Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[micstrachan]

Happy Halloween! (21 Weeks Old)
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Katydid as Lady Sherlock
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Rime as the White Witch
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Shirina as a ninja
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And Platina as her namesake.

So cool!

 

[RoyalChick]

Last Night in the Hut

Things did not go smoothly last night during bed time in the Cluckle Hut.

Phyllis got in first, which is not good for the process. However, unlike the night before when they tried to roost on the porch again the littles found their way inside.

When I found them on the porch, I simply opened the door and stock them in the coop instead of putting them directly in the nest box. I made them make a decision on where to sleep. They avoided Phyllis and chose to sleep on the window sill.

I believe that training led to last night's success. Again Phyllis roosted before they went in the coop. This time, without my assistance, the roosted on the sill. Here they are all tucked in.
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Prior to sleepy time, they were scratching around under Phyllis snacking before bed time. It turns out that the roost is the perfect height to keep the littles out of Phyllis reach. I designed the bright so that they would not hit their heads walking in the coop when full grown. An extra win there.

Of course if you get onto the sill too close to Phyllis, she can reach you as this video shows.

But not too bad unless you cut the video before the blood flowed.
Hang in there. It was never going to be easy.

 

[Marie2020]

It's the only way with that mop top.

I don't think there will ever be a way to stop a mop top

 

[Marie2020]

Happy Halloween! (21 Weeks Old)
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Katydid as Lady Sherlock
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Rime as the White Witch
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Shirina as a ninja
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And Platina as her namesake.

 

[micstrachan]

Poor Ester. I sat in the run for a bit, (instead of letting them out to free range) I thought I had to take my daughter to the beach and I have to go to the feed store.

Sunshine was not feeling well, and Ester was a bit off. Nice posture, but not preening or scratching around. I approached her and gently felt her over. She had the biggest dingle berry of all time hidden in her fluff! Poor baby! It was almost egg sized! So I brought her inside and worked it with s damp washcloth. It took a LONG time, but I got it all out. It’s still cool out, so I’m letting her walk around the kitchen for a bit until her butt dries some. I’ve goliven her some formula, which she has picked at and some sunflower seeds, which she loves. She’ll go back out with her friends shortly.

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

WOW! Your ladies are way more productive than mine have ever been. We are always done by now, except if course when we had leghorns. We had many a frozen egg in those days.

Well I do have 2 new layers in Squirrel and Creamy so I am good with them for winter. Then we have Momma hen and Bunny who both have come back into lay after raising their chicks so they should also be good for the winter. One of the blue cochins that is back laying in the last week had stopped for about 4 weeks to molt. That just leaves Butter and the other cochin girl laying who never stopped to molt. I fully expect at some point to loose them as layers this winter. But even if I do that still should leave me with the potential for 5 eggs a day. I also would not be surprised if 1 or 2 more of the cochin girls pick back up very soon, they are close to being done with their molts. There is still also a short window of time for both Blueberry and Raven to begin laying, but I am not holding my breath on them. Those 2 girls are still growing and I am ok if they wait until spring to lay. Holly is also still hanging onto her chicks who are I think 6 weeks old today. She went through some weird molt before she incubated these 2, and she may lay again in the next week or 2. I am both looking forward to and dreading next spring. By march both Corona and Frick if I keep her will be old enough to lay. That will give me 18 laying hens if I count the 2 silkie girls. I'm building a solid customer base on eggs and right now at $3 a dozen they are gone as soon as I list them. My one customer already has it in the works to not list but she'll be here both Monday and Friday for a dozen each time as long as they are available. It feels good to know that for once the girls are earning their keep and paying for their feed and treats this winter.

 

[BY Bob]

Glad you enjoyed it!

Flo went into full blown hard molt, so she stopped laying abruptly. Sunshine did lay a shelled egg from the roost, but the shell was brittle and it broke. Lucky molted super early and has come back into lay. She lays a couple eggs a week. Everyone else is at some stage of molt or doesn’t lay anymore (though Cashew’s comb is reddening up after a soft molt, so she may come back into lay.)

Do you know Ester never really laid again after her hard molt last year? I thought she laid an egg or two after, but then stopped, so maybe they weren’t hers. This year she molted softly, so I hope that’s all the molting from her for a bit.

How old is Esther? Could she be done, like Lilly?

 

[BY Bob]

While we’re sharing bestie photos… Ruby and Millie.
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I think we need to revive 2 for Tuesday with pictures of best friends. What does everyone say?

 

[BY Bob]

This deer eats my brothers dogs food! View attachment 2883474

I would let him! Not worth taking on.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

They do around here. 4400 average feet, lots of farm/ranch land, reds stay year round. Baldies like it along the rivers (creeks are too shallow). Osprey also like the water. Golden eagles are rarer but not unknown. Turkey vultures aplenty, lots of little kestrels. Thent here's the owls: long eared, a few great horned, occasional barn, plenty of great grey (having them stare in the window at you mid morning is disconcerting), burrowing...oh and the one and only snowy is saw was at a range of about 10 yards, off the tree branch on one side of the road we were WALKING along, swept over it at about 2 feet above, into the trees on the other side and vanished. My then 12 year old son turned to me with eyes the size of dinner plates: was that a hawk? No, son that was an owl. You couldn't hear the wings. Looked like female, on migration north, mid winter. Non predatory birds: sandhill crane's, curlew, Canada geese, trumpeter swans, brown pelicans, western gulls, pheasant (chicken rooster trying to run off pheasant rooster is a funny sight), ravens, crows, magpies, assorted songbirds (reminds me, saw one I don't know yesterday, need to look it up) all the way down to Rufus and calliope hummingbirds.

OK then altitude has nothing to do with why they don't hang here in the thick of winter. Maybe your more active farms help.