Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Grandmas Coop]

I have six hens. Here is how their molts have gone this year.

Normal Molt

• Sydney: She molted at the same time as last year. Did the job normally and is fully feathered and prepared for a new year.

Early Molt

• Hattie: She has always molted late. I have always been worried for her as the weather turns cold. This year she molted about a month earlier than usual and looks to be in great health as winter arrives.

Late Molt

• Aurora: Normally a late molter like Hattie, she was about a month later than usual this year. She did have a very normal molt and is looking good right now.
• Lilly: Lilly's molt is about 6 weeks later than usual. She has always been a slow molter with the rare bare patch showing up. This year she has a very large bald spot on her back the likes of which I not seen before

Double Molt

• Phyllis: Phyllis molted the same time as Hattie which was right after her broody episode. That was a little early for her. She is now molting again. This is quite late. It appears that she is nearly done so it was a very quick molt and likely not a full molt.

Broken Molt

• Sansa: She has been molting since around labor day. I actually think she may be done molting. The problem is her feathers did not grow back properly. This is a serious concern of mine and we are working to try and fix what it wrong with her.

Outside of Sydney, nothing has gone as it should. I don't quite no what to make of it but it has concerned me for some time now.

great tracking of the hens,

 

[rjohns39]

Happy Birthday @LaFemmeKatia Kat, have a wonderful day

 

[featherhead007]

Stir fry? (I’m out)

I was kidding

 

[BY Bob]

Happy Birthday @LaFemmeKatia Kat, have a wonderful day

Happy Birthday Kat.

 

[featherhead007]

Happy Birthday @LaFemmeKatia Kat, have a wonderful day

It’s Kat’s birthday today? Yay.

 

[BY Bob]

great tracking of the hens,

I enjoy observing my little group and I'm always trying to identify anything out of the ordinary. Molting concerns me every year as the cold weather can drop in at any point and I'm relieved when they are done.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

She looks good...even though molting! Bright eyed, alert...and you said she is eating well. She will look like bad hair day for a while, but she will be more covered with feathers soon...you can see the growing quills on places.

Is that an eglu coop/run? If so, do you like it?

I agree, she is perky, eating pretty well, & taking care of herself. Yes it's an Omlet Eglu Cube coop with wheels & 3-meter run. Now with a piece of hardware cloth I've attached it for the winter to a 2m x 3m walk-in run. In summer I was moving it around, positioning it with access to the big run and the aviary covered greenhouse frames and it works pretty well. I do like the coop part a lot but I don't like the run doorway which is kind of low, and although the low ceiling of the coop run is higher (maybe it's 43 inches tall?) I basically have to creep in and out if I want to do anything in there. But it is high enough to sit in there comfortably on a footstool.

The plastic coop is easy to clean, it's double-walled and seems vented correctly. I've not encountered moisture problems. I did position it in the shade in the summer and was thinking about better cooling options when nights were really hot, though I didn't monitor the actual temps in there. One can remove the very bottom poop tray below the roost bars, it slides out for easy tending to, and some people do that in southern climes but I would want some predator-proofing for the open slot, like a hardware-covered frame that could slide in it's place.

 

[Grandmas Coop]

I enjoy observing my little group and I'm always trying to identify anything out of the ordinary. Molting concerns me every year as the cold weather can drop in at any point and I'm relieved when they are done.

same here, I am keeping an eye on Sibbie, her comb has been pale for 3 weeks or so, she is eating and pooping, but a pale come is not a good thing, in this pic it is nice and red.
7-21

 

[ChicoryBlue]

I do build coops big enough to keep them locked in if needed either because of a blizzard or temperatures well below zero. These same coops provide safe and dry places during tropical storms and hurricanes that come by every so often.

I do this because the climate where I live includes both extreme heat and cold as well as the periodical big storm.

I will also note that after the recent hawk attacks the tribe spent a large portion of their time not out in their run but rather safely in their large coop which I built for them. It provided them with lots of room and somewhere they felt safe.

I will also note that even in extreme cold you will not find my tribe huddled together. They would rather be cold than appear to like each other.

OR

They are comfortable in their big coop and don't feel the need to huddle to stay warm.

It may be a cultural issue too. It can be said that folks in the United States and Canada have had to figure out, more or less, how to live and care for animals in extreme weather conditions. We get everything, and it's in our history. Folks in Britain and Europe have not, at least until recently, had to regularly deal with the kinds of extreme weather events you list. I would add the predator situation is very different also. So we're coming from different traditions.

 

[RoyalChick]

Happy Birthday @LaFemmeKatia Kat, have a wonderful day

Wow. It is your birthday @LaFemmeKatia?
Happy birthday