Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[MaryJanet]

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

I love it! Can't wait to see more!

 

[MaryJanet]

This Happened Today for about 5 Minutes

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Fantastic!!

 

[goldenfingers]

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.

Thanks for the response! I'm still not sure what is appropriate to post. I don't want to mess up your thread .

When they were younger last summer, we saw them running toward each other (playing chicken), but we still could not figure out who actually won the contest. Oh well, we'll just be happy that we don't have to watch them fight, like you're dealing with right now.

 

[LozzyR]

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.
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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.

I wonder if your Sydney sounds like my Bessie sounded. It was heart-rending. I can understand your heart-strings being tugged!

 

[RoyalChick]

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?

I struggle to figure out the pecking order among my princesses. @BY Bob and @Shadrach have encouraged us all to observe our chickens’ behavior closely. So I am doing that but still can’t quite figure it out.

 

[MaryJanet]

Meet the Ladies: Sansa

I'm going to steal shamelessly from @MaryJanet and give some profiles of the ladies. Today we start with my number 4 hen and leader of the Newbies, Sansa.

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I used to call Lilly the "spare hen" because we got her as the third hen in case we lost one. That way we would not have to rush to bring in another so our lone hen would not be lonely.

Sansa was the "extra" hen that was offered to me to go with Phyllis and Sydney. I did not want to have 6 hens but I could not break up the set and leave Sansa without her flock mates.

So my Extra hen has been a real find and she is prefect with this group of older hens.

Brave
Sansa has no fear of the unknown. She is a little trail blazer. She frequently decides that she just wants to be over there and off she goes. Frequently leaving Phyllis and Sydney behind wondering "where did she go?"

While she is smart enough to avoid getting pecked by the older hens, she is fearless enough to eat with them. Dodging and even stealing food from their beaks occasionally. With Aurora that is showing real bravery.

And of course there is drinking that nasty water on top of the pool cover. That is real bravery.

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Climber
Sansa loves to climb. I think these photos and video will explain it all.

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Where Did her Name Come From
Sansa is a character from Game of Thrones. She is a young woman who through the course of the show becomes "Queen of the North" essentially a sub portion of a larger kingdom. It seemed apprpriate for someone who was going to be alpha hen over the sub flock of 3 new hens.

Favorite Food: Blueberries

Favorite Band: Spice Girls

Favorite Song: Spice Up Your Life

Favorite Quotation: "I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote" Herman Melville

The thing she is always saying to the others: "It is my burden to lead you; you should be glad for me and follow willingly"

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Yayyyyyyyyy!!!! This makes me so happy

 

[RoyalChick]

I love it! Can't wait to see more!

Thank you @MaryJanet. I think I have said before I am absurdly excited about it. Tomorrow I have lots of chores including bringing in mountains more leaves for the Princesses. So part two of the tour may need to wait a few days.

 

[MaryJanet]

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.

View attachment 2045251

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.

Wow, that was a tricky job well finished.

 

[MaryJanet]

Thank you @MaryJanet. I think I have said before I am absurdly excited about it. Tomorrow I have lots of chores including bringing in mountains more leaves for the Princesses. So part two of the tour may need to wait a few days.

Oh, I'd be absurd it too if I were in your shoes!

 

[LozzyR]

I haven't been able to find any references to this problem with regards to chickens anywhere except the chicken keepers here where I live.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/straw-itch-mite.75561/

I noticed you cited a Western Australia government website. I dust my straw and hay and after reading your article, I’m glad I do! Not that any of my girls sit on a clutch, but I know how miserable I feel when I get itchy bites so I do my best to stop my girls from having mites.