Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

More Slow-Motion Eating

So I set out to get some side view slow motion of Hattie eating so we could see her tongue at work and someone got in my way, twice!

So I switched targets and moved on to Sansa. You can see her tongue at work with the first bite. Sorry I could not get closer. I was having issues balancing the phone.

And yes, Sansa is targeting the purple corn!

 

[Lady Red]

More Slow-Motion Eating

So I set out to get some side view slow motion of Hattie eating so we could see her tongue at work and someone got in my way, twice!

So I switched targets and moved on to Sansa. You can see her tongue at work with the first bite. Sorry I could not get closer. I was having issues balancing the phone.

And yes, Sansa is targeting the purple corn!

I am laughing at all the poofy feathers in slow-mo!
Sansa knows what she wants...nothing wrong with that.

 

[BY Bob]

I am laughing at all the poofy feathers in slow-mo!
Sansa knows what she wants...nothing wrong with that.

That head of feathers. I wonder how many times Hattie almost caught one in the eye. She had to wait for Phyllis to take a break in order to eat.

 

[Lady Red]

That head of feathers. I wonder how many times Hattie almost caught one in the eye. She had to wait for Phyllis to take a break in order to eat.

She did look like a very patient girl waiting her turn.

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

OK, Let's Revisit the Chicks & Medicated Feed vs Medication

First to put one misconception to bed. One in which I too was caught up.

After a feed review where I evaluated 11 different Medicated Chick feeds, there are NO non-pathogenic strains of coccidia in use. That is incorrect and I apologize for repeating that bad information. Let me say that again so it is clear.

THERE ARE NO FEEDS WITH NON-PATHOGENIC COCCIDIA

Of the 11 feeds I evaluated:

• 9 use Amprolium (Corid)
• 1 uses Monensin (Cobon)
• 1 claims that Diatomaceous Earth in the feed will kill coccidia

So what does this mean.

DO NOT USE MEDICATED FEED AND MEDICATION AT THE SAME TIME

Amprolium imitates Thiamine (vitamin b1) which is essential for Coccidia to grow. When Coccidia ingest Amprolium instead of Thiamine they experience Thiamine deficiency and starve from malnutrition. Your chicks also need Thiamine.

IMPORTANT: Because of this Amprolium has a very narrow margin for error. Overdosing can lead to hemorrhagic diathesis (spontaneous bleeding) and death.

DO NOT EVER TREAT CHICKS THAT ARE ON MEDICATED FEED WITH AMPROLIUM

The medicated feed is already dosed correctly for your chicks. The use of medicated feed alone is effective at the prevention of coccidiosis.

However, if you chicks are already showing symptoms of coccidiosis you should use a NON-MEDICATED feed and MEDICATE them. This will enable you to use a higher dose of Amprolium in order to get on top of the infection.

Treatment
So what is the prescribed treatment for coccidiosis?

The Poultry DVM recommends a therapeutic dose of 0.024% in water to reach therapeutic levels. If you are utilizing Corid 9.6% liquid solution, that would be 2 teaspoons per gallon of water. Treat for a minimum of 5 and up to 7 days. This must be their only source of water for those days. No rain puddles etc.

After the initial dose taper to 0.012% for another 5 to 7 days. That would be 1 teaspoon per gallon of water.

If you are going to use Medicated Feed at the end of the second treatment you can switch them to medicated feed and you should be fine.

If you are NOT going to use medicated feed, you need to switch to a final tapering dose of 0.006% for 7 days. That would be ½ teaspoon per gallon.

Storage

Chicks are not going to drink a lot of water. How long can I store this stuff? Any medicated water which the chicks have not consumed in 24 hours should be discarded. Prepared solutions may be stored in clean, closed, and labeled containers for up to 3 days at temperatures between 41°-77° F or 5°-25° C.

Good information. I’m saving it. Thanks, Bob!

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

Ok… BBB update, apparently Little Dude was not tasty, and so far this pair have not developed a taste for chicken! The little bugger was hiding in a meat tractor and decided he’s had enough socializing today and made a break for the trailer. This is the downside to 61 nearly identical birds mingling Just happy he’s not become dinner prematurely

So I was right! He ran away from home! Hahaha! He doesn’t want to go to freezer camp!

 

[BY Bob]

She did look like a very patient girl waiting her turn.

She knew I would make certain she got as much as she wanted. No need to fight over it. Hattie really is a sweet lady.

 

[adwil21]

Good Morning everyone!! I'm a long time looker and haven't gotten around to post yet!! I have been following your thread for a year now! I mainly get to check in when I'm at work and I'm not able to post pictures from work. I kept telling myself Id make an introduction post from home but never get around to it.
Anyway, I wanted to ask

Good Morning everyone!! I'm a long time looker and haven't gotten around to post yet!! I have been following your thread for a year now! I mainly get to check in when I'm at work and I'm not able to post pictures from work. I kept telling myself I'd make an introduction post from home but never get around to it.
Anyway, I wanted to ask Bob, have you thought about getting the chicks DNA tested? Apparently its pretty easy to do by mail, many people use it for silkie chicks. One way to get them earlier for you.

A little introduction.
I live in northern NY, drive through the Adirondack mountains to work every day. I currently have 5-1 year old hens and 7 babies (4 weeks) in the brooder. I only started this journey about a year ago. I found myself with free time now that my children are older.
I also have 3 cats and an elderly Pomeranian. It has been quite the adventure! I just wanted to say how much I thoroughly enjoying reading all your posts and especially seeing pictures of everyone's beautiful flocks!!

I'm going to try to post a few pics.

My original flock consists of Ruby, my barred rock. She is sort of a loner, often found wandering by herself. She has to be kicked into the coop most nights as she will stay out by herself long after everyone else has roosted. She was always the bravest and sweetest chick. Would come to me out of the brooder. She always has poopy butt and requires alot of baths.

Then there is Dottie( the hen on the right)She is a Starlight Green Egger. She's pretty quiet but very lovely. She the most curious about the new babies.
Dixie, a prairie blue bell egger, is my prettiest. I don't think I got a solo picture of her so I will have to get one later. She is in the pic with Dottie in the background. She had a bout with soft shelled eggs this spring but is getting back to normal now. She's quite loud, always talking.

Jo Jo, my other praire bluebell egger. She was always the craziest, I could never catch her as a chick. She once got stuck behind the brooder and I'm pretty sure my neighbors heard her screaming. She is also very loud. She sings the eggsong for everyone all morning. She knows her name and will come to me in the yard when called. I believe she is the bottom hen in the flock.

Hazel, the boos has mounted her several times.
Hazel, the boss. She has always behaved like a rooster. The first to go after the dog or cats if they got too close. I have seen her mount poor Jo Jo several times. She tried to go broody a couple weeks ago but thankfully it only lasted a couple days.
Our little coop.

We just doubled the size of our run to accommodate the newbies. We expanded on the back.
The babies. They are growing like weeds, hatched May 19. I ordered them from Mt. Healthy Hatchery and I got them on the 20th in the morning. They are all doing wonderful with the exception of my barnevelder. She has had problems from the start. Pasty butt and now constipation. I put probiotics in the water but she still suffers. She is easily half the size of the others. I hope she makes it. Any advice on this is appreciated. We are now brainstorming on how to introduce them. We have brought them out in the play pen a few times. The older hens are curious, no aggression or pecking yet. They seem to be most interested in what they are eating.

 

[LozzyR]

The Times They are a Changing......

Since we integrated the 3 new ladies back in Feb of 2020, Fluffy Butt Acres has been surprisingly stable. This has been the longest period of stability since the big three were here.

The Big 3
View attachment 2703105

So obviously I need to do something. [that is sarcasm]

I need to make something clear, @Shadrach was right in his concern that Phyllis would be viewed by the others as an outsider. She is too different looking. Let me also say that Phyllis has done an outstanding job carving a niche for herself with a bunch of other chickens that were not all that hot about having her around.

Phyllis is my buddy and I can see the struggle she has everyday. It is evident in the little things. I have just been so impressed with her.

The other day someone I know offered me two Polish pullets. This started a chain of thought and considerations. In the end, those pullets went to someone else.

Out of the conversations came the idea that if other Polish were added, they would create their own sub-tribe and Phyllis could wind up as their leader as she would be in place and older.

You have all heard me say that I am at maximum capacity in the coop. This is because there can be times in the winter when I need to lock them all in the coop because of the temperature and wind chill. So before I could do anything about expanding the tribe, I need to expand the coop situation. So much to consider.

So after much consideration, I have decided to expand the tribe and the coop. I will be adding a second coop in the big run especially for the new Polish sub-tribe. My engineer daughter is coming up this weekend and we will design the new 2nd coop.

I have found 2 Frizzled Gold Laced Polish who will be joining the flock later this year. They are from someone I know and trust. She has difficulty in sexing them so I will need to wait a while before they will be ready to join us but here is what our new members will look like. View attachment 2703122View attachment 2703123View attachment 2703124View attachment 2703125View attachment 2703126View attachment 2703127

This will be a big undertaking. I have never owned Frizzles before so some serious learning will need to occur. This takes the tribe well beyond the size I ever wanted. I hope that I can manage this many hens comfortably.

Lots of fun to come.

I’ve been waiting to come across this post; I saw hints of on Ribh’s and MJ’s threads. I’m currently more than 100 pages behind but determined to catch up. I can ask my frizzle breeder friend if there is anything you should know about the breed.

 

[Scrambles83]

More Slow-Motion Eating

So I set out to get some side view slow motion of Hattie eating so we could see her tongue at work and someone got in my way, twice!

So I switched targets and moved on to Sansa. You can see her tongue at work with the first bite. Sorry I could not get closer. I was having issues balancing the phone.

And yes, Sansa is targeting the purple corn!

Phyllis’ top knot is mesmerising beautiful girl. Love Hattie just being there, and Aurora in the background of #2