Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[bgmathteach]

Monday Mug Shot. Sad Isn't it.
View attachment 2906405

? Is her eyelid swollen, or is it just the picture? She looks sad but content, being on bucket boy's lap is probably comforting!

 

[featherhead007]

Aurora. I have corrected the sentence. Hattie and Aurora were in the Hut.

Your kids have been through a lot today

 

[featherhead007]

I made the mistake of going outside, with a hotdog in my hand. I was halfway done with it, then Shenandoah jumped up and stole the rest from me, (and ran away really fast)
Tax: (chickens waiting for a ride in the old car) but they didn’t get one today.

 

[featherhead007]

I made the mistake of going outside, with a hotdog in my hand. I was halfway done with it, then Shenandoah jumped up and stole the rest from me, (and ran away really fast)
Tax: (chickens waiting for a ride in the old car) but they didn’t get one today.View attachment 2906570

Yes, that’s the 92 Lexus chicken wagon!

 

[bgmathteach]

Full update from Vet Visit

They spent most of the morning in my office with me while waiting to go to the vet. They were surprisingly quiet and I got through all of my conference calls without anyone noticing. I gave them meal worms to eat this morning and Lilly would not let Sansa have any. So after Lilly stuffed herself I put more in and Sansa got to eat as well.

Here they are on the car ride there.
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They were very quiet and did not complain at all on the ride there.

Here they are once we got to the vet's.
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Let's cover behavior at the Vet's. Lilly was quite quiet and docile when the vet handled her and during her x-ray. Sansa was quiet while Lilly was being examined.

Sansa fought the vet almost every step of the way. When Sansa bawked while flapping at the vet, Lilly did not like that at all and she let her displeasure be known. As soon as she saw Sansa again Lilly calmed down and stopped bawking. While waiting together in the crate Lilly groomed herself and Sansa.

The outcome:

Lilly
The vet was pleased with Lilly. She could not feel any swelling in her belly or hips and did and x-ray to check for arthritis. The x-ray did reveal the presence of arthritis and she gave me a liquid pain reliever to give her. The supply should last through March. I figure I will soak it up in a small piece of bread and give it to Lilly every morning. Hopefully it tastes good. Lilly weighs 2.23 kg or 4.91 lbs. Right at her fighting weight of 5 lbs.

Sansa
I put out the preliminaries before on Sansa. She is clearly not as cut and dry. To recap:

• Because it could be a nutritional issue and to reverse the weight loss I need to switch her to chick food.
• Because of her lack of feathers she asked me to heat the coop if I could. Luckily Sylvie is once again fully feathered so I will move the Brinsea Heater to the big coop.
• Make certain oyster shell is present.
• They drew blood and sent out for a fecal float. Blood work will not be back until next week. The vet is going to call me from vacation when the blood work is back.
• She believes that the feathers are not growing correctly because of a nutritional deficit of some kind but she is not certain. She is going to research more on it as we wait for the lab work to come back.
• She confirmed no mites, lice or other creepy crawlies on either lady.
• Sansa weighed in at 1.71 kg or 3.77 lbs. this makes significantly smaller than Lilly and you can see it in the pictures.

The ride home:
View attachment 2906512


I have learned that I need to adapt the crate to include wood shavings or straw to accommodate the poop. That was not cool. Otherwise the system worked well.

Surprise
I got quite a surprise when we returned home. I went to check on the remaining chooks and found Hattie and Aurora in the Cluckle Hut! They emerged as if it were no big thing and came down to meet Lilly and Sansa. I then check to find Sylvie and she too was in the Hut. I assume she was safe in the nest box but now I wish I had bothered to check to the camera before going to see them.

That seems like a mostly good outcome...at least with Lilly. RE: Sansa: Hopefully it is an easy to fix nutritional deficit and she turns around quickly. 3.77 pounds is pretty light for a Wyandotte!

Hmmmmm, while the cat is away, the mice will play.....seems like Hattie and Aurora were 'keeping an eye' on Sylvie!

For the crate...I buy cheap paper towels and put 2 layers down...they are then really easy to swap out if it needs changing...plus doesn't make a mess like shavings do if they scratch at all. It has worked really well for me for short trips. (and the soiled paper towels go right into the compost pile, too!)

 

[bgmathteach]

Sansa is in a nest box tonight, but that is not always so. Some nights, like last night, she is on the roost. It is not going much below 30F. Let's see how the whole coop heater does. I do have a heating pad around here somewhere. If I knew which nest box she was going to sleep in that would work.

@BY Bob, if you put it in a nest box...any nest box, she just may choose that one because of the warmth if it is chilly...besides....it isn't a bad idea to let her decide if she needs the warmth or not....just having the option is good!

 

[featherhead007]

That seems like a mostly good outcome...at least with Lilly. RE: Sansa: Hopefully it is an easy to fix nutritional deficit and she turns around quickly. 3.77 pounds is pretty light for a Wyandotte!

Hmmmmm, while the cat is away, the mice will play.....seems like Hattie and Aurora were 'keeping an eye' on Sylvie!

For the crate...I buy cheap paper towels and put 2 layers down...they are then really easy to swap out if it needs changing...plus doesn't make a mess like shavings do if they scratch at all. It has worked really well for me for short trips. (and the soiled paper towels go right into the compost pile, too!)

You use paper towels? I just use newspaper (there’s usually nothing important in print anymore anyways) and it gives the chooks something to read on the trip !

 

[rural mouse]

I am experimenting using the reminders app on my phone for a to do list. This is all in preparation for retirement - I have never actually used a to do list previously.
Well it is daunting - every time I think of something I should do I tap it into my phone. That works great except that I think of things at roughly 50x the rate at which I can do anything. And I am eating into the 'doing things' time by typing in the 'to do' list.
I may be a lost cause.

Well, just to help you out with the list, here's some pics of the steps

Wider shot from the bottom

Close up of the body of the steps (local rock used as pavers)

Close up of the join

The rubber strips help with the slipping and it's set where it gets some good sun in the morning. As long as the stone gets some sunlight, they melt off faster than the beds around them. Shoveling on the other hand is a challenge as the surface is on the rough side.

 

[rural mouse]

You better believe it - I am counting the days.

Your to do list will keep you occupied (that's a good thing)

 

[rural mouse]

Sounds like you had a full day! @BY Bob have a restful evening!

I am cooking my turkey tomorrow, my DH works 24 - 29 so we will have our 39th turkey dinner

hahahaha

Response to the meme: turkeys CAN fly (wild ones, domestic ones cannot), very well in fact. Ben Franklin campaigned for them to be the national bird cause they're so smart too.