Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[ChicoryBlue]

Now Butter has me worried with her fast hard molt. She stopped eating everything in sight and this afternoon during the warmest part of the day she was found in the winterized coop shivering. She's now inside and will stay inside the majority of the next few days as its cold. It's supposed to be in the teens tonight and even though we weatherproofed the coop I fear she would freeze to death. Once inside by the heater and after she warmed up a bit she did decide to eat some wet cat food and layer pellets. I felt so bad picking her up and carrying her inside though as she feels like a porcupine with all the pin feathers and I know from the protests that even though I was as gentle as I could be it was very uncomfortable for her.

Poor Butter! Do you have a chick brooder she could snuggle on or next to? A Brinsea on its side, or a heating pad? That way she could still be with her tribe but be warm. Alternatively is there a friend you could bring inside for her to be with?

 

[BY Bob]

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

Wider shot from the bottom
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Close up of the body of the steps (local rock used as pavers)
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Close up of the join

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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.

They are pretty cool.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Never mind, I think that I have embarrassed myself enough for today.

Holidays are not easy times.

 

[BY Bob]

Hmmm the laughing emojis I don't quite get. Do y'all think Hattie and Aurora were making mischief in there...or putting the hurt on Sylvie...while protector Lilly and Rooster Bob were away?

Those two mugs were just looking for food. If there was a problem, Sylvie could duck in the nest box. She was in the Hut unhurt after the 2 big girls exited. I assume she was in the nest box.

 

[BY Bob]

Where was Phyllis exactly then? Bob doesn't say!

Phyllis was on my chair in the big run.

 

[BY Bob]

The wild ones are the only kind we have around here. They are very cool. They like the mountainside meadows and forests for foraging, it's an easy takeoff from the ridgeline into the wind and down over the hillside when they're disturbed. They will even trot a ways along a woodland path to get there if they think there's time without flying (long necks up, looking back to check). They roost in the tallest maple and oak trees along the ridgeline. We once discovered something in a protected meadow making sounds like coyote pups but it was turkeys all gathered with several leaping and flapping at each other. We observed from a distance hidden in a shrubby treeline and turned back to let them be.

Wild turkeys are very smart and very cool birds. They roost up very high in trees.

 

[BY Bob]

You peeps should see him in his three piece suit and bow tie ! Even Bob’s Phyllis, would be impressed !

I'm certain she would.

 

[BY Bob]

Now Butter has me worried with her fast hard molt. She stopped eating everything in sight and this afternoon during the warmest part of the day she was found in the winterized coop shivering. She's now inside and will stay inside the majority of the next few days as its cold. It's supposed to be in the teens tonight and even though we weatherproofed the coop I fear she would freeze to death. Once inside by the heater and after she warmed up a bit she did decide to eat some wet cat food and layer pellets. I felt so bad picking her up and carrying her inside though as she feels like a porcupine with all the pin feathers and I know from the protests that even though I was as gentle as I could be it was very uncomfortable for her.

Poor baby. Keep taking good care of her. She'll grow more feathers soon.

 

[micstrachan]

How do you mix the Exact? Like pudding, their main instructions, I'd have to look at the bag for the ratio, but it's kind of gluey, or looser? I could hear their beaks snapping like they were chewing gum the first batch I made. I made it looser after that.

I make it loose enough to pour, but it settles quickly, so I have to scrape the bottom. I think I have a video of Ruby eating some on her second to last day. I’ll see if the consistency shows there.

Edited to add… actually, it is pudding texture sometimes, too.

 

[micstrachan]

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:
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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.

Bob, I think this was a pretty successful vet visit. Did the vet mention poultry vitamins or will you tackle that with something specific once the bloodwork comes in?