Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[MaryJanet]

I've been learning simplified and mandarin for 3 1/2 years. I think our book encourages a Beijing accent.

Chicken housing tax:
View attachment 2900902

It's looking fantastic!

 

[MaryJanet]

Gotta say I've been watching this video repeatedly on it's own tab. What fun! The Christmas music on the radio along with it....She looks like riding in the car is a lot to keep track of, but she doesn't appear stressed or over heating. She's really into it. Maybe it's like flying, about 4 feet in the air, but of course way easier?

It's one of my very favourite of Bob's videos her photo with Santa is wonderful too.

 

[MaryJanet]

It is one of the all-time classics!
I was surprised when I took Maggie to the vet how she took it in her stride. I had her in a cat carrier but the kind with a cage front so she could see out and she settled in and was very interested in what she could see around her.
My cats on the other hand are terrified on car rides.

The chickens at my house love car rides too. They're very much at ease with the motion.

 

[Marie2020]

A bit of research on poultry dust.
I Googled 'poultry dust' and looked at the top 9 products that Google puts at the top of the page (there were only 9). I also looked at Tractor Supply (TSC) and examined the products they had under poultry dust.
Of the 9 Google search products, 2 were also on the TSC list and TSC had one that wasn't in the 'Google 9' for a total of 10 unique products.
Here is what I found:
- In the 9 from Google: 6 were Permethrin 0.25%; 1 was DE; 1 was Aluminum Silicate; and one was 50% Rosemary, 25% mint with the rest made up of garlic, thyme and cloves (and no, it wasn't being promoted as a seasoning)
- At TSC one of the ones that was on the Google 9 list with Permethrin 0.25%, was described by TSC as Permethrin 25%, and the one that was not in the Google 9 was also Permethrin 0.25%
So, of the the total of 10 unique products, 70% were Permethrin 0.25% (though one was wrongly described) and the remaining 30% were each different.
From this you can conclude:
1) RC has lost her mind
2) There is absolutely no regulation in the US on what is described as Poultry Dust
3) There is a good chance of getting the right stuff (Permethrin 0.25%) if you just buy whatever is on offer, but it is probably a good idea to read the actual label

And for that little excursion I will pay Chicken Tax. Minnie growing her new tail.
View attachment 2901323

Getting my head into this after I wake up. Thanks RC

 

[MaryJanet]

The DE I have is pure. I found out the other ash which is slightly brown is mixed with mud . We've been ripped off for years

I don't use DE at all and the hens are very healthy.

 

[Shadrach]

I'm thinking about starting a thread for Ex Batts and Rescues.
I would like to tell the story of what has and what may happen to these poor creatures.
The full horror of their previous lives will never been known but the terrible circumstances they are now in I have well documented and photographed.
The way things are going an awful lot of Bob's thread will get taken up with people posting commiserations as the chickens gradually die off. They are unlikely to live long no matter how well anyone cares for them.
Some of you have seen the coop and run. What I doubt many have fully realised is just how shocking it is.
The coop without the nest box roughly measures 1.131 metres by 0.75 metres.
The nest box measures 0.75 metres by 0.32 metres. Roughly we are looking at a bit over 11 square feet. There are 20 chickens sleeping in this. 20!
There were 25!
The coop wasn't even getting cleaned out every week let alone evry day. Imagine what a weeks worth of 20 chickens pooping in 11 square looks and smells like.
Most have some respiratory problems. The amonnia build up is considerable.
The coop is one of those off the shelf jobs. It's really really bad. Nobody who knows the basics about chickens would build such a coop.
Most weeks I'll be posting sad news. I don't want to spoil all the lovely chicken stuff with what is likely to happen.
Vet isn't an option. A vet visit here just to get seen is around £60.00. Treatment is expensive. Roughly if one allowed even £300.00 per chicken in vets bills that's £3,000.00.
My job is mainly to try and make sure the sick die quickly and the living have the best quality of life I can afford to give them. Not much of that is going to be happy news.

 

[featherhead007]

And what am I doing to do about my “BoPeeps”? She’s in the coop setting on two eggs. When I go to see what we got, she bites me (bites and holds on tight) I offered her some treats, she pecked them from my hand, and then bit me again! Ouch. Bad girl BoPeeps!
tax (that bites): View attachment 2901082

To all of you who laughed at my dilemma:

 

[MaryJanet]

Amp was euthanised early this morning. This time the timing was better. She had two very bad days and it was over. I wish this was the way for many more.
She had a very comfortable night in the broody coop with two others to keep her company. I fed her scrambled egg and tiny pieces of fish laced with half a junior asprin yesterday and made sure she had clean water and clean beeding.
21 left now out of 25 a couple of months ago.
Two more still on the watch list. One I think I can save, the other maybe not.

This post gives me so many thoughts. There was that one hen whose remains you found in the coop - how she must've suffered under the neglect of her former carer. Amp did not suffer as she might have, and that's a wonderful thing to have given her. But at the same time, even though I know it's right, it's not something I could do and I'm so grateful I can rely on Dr Mark for that when needed.

I'm grateful you're sharing the challenges of the allotment crew with us because it reveals some of the harder decisions and actions that are necessary sometimes. As well as giving us a chance to observe different postures and sicknesses.

 

[MaryJanet]

Some of you may remember my earliest posts about this lot. I mentioned that Henry 11 roosted outside the coop with a couple of his favourites.
Fret, when they were roosting outside slept under Henry's wing if she could squeeze under without him pushing her out.
Since the coop has been treated for mites and now gets cleaned evrry day he's been sleeping in the coop. That's Fret trying to get under his wing. It's got a bit chilly and Henry has most of the hens around him. Maybe Fret thinks he's going to roost here.
Very sweet to watch her burying herself beneath him.View attachment 2901158View attachment 2901159

That's good news about Henry II taking to the coop!

 

[MaryJanet]

A bit of research on poultry dust.
I Googled 'poultry dust' and looked at the top 9 products that Google puts at the top of the page (there were only 9). I also looked at Tractor Supply (TSC) and examined the products they had under poultry dust.
Of the 9 Google search products, 2 were also on the TSC list and TSC had one that wasn't in the 'Google 9' for a total of 10 unique products.
Here is what I found:
- In the 9 from Google: 6 were Permethrin 0.25%; 1 was DE; 1 was Aluminum Silicate; and one was 50% Rosemary, 25% mint with the rest made up of garlic, thyme and cloves (and no, it wasn't being promoted as a seasoning)
- At TSC one of the ones that was on the Google 9 list with Permethrin 0.25%, was described by TSC as Permethrin 25%, and the one that was not in the Google 9 was also Permethrin 0.25%
So, of the the total of 10 unique products, 70% were Permethrin 0.25% (though one was wrongly described) and the remaining 30% were each different.
From this you can conclude:
1) RC has lost her mind
2) There is absolutely no regulation in the US on what is described as Poultry Dust
3) There is a good chance of getting the right stuff (Permethrin 0.25%) if you just buy whatever is on offer, but it is probably a good idea to read the actual label

And for that little excursion I will pay Chicken Tax. Minnie growing her new tail.
View attachment 2901323

Looking good Minnie!!