Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[micstrachan]

Here is Cashew, a.k.a. “Big Mama.” She has a special place in my heart for being such an excellent mother. She raised (store bought) chicks last year. You can see by her head and pale face, she’s not quite done with molt yet. She’s a sweetheart and even brought the chicks to my lap. I’ll look for a pic of her bringing the chicks to me.

 

[micstrachan]

Found one. Here’s Big Mama (Cashew) with two of the chicks on my lap.

 

[LozzyR]

Found one. Here’s Big Mama (Cashew) with two of the chicks on my lap.
View attachment 2016228

So jealous!! I wish had cuddly hens. I just have to settle for companionable ones.

 

[micstrachan]

Here is Bridge. Her real/original name is Bridgette, but she has a few nicknames (Bridge, Bridgey, Bridgely), but I just call her Bridge. She is a long, slow molter, which I’m grateful for, since she stopped laying about a year and a half ago. You can see her last stage of molt on her head (Mine tend to start in the back and work their way up... opposite from other reports I’ve heard.)She is top hen and very special for a few reasons. She’s the only remaining hen from my original four and almost four years old. She was MY special chick with the first four. She calls me for an escort across the road and tidbits for me. I’ll try to catch that on video. I love this girl! (I love them all.) I hope with my improved practices, they will all live longer.

 

[micstrachan]

Here’s Roxy, another 3yo. Not quite out of molt, but getting her voice back. She’s pretty chill... lower ranked and took molt pretty hard this year. She’s the first to come running when I spread out a towel.

 

[micstrachan]

Meet Lucky. She had a late, hard molt, but handled it like a champ. You can see her head is not done molting and her face is still pale. However, she is talking, squatting, and lap sitting again (missed that!) She’s one of my main lap sitters. Also 3 years old.

 

[micstrachan]

This is Dorothy, one of the pullets (white chick on my lap with Cashew). She is hilariously curious and friendly, even though I did not hand raise her. She must have leadership qualities despite her tiny size, because Bridge allows her to roost up top beside her at night. She is VERY social and a great lap visitor. I find it interesting that my higher ranked birds lap sit while the lower ranked birds hang back. Dorothy is a California White (3/4 Leghorn, 1/4 Barred Rock.) I find her personality very similar to Margo, my late Brown Leghorn who was top hen (Boss Bird) before she passed.

 

[micstrachan]

I think Millie is the last to introduce from the 3yo batch. She is very sweet, beautiful and low in the pecking order. She nearly starved herself to death during molt this year. I had to scoop her up off the coop floor and bring her inside for heat and baby bird food. She’s always had a slight limp and paler face than everyone else. Wondering if she could have Marek’s since UC Davis thought they saw Marek’s background infection in Margo’s necropsy. (They said she did not have tumors, but may have had compromised immunity, allowing sepsis to take over.) Anyway, Millie, which is actually short for Mildred, is called Little Mill most of the time.

 

[Shadrach]

This is Dorothy, one of the pullets (white chick on my lap with Cashew). She is hilariously curious and friendly, even though I did not hand raise her. She must have leadership qualities despite her tiny size, because Bridge allows her to roost up top beside her at night. She is VERY social and a great lap visitor. I find it interesting that my higher ranked birds lap sit while the lower ranked birds hang back. Dorothy is a California White (3/4 Leghorn, 2/4 Barred Rock.) I find her personality very similar to Margo, my late Brown Leghorn who was top hen (Boss Bird) before she passed.
View attachment 2016279

Was Margo still alive when Dorothy arrived?

 

[micstrachan]

I hope all these posts aren’t too obnoxious. Just two babies to go! This is Ester (pullet). She’s a Barred Rock, but her feathers look more like a Cuckoo Marans. She doesn’t let me get too close, except for when she’s compelled to squat. She’s probably the most nervous of the bunch. The babies are a little more wild than the ones I hand raised, which is probably a good thing.