Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[LozzyR]

Chicken Palace Tour: The servants' quarters (long post with lots of pics)
The main servant of course is me.
The basic set-up of the Palace is a coop at the top of the hill and then two covered runs stepping down the hill.

View attachment 2045177

The servants' quarters are where I can store feed and egg cartons and medicine and all my 'chicken-kit'. Naturally, I enter through the servants' entrance. The servants' entrance, like all the doors and windows, were a great salvage find and is why the thing is so big because it needed to accommodate full size people-doors - I was worried at first about that but now am very happy because it makes it so light and airy.

View attachment 2045179

Hopefully one day the servants' entrance will have a proper step - but for now the cement block works fine. For those worried about ventilation, note the hardware cloth covering the whole of the gable end as well as the soffits.

Coming in through the servants' entrance on the left is the kitchen cabinet which has the nesting boxes (I shared a few posts ago) as well as my chicken jail/hospital/brooder box (which can also just be storage when not in use). It doesn't have its doors on yet.


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At this point Diana is wondering why I am standing in the servants' quarters and not doing anything for her.
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At the other end of the servants' quarters is a door into the main part of the coop (so the servant can serve lunch of course!). It is another salvaged door where we cut out the panels and replaced by wire so I can see through into the coop. It doesn't really need that fancy vinyl 1/2" hardware cloth but it looks smart and we had plenty of scraps left over from the runs.

View attachment 2045214

And on the other side of the servants quarters is storage - I am hoping to rig up a water system to harvest rain water off the roof so some of the space will be taken up by a water barrel. The heater is not for the coop - it is for the people who are working to build the coop on some very cold days - it can come out soon. And above the storage is more ventilation into covered run #1.View attachment 2045221View attachment 2045222

And now the other princesses have joined Diana in demanding to know what I am doing just standing around in the servants' quarters. So time to stop now and go play with the chickens.

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@BY Bob - I am so sorry. I seem to have taken over your thread. I should have posted all this to a different thread and just posted a link here. I wasn't thinking it would get so long when I started! I will see if I can figure out how to do that for the next part of the Chicken Palace tour.

This is wonderful! Who built this fantastic structure?

I’m sure Bob won’t mind at all you sharing on his thread, he is very acommodating like that.

 

[goldenfingers]

I had three Isa Browns at one point and I could tell them all apart. They had physical differences and of course, their personalities shone through.

One of the areas we always look at to distinguish them is their neck feathers. And it's true that they have distinct personalities. They keep us chuckling and sometimes outright laughing.

I have a general question though, for whoever cares to respond. Do chickens always have a pecking order established? We can't figure it out with these three. They just seem to all be buddies and get along well. We don't have a camera to watch them at night, so maybe they do all their bickering at bedtime?

 

[LozzyR]

One of the areas we always look at to distinguish them is their neck feathers. And it's true that they have distinct personalities. They keep us chuckling and sometimes outright laughing.

I have a general question though, for whoever cares to respond. Do chickens always have a pecking order established? We can't figure it out with these three. They just seem to all be buddies and get along well. We don't have a camera to watch them at night, so maybe they do all their bickering at bedtime?

That’s EXACTLY what I found with my three Isas! They just all mucked in together and were mates. It was only after Penny died and I got two pullets of different breeds did any pecking order get established.

 

[BY Bob]

Chicken Palace Tour: The servants' quarters (long post with lots of pics)
The main servant of course is me.
The basic set-up of the Palace is a coop at the top of the hill and then two covered runs stepping down the hill.

View attachment 2045177

The servants' quarters are where I can store feed and egg cartons and medicine and all my 'chicken-kit'. Naturally, I enter through the servants' entrance. The servants' entrance, like all the doors and windows, were a great salvage find and is why the thing is so big because it needed to accommodate full size people-doors - I was worried at first about that but now am very happy because it makes it so light and airy.

View attachment 2045179

Hopefully one day the servants' entrance will have a proper step - but for now the cement block works fine. For those worried about ventilation, note the hardware cloth covering the whole of the gable end as well as the soffits.

Coming in through the servants' entrance on the left is the kitchen cabinet which has the nesting boxes (I shared a few posts ago) as well as my chicken jail/hospital/brooder box (which can also just be storage when not in use). It doesn't have its doors on yet.


View attachment 2045193View attachment 2045195View attachment 2045196

At this point Diana is wondering why I am standing in the servants' quarters and not doing anything for her.
View attachment 2045200View attachment 2045201

At the other end of the servants' quarters is a door into the main part of the coop (so the servant can serve lunch of course!). It is another salvaged door where we cut out the panels and replaced by wire so I can see through into the coop. It doesn't really need that fancy vinyl 1/2" hardware cloth but it looks smart and we had plenty of scraps left over from the runs.

View attachment 2045214

And on the other side of the servants quarters is storage - I am hoping to rig up a water system to harvest rain water off the roof so some of the space will be taken up by a water barrel. The heater is not for the coop - it is for the people who are working to build the coop on some very cold days - it can come out soon. And above the storage is more ventilation into covered run #1.View attachment 2045221View attachment 2045222

And now the other princesses have joined Diana in demanding to know what I am doing just standing around in the servants' quarters. So time to stop now and go play with the chickens.

View attachment 2045243

@BY Bob - I am so sorry. I seem to have taken over your thread. I should have posted all this to a different thread and just posted a link here. I wasn't thinking it would get so long when I started! I will see if I can figure out how to do that for the next part of the Chicken Palace tour.

Don't you worry. You can certainly can post it here. Everybody wants to see this amazing coop. And it is amazing. Truly a palace built for your wonderful princesses.

 

[BY Bob]

One of the areas we always look at to distinguish them is their neck feathers. And it's true that they have distinct personalities. They keep us chuckling and sometimes outright laughing.

I have a general question though, for whoever cares to respond. Do chickens always have a pecking order established? We can't figure it out with these three. They just seem to all be buddies and get along well. We don't have a camera to watch them at night, so maybe they do all their bickering at bedtime?

They have a pecking order. Once it is established there may not be a lot of pecking. Especially if everyone roosts where they are supposed to at night. If you are not watching at night, you may not really see it being enforced. I will occasionally see it enforced when i am handing out treats but not always. Of course with the Newbies being integrated I am seeing it constantly. Even if you dont see it being enforced, rest assured they have one.

 

[RoyalChick]

Final Integration: Self Roosting

Tonight I blocked off their access to the prefab coop. Needless to say they were distraught.

Phyllis was the first one to check out the porch.
View attachment 2045190

But she did not go in. She left the porch.

This is more complicated than my previou
s integrations ast this point. My Big Girls have always roosted first. This left plenty of time for them to settle before the new hens found their way in later. This helped tip limit pecking as they settled in when it was darker.

My problem now is that Aurora, Queen of the Peck, is a late night bird. She goes in very late.

Back to tonight.

The littles were all on the other side of the complex at the big run door crying to be let in. I tried to get them to follow me to the other side but they would not. Then I got lucky.

Aurora showed up. The fled from my little T Rex not wanting to be pecked. Sansa and Phyllis went the way i wanted them to, Sydney ran to the garden. So i headed to the other side to take advantage of Sansa and Phyllis arriving on the correct side.

Sansa was easy. I directed her onto the porch without having to pick her up and in she went. She roosted on same spot from the last couple of nights. Easy Peasy.

Phyllis would look in but would not go in. I kept turning her back on the porch, she kept looking in and then trying to get off the porch.

I turn her, she looks, comes back.

I turn her, she looks, comes back.

I turn her, she looks, comes back.

again and again.

Finally I am not sure how, she is roosted on my arm. I pull my arm out and there she is looking at me.

While i am trying to figoure out what to do, of all things, Aurora scoots by and into the coop.

Phyllis eventually flies off of my arm and onto the top of the porch. At this point I'm like OK, I will deal with you later and I head back to the other side to get Sydney.

Sydney is standing in front of the door to the big run crying. She let's me pick her up. I walk her to the porch and in she goes. Simple.

I had the coop cam running on my phone and she went in, up onto Hattie's step, onto the main roost bar and right up to the high roost i have been putting her and Phyllis on all without Aurora ever noticing as she was at the feeder topping off.

Phyllis sees her friend go in and goes into the coop on her own after her. I immediately close the automated door. Now that they are in, they are not getting out.

As i watch on the camera Phyllis can't decide what to do. Aurora roosts so she is no direct threat but Phyllis starts wandering around the coop and the Bigs peck at her head as she walks by. Finally she gets up on Hattie's step. All she has to do is step onto the main roost next to Sansa and either fly up to Sydney or sit down and roost there. But no she gets down and goes over to roost right next to Aurora!

This is too much fun for Aurora. She is full on pecking at her trying to knock her off the roost. Finally Phyllis gets the hint and moves to the main roost and runs down to Sansa and roosts there.

The drama is over and everyone is ready to sleep. Here are the final roosting positions.

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Everytime I do this it tugs at my heart strings. We will all get through it but its hard. Just a couple of more nights to go.

Oh my goodness - by heart was beating fast as I was reading. So stressful! Good luck for tomorrow night.

 

[RoyalChick]

This is wonderful! Who built this fantastic structure?

I’m sure Bob won’t mind at all you sharing on his thread, he is very acommodating like that.

Thank you LozzyR and yes, @BY Bob is indeed very welcoming. I love the group of chicken-people he has gathered together.
It is being built by two guys I hired. I am not as young as I was so I just do the design and also 'the little finishing bits' (including hauling the 10' tree branch that is now their roost!). They are wonderful guys and have been working really hard through the winter to get me this far. They are also now complete chicken fans and always share their lunch with the princesses. They have a soft spot in particular for Maggie because she is so nosy and vocal and opinionated and she 'helps' them with their work.

 

[RoyalChick]

Don't you worry. You can certainly can offset it here. Everybody wants to see this amazing coop. And it is amazing. Truly a palace built for your wonderful princesses.

Thank you @BY Bob you are a wonderful and generous host.
I hope to catch video of this to share - but now that the whole Palace is open for the princesses they have taken to flying the full length of the structure. Elizabeth can fly from the uphill side of the coop all the way to the end of run #2 (~35'). Maggie is bigger and heavier and usually lands a few feet short. I hadn't really expected them to be so into flying, but now that they have the space to do so they appear to do it mainly for fun. Makes me happy to hear (it certainly isn't a stealth flight!).

 

[goldenfingers]

That’s EXACTLY what I found with my three Isas! They just all mucked in together and were mates. It was only after Penny died and I got two pullets of different breeds did any pecking order get established.

Thanks for the response!

 

[BY Bob]

Oh my goodness - by heart was beating fast as I was reading. So stressful! Good luck for tomorrow night.

Thanks. It should get easier. I hope.