living here. I think I shared that a while back. I'm going to go back a bit and check posts..two pages I think.

It is good to hear that you have support at this time. Is also nice to hear from you. I'm so glad you stopped by.

 

[BY Bob]

no expectations and a better life than they would have otherwise

A better life than the ever had before and in many cases, just continued life.

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

Oh Shad... I can only imagine how hard this is. I’m heartbroken at the thought of this and what you must be going through is devastating. We all feel for you, and appreciate you sticking with us, sharing your experience and knowledge. Maybe one day you can, if not establish new tribes, help rehabbing some less fortunate girls at least. I quite like the thought of the chicken old folks home idea... no expectations and a better life than they would have otherwise.

Thanks, that is where I am heading, and it’s good to hear I’m not completely crazy for wanting to try. So, it’s just going to be a few days of very intensive observation of her tribe to determine who will be best suited to rooming with her, so far there isn’t any clear “best friend” that she has, so I will be watching carefully to see if I can suss out who will be best to keep with her. She is in with my low maintenance rescue group, and they usually just go about things on their own in their tractor.

I also think she really needs a companion or two to be able to function, for finding the feeder and waterer, and knowing when it is time to roost. I will build a lower, secure coop with a more accessible roost for her as quickly as I can. (I’ve been selling and using up some of our house materials anyhow, so why the heck not!) I don’t have the energy, or time, but I will give it my best go. For her sake. If she declines horribly then I will reassess. Her Rooster is a bit of a Jerk (to me) but mostly quite good with his hens, gentle, and he makes sure everyone is up good and early. I don’t think he would be a great companion to her though, another hen or two perhaps. Sammy would be great (he’s one of my two “best” Roosters) except he’s too accustomed to free ranging and I don’t think she could keep up.

I really appreciate the feedback @Shadrach and I also cannot wait for the book, though I suppose I will have to. Once I get the house completed I plan on setting up multiple smaller coops and going almost fully free range. I really believe that the chickens have better lives like that. See, there’s hope for some of us yet!

I haven't been able to even look at pictures of the tribes without getting very upset until the last couple of days, so yes, I miss them terribly.
I don't have any plans for a new tribe. My current circumstances make keeping chickens free range impossible and the circumstances are unlikely to change enough in the foreseeable future.
Keeping ex batts, or rescues may be possible at some point. Ex batts would never be safe in a fully free range environment in the UK, so a chicken old peoples home with a run and supervised exercise might be an option.
The fact is that Bucket Boy and the tribes is over. I've been incredibly privileged to have lived with the tribes for a decade.
What I hope to do is get organised here and get my book published in the hope that the book will help change the appalling view most people have of chickens, their intelligence, their behaviour and the cruelty involved in the keeping of them.
Meanwhile, I'll come on to BYC when I can and see if I can pass on some of what I've learned to those prepared to pay attention.

I am looking forward to your book. And please keep coming to BYC, I appreciate your perspective on all things chicken.

 

[Blazinga]

When we woke up the chicks were weak, we almost thought the brown one, Cider, was dead, but she's still breathing. Off to the emergency vet.