Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

First thing this morning my grandmother called wanting to pick me and Rosie up to go pick some lettuce a friend was going to give her. I was finally forced after almost 2 years of avoiding it to tell her that I was not comfortable anymore with her driving. With the many health issues she has now she does not need her license but refuses to give them up. It looks like it is going to take my mom forcefully getting power of attorney over her to get them taken away. Now, I love my grandmother, and would do anything in the world for her, but dementia is setting in, and she has always been one that if you are not doing something for her she has absolutely no use for you. We also get into many arguments over how I am raising Rosie. I'm going to get her killed messing with horses, or kidnapped because I let her outside to play in our neighborhood by herself. If she had her way, and she's tried, Rosie would be afraid of her own shadow. Also she is a hoarder. Me and mom have tried for years now to go help clean her place up and just get rid of garbage and she throws fits and ends up in tears claiming we treat her like dirt.

Anyway, me and mom and Rose head down to her house, intending to pick her up and go pick this lettuce for her. Get there, and she'd had someone else go get it for her. Ok fine, you still need to go to the store and pay bills, lets go. Nope ends up sending me and mom to the store and bills can wait to the end of the month.

We get back and unload everything and convince her to let us help her by washing her dishes which had piled up. So she decides ok, she'd take a nap. While she's sleeping and mom is washing dishes me and Rose go clean her bathroom for her and do her laundry.

Due to her hoarding, she has a mouse problem. She claims she's only had a few mice for the last 2 months and has been setting traps and killing them. While yes it's true she's got traps set, and may be getting a couple here and there, but, this has been going on longer then 2 months.

Mom was almost finished with the dishes and I was waiting on the 2nd load of laundry to finish washing when we took a break and went outside to smoke. Out there maybe 5 minutes when it all went to crap. On our way back in as soon as we opened the screen door there he was. She has a 5 foot black snake in her house. Cue instant heart attack #1 for me. We scared the snake as much as he scared us so he doubled back and hid in the junk she had piled up along her living room wall.

Grandma also spotted the back end of the snake as he ran and swears she didn't know he was in there. This freaked her out so bad that for once she demanded we catch him even if it meant throwing everything along that wall away. 5 hours later, with about 10 different mice flying out at me when I'd move a box and half her living room clean. STILL NO SNAKE!! At this point me and mom are exhausted, when I came across a nest of baby mice and she had a idea. Since she refused to come home with us, her plan was to use one of her minnow traps and place the baby mice inside it to lure the snake in. I told her she's crazy but she swears it will work, she's caught copperheads before using that method. Fine, whatever, but that snake is too fat to fit through the opening. It also meant I got the lovely job of catching the baby mice. Now these were not pinkies, they had fur and could run around and jump. I hate mice almost as much as snakes and those little devils were jumping all over the box they was in so I was in the middle of heart attack 12 or 13 at that time. But I caught them, all 7 and they are now in minnow trap and its placed right beside her stove where we think maybe the snake escaped to.

It has been a long trying day and my nerves are shot. BUT, she wants all the junk out of her house now. While she is in this frame of mind me and mom plan to do as much as we can as fast as we can. Because one wrong word, or the wrong thing gets tossed she'll do a 180 and decide everything is once again useful and needs to stay.

Wow! That was a day! Some hugs for you.

Frankly, I would leave the black snake alone. It's probably the only thing keeping the house from being overrun by mice. Any thoughts of getting her a cat? It being Caturday and all? Of course then there is the litter situation.

 

[BY Bob]

Amazing job Bob! And I had an inkling that it might have been one of those 1 bathroom houses… it would hardly be a real “Rescue” otherwise! 1940’s-1960’s houses, for all their quirks are great though. They have solid bones you just don’t find in newer construction (I may be biased). Once you get the needed upgrades to the electric and plumbing, they just can’t be beat for practicality and quality.

I love her house. It is what they call a bungalow. 2 bedrooms downstairs and one built into the old attic so 3 total. It has the tiniest kitchen I have ever seen and they are about to remodel that. That is business this contractor could have had as well.

Of course my daughter is refusing to consider any other renovations at this time. She needs to recover.

 

[BY Bob]

Will there be a cover over the wine barrel or will it be inverted?

I was looking at my current, store bought coop. The nesting boxes have a removable floor. I was wondering if I could take the floor away and position a large planter under it. I will provide pics if i decide to try it. It might take some finagling.

I love this idea. Remember this though, you need to moisten the soil otherwise it is just dirt and before hard dust. My understanding is that they like the soil a little damp as well.

 

[BY Bob]

We have had a leak somewhere in the wall between the bathroom and the laundry for years.
Various plumbers/builders have insisted that it is the shower surround. We have had the bathroom replaced twice but the leak persists
This time we will be removing the walls and checking all the pipes! Luckily we now have an en-suite we can use while the bathroom is out of action.

Chicken tax: baby Edwina and Baby Alice
View attachment 2735537

OMG Babies! I don't renege ever seeing baby pictures before!

 

[Mutchi]

I thought of you late last night when I went out to check on everything before bed there was the biggest slug I have ever seen crawling up the foundation of the Chicken Palace. It was stretched out and was a good 5" long and fatter than my thumb.
I tried to get you a picture but it was dark and I was carrying stuff and I couldn't get flash to work.
I think even my ladies would have had trouble with that monster!
And indeed I was just like you:

Lol
We have large cat sized slugs here, they cut large!
Here's a pic from the internet since its to dark at night to get a pic of the real ones!

 

[Mutchi]

Lol
We have large cat sized slugs here, they cut large!
Here's a pic from the internet since its to dark at night to get a pic of the real ones!

And for anyone who knows that I live in Montana, I know there's no large slugs there. I'm on vacation

 

[BY Bob]

I'm completely gobsmacked! What a lot you got done and in so little time. You guys worked like Trojans. What a great result!

They are both hard workers. Somehow my daughter also got in her required billable hours every day as well.

I am amazed at how well it all came out. We were so heads down working that we really didn't appreciate how well it came out in the moment.

 

[BY Bob]

Well done Bob

Would you and your dear wife (brilliant cook) like to come and visit me please.

Not to say I would have you working here the whole time and your wife doing what I've heard she is amazing at

I'm surprised we don't get more offers like that.

 

[BY Bob]

I did it! I am feeling proud of myself because I actually got the Shad method of taking a chicken off the roost to work for me. Admittedly not with Maggie - but to give Diana her medicine last night it worked like a dream. Very proud of myself - feels like a useful new skill.
I also have a question - I am doing a much-needed tidying up of chicken 'stuff' - mainly I bought in a panic when I first got the Princesses because I wanted to be a good Mom and have everything a chicken needed. In the heap are two bags of food grade diatomaceous earth. Why would I need that? I think people add it to dust baths - is that why it was on my essential chicken supplies list? Or should I have been doing something with it all along and I have been neglectful of my ladies?

I know that people add it to dust baths. I'm not certain what else it actually helps with but you could use it for that, if you wanted.

 

[BY Bob]

Lol
We have large cat sized slugs here, they cut large!
Here's a pic from the internet since its to dark at night to get a pic of the real ones!

My lord. That is ginormous!