Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Ooh the pictures in the background reminded me of the resident signs you have! Are you going to make their placards or wait until they're older? Cute tiny butts to profile now! Loving their built-in shade hats

They will get theirs when they are full grown.

 

[BY Bob]

That sounds interesting even if one doesn't have a diabetic chicken. How in the world would one manage that?

I would suggest that it would be very difficult at best.

 

[BY Bob]

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Rizo looks feirce!

And beautiful.

 

[BY Bob]

I built something today!!!
A small table for inside to put plants on in front of a window Violet helped me paint it.
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Chicken tax
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Well done.

 

[BY Bob]

Hi,I haven’t posted,i am srry i couldnt make u all happy even with some chicken pics.the reason is ive come to stay at my grans and my servant taking care of my chicks at home,I’ve actually been immensely busy and forgot about u guys while planning with my mom about her surgery in Dubai.She’s not really well and her operation needs to be done as soon as possible but her next doctor appointment is only available at 26 Oct.Prayers would make it easier on her as she’s really nervous about the surgery.I hope I can post my Sunday mugshots today.

I hope that everything goes well for your mom. She is in our prayers.

 

[BY Bob]

As long as she's not keeping them too long from the food and water!

They are not together longer than 10 to 15 minutes in the morning before Phyllis heads out.

 

[BY Bob]

Story time: hawk

I was visiting a lake (walking distance from the house) a number of years ago. Happened upon the bank (3 feet down to high water, at low so had several feet of "beach") just as an osprey caught a trout (18-24 inches have been caught there before) and off into the air it went. As the osprey turned toward its treetop nest, a red-tailed hawk came in. Next thing I knew there was an aerial dogfight happening. They dropped the fish, 30 yards or so from me. Fresh fish! By the time I reached the impact area, I couldn't find it. Only obstacles were lots of 4-5 feet tall sagebrush. Dogfight broke up within milliseconds of the fish hitting the ground. Osprey back to the lake for another, red-tailed headed off away from the lake looking for a rabbit or such.

Chicken shapes (especially with feathers) would have to be held just right to be able to carry off. Much easier to eat at kill site, carry off what's left later....unless there's babies to feed. Then all bets are off.

That must have been something to see! Wow!

 

[BY Bob]

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Crowing in the house

It is so loud when it happens in the house!

 

[BY Bob]

Jaffar update: he seems fine this morning. He’s breathing better than I am at the moment. And his crowing is spot on!

That is good news!

 

[BY Bob]

Regarding massage pressure. I squeeze the crop hard enough to deform any obstruction or congealed mass. An approximate guage is if you take an average sized wooden clothes peg (I guess most are plastic these days but the spring pressure is probably similar) and the pressure required to fully open and hold the clothes peg open is about the pressure I use. It needs to be enough pressure to break up whatever is obstructing the crop, not just move it around.
I can feel in some cases (it depends on what the obstruction is) pieces of the obstruction break off. I know I'm making progress when I can squeeze and feel the crop walls come into contact with each other.
Bear in mind the position of the crop. The crop hangs off the side of what is essentially a straight run of tubing down the throat and on to the crop and through to the proventriculus which leads down to the gizzard. You can feed a tube right down to the gizzard without it going into the crop sack.
So, any matter congealed in the crop usually needs to be forced upwards from the bottom of the crop becaus the bottom of the crop is lower than the opening to the proventriculus.
You can usually feel the main obstruction getting smaller as each day of maasage and wash out goes by. Eventually you may be left with something the size of a broad bean instead of the golf ball you started off with. The proventriculus has quite a large opening, on average sized chickens easily wide enough to pass 10mm diameter ball down. Once the blockage has got to the gizzard the problem is over. The gizzard is an incredibly strong organ and combined with some grit can crush a dried ear of corn. Try that with your teeth!

Great description! I have bookmarked for future usage.