Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Lady Red]

Bad news about flying to Hawaii from San Diego: my airplane won’t be able to make that flight. Even the fuel needed (with an additional tank) and extra weight for it, is just not possible. I’m going to pick up my sister in San Diego, then fly to Seattle. Then we all will take his yacht for the ocean cruise. (Waiting for my brother to tell me when he’s ready) oh well.
Note: no fueling stations in the open Pacific Ocean (go figure)

I know you're not going to like this, but I'm relieved you're not flying it. It sounded downright scary to me. This isn't saying anything about your pilot abilities, nor your plane. It is my momma bear protective gene.

 

[Lady Red]

Note I started this post early Monday, but my internet connection is bad at the moment so:

Well, I have found a downside to the Chicken Trailer. Northern Fowl Mites… I candled some eggs under my broody bully girl on Sunday, and she, and I’m assuming the whole free range flock, have them. Going to make a “late night run” into the Barn as soon as Haying is done and just dose everyone with Ivomec. The eggs, from Little Red and my late “favorite” Girl of Roostie were all infertile. I have replaced them with eggs from my Friends flock, “BarnAucanas” from his not quite up to breed standards Barnvelder Rooster who looks amazing for 6+ years old, and some Ameraucana girls get took in from the person who has the farm I brooded at, where I’ve been gardening, and where we get our water from.

Saturday we had a great market day, our first real market since summer 2019. We netted $200 in about 4 hours, our friend cross marketed their amazing Sauerkraut and grossed $136.

And unfortunately I have some more really sad news. Today we lost Roostie. Early afternoon while we were moving the meat birds in preparation for tomorrow’s road trip to freezer camp, he squared off with Cass. No apparent physical damage was done, their hackles were raised and there were a few brief bits of sparring before I ran around the fence and broke them up. Not a drop of blood was spilled but Roostie was clearly strained he was droopy and listless. I worry about his heart as he’s well over 13lbs again (as a two and a bit year old Meat bird Rooster that’s not as overweight as it seems) I moved him and his ladies back to the proper side of the fence, fed him some egg yolk by hand and made sure he drank water. They were doing fine when I left for dinner at 6. Everything seemed back to normal. When we got home at 9:40 (some chickens were still even outside, as it was mostly light out!) he was gone. Very purple comb and wattles, so I am thinking this heat wave and the stress combined just pushed him past his limits. He had put all his ladies up for the night, so I tucked them in… and now I just don’t know what to do. Roostie my “free” Rooster with his adorable waddle, gentle Nature, and ability to parent the younglings is irreplaceable. I am quite heartbroken, he has two babies. One cockerel and one of unknown gender.

RIP Roostie

 

[featherhead007]

I know you're not going to like this, but I'm relieved you're not flying it. It sounded downright scary to me. This isn't saying anything about your pilot abilities, nor your plane. It is my momma bear protective gene.

Tell that to Amelia Earhart! I’m limited to what my SkyHawk can, and cannot do. And it upsets me, that I can’t afford a jet aircraft. (At this time)

 

[Lady Red]

Peanut update - & commiserating with @Lady Red and @RoyalChick and who else here?

After tapering down on the yogurt/calcium d3/crumble balls, there were at least three soft eggs in the last two weeks. One I found, two I found just yolk in the bedding. The soft eggs break I think, and get eaten. Eggs in general don't get poked and eaten. They could get tested, but I have never found any firm-shelled eggs broken into, and if they are, it's not a regular occurrence.

Peanut had laid soft and very long odd-shaped eggs before, where the pointed end of the egg doesn't get well shelled though the rest is less soft. So she was probably responsible for one if not all of the recent soft eggs. Recently she was walking around with tail down and looking uncomfortable, then laid a long soft egg that broke. So I went back to supplementing calcium and after four days now I've confirmed that yesterday Peanut laid a pretty firm shelled egg, I saw her go in and come out. It was shaped better, rounder, but slightly odd shaped still.

Hmmm will continue the calcium citrate+ D3, & calcium carbonate supplementing. Just got another bag of nutrena feather fixer while I was in TSC, so if I switch again it would be after that. But not sure if switching to a layer feed would be enough for Peanut (and whoever else, if anybody) anyway. While in the store I looked at the calcium percentages again, it's not much more than they're getting as @BY Bob had noted. It may be the metabolic availability with the type of calcium, like citrate versus carbonate. More calcium carbonate, typical in feed, might not make a big difference?

Thank you for sharing.
Are you guys getting hot days there?
I'm dissecting so many bits and pieces...now Whip has been acting funny. no soft eggs, but her schedule is off...laying in the late afternoon and her comb is pale. She separates from the group and as soon as I see this, I bring her inside. Once over the weekend for a night, and now this morning and afternoon.
Her crop doesn't feel full at all. I've checked to see if she smells sour (she doesn't). She does eat and drink, but it seems to he less than normal.

I'm wondering if the temperature swings are affecting her??

Sorry to add more of my own drama to your troubles

 

[Lady Red]

This is very helpful to me Chicory - thank you. It encourages me to keep on the calcium program. Are you saying feather fixer and layer are roughly similar in calcium? I have not tried feather fixer but rather am doing yoghurt with ground up Calcium Citrate and D3 in it also scrambled egg with ground up calcium and D3 and now and then I pop a pill directly down one of them. I am better at giving pills to chickens than I am to cats it seems!

I love you guys! All the sharing helps me.
Now let's get these birds healthy!!

 

[Lady Red]

I know that I am a big worry-wart and I try to stifle that aspect of my personality, but here I go. This morning Blanche layed a soft egg. She hasn’t done that before. It was white, and the usual size (she lays a large egg), but soft.
And, she layed it on the floor in the middle of the coop. She doesn’t do that either, she always uses her favorite nest box. (Maybe she thought she was just pooping?)
I picked it up and it stayed together even though it was soft.
She is her perky usual self.
I am a basket case.

I'm a card carrying member too.
I did read ahead a bit and agree with Bob's post about holding on the worry until it has been more than one.

 

[Lady Red]

I'm Crushed

and not just for myself. I just got notice that there will be no Frizzled Polish coming to live with Phyllis. A dog got into the area where she kept them and killed 12 of the 18 chickens before they could get control of it. I'm both sad for her and myself. I was going to pick them up in the next two weeks. I should have taken them straight run. I could have saved 2 lives maybe.

that is so sad. I'm sorry.

 

[MaryJanet]

Tell that to Amelia Earhart! I’m limited to what my SkyHawk can, and cannot do. And it upsets me, that I can’t afford a jet aircraft. (At this time)

The yacht will be lots of fun though.

 

[Lady Red]

The yacht will be lots of fun though.

Yes. MJ...let's invite ourselves?

 

[Marie2020]

I see what you mean, if you meant Amber’s comb? Could she br heading into molt?

You may be right on the molting. thank you