Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Kris5902]

I also see occasional squabbles with my 3 boys. I will not go as far as calling them fights as most times it does not escalate more then hackles raised and a stare down. Before I placed the final 2 boys from my August hatch there were a few fights as their hormones were kicking in. Surprisingly the boy who fought them and put them in their place was Branch. That first one I was really worried for Branch and was running to intervene when he surprised me. That little guy has moves and used his small size to his advantage. They never got a hit in as he could duck under them and end up on top of their backs. It was all over with in under a minute when they gave up and Branch went strutting around and crowing his head off proclaiming victory. I think in total there was 3 more squabbles I witnessed with them and they all ended the same way. If you had to ask me who was head Rooster here now I would call it almost a tie. Basil commands more hens but when it comes to warning calls they listen to Branch before they do him. I had Branch send every hen under cover the other day. It took me 3 minutes to find what he saw, a hawk circling the other hillside in front of my house. From the hawks behavior it was not interested at all in what was going on in my yard but Branch kept them hidden while he growled at it for 20 minutes until it disappeared. Bubba will spend his days spending part of his time with Basil and the rest with Branch. He acts as a 2nd lookout for either boy and as a supporter for them. I have a couple hens who clearly favor him and he can breed them with both boys looking on and neither one bats a eye. I like this arrangement and it is why I will not be keeping any more boys. I feel a 4th one would throw a wrench in their system and peace be lost. All that being said I have yet to have a blood bath between any of my boys, the most violent fights have been between hens, especially if chicks were involved. Then they are out for blood.

It is interesting the different dynamics that happen with the boys. I’ve never had a serious injury, but Sammy’s wattles and Comb, bleed profusely at even the slightest scratch, and on his white feathers… it’s quite messy, same thing with Dean. I actually find that if I intervene in small discussions it makes things worse, so unless it looks like they are really going to have words or someone is going to get hurt I mostly let them work it out. It’s best to stay out of chicken politics and love triangles!

Current biggest challenge here is the 6 mannerless guys chasing and not being gentle with the hens in their pursuit of sowing their wild oats. Even the junior flock cockerels will intervene, knock them off, and run them away from the usually quite offended hen. Sammy and Dean do the same with the junior boys when they get too rough, or decide they want to spend quality time with one of their special ladies. I’ve got enough chickens here that there are several distinct splinter tribes as well as many “unattached” hens.

 

[Marie2020]

Agatha out in the sun with Tina

 

[Marie2020]

Tina and princess showing their fluffy for Bob Agatha just behind

 

[Kris5902]

That was wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed them going into their camper to sleep. And grass! They get to eat grass!

There’s not a ton of it there, but they do have access to a couple acres in the adjacent field, they usually prefer the forested areas and will go almost all the way down to our house
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Lovely crowing.

Courtesy of Dean, just off camera. He had just knocked Spike off of an unimpressed Lady. I thought I might get a video of how their usual altercations go… of course they all obliged by behaving well. Spike might be integrating himself into the flock… and would be my pick for sending over to my friends flock, because he is slowly learning how to Rooster properly.

 

[Kris5902]

I wouldn't be here if I thought for one minute people here supported fights.

I don't think I could deal with their squabbles so I only have my girls.

If they were all like Jaffar I would rethink

I sometimes forget that this is quite a public forum and there’s sometimes a completely random reader that might take things out of context though, so thought it would be good to put that little disclaimer out there!

And yes, between the lap chickens, House Roosters, and all the snuggly chickens some of us (@featherhead007 I totally am talking about you!) here have, it’s easy to forget that they can be quite wild. It takes a lot of love and work to build the pet relationships with such independent little feathered dinosaurs. Of course they are much more intelligent than most people give them credit for, and sensitive… but they can also be absolutely brutal to each other!

I still occasionally snuggle my Sammy, and have a particularly close relationship to the odd hen.

 

[BY Bob]

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Lovely crowing.

Love the sound of a rooster crowing just not at 3 am ........ JABBER!!!!

 

[GregnLety]

I thought you would charge them a few of these?:
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I would if I didn't 5 or 6 dozen in our fridge. Silkie eggs I'd take

 

[BY Bob]

Has anyone seen Kris’s goat eat spaghetti? I’m amazed. I saw it on YouTube videos (but not even one burp was heard)

Daisy, the greatest hen ever, never burped when eating spaghetti either. Just saying.

 

[Kris5902]

She's lovely

I thought I could be losing Agatha because of this soft shell plus her being an ex battery hen. This morning was bad she wouldn't come out at all. So I felt I had to intervene. I left her out with her bestie Tina, I cornered them off from princess and flexi and sat with them for an hour. Agatha then picked up a lot. She knows I'm soft with her and came for a fuss then started too eat more food before sunning herself with Tina.

I'm just hoping she's okay. I don't mind she can't lay eggs as long as no shell is hurting her.

One of the problems in taking in rescues and Battery hen breeds. It’s heartbreaking for us. I will do everything I can to get them comfortable, and their eggs don’t go out for consumption so I will give them antibiotics for reproductive infections, and all the things that come from our awful line breeding practices. You’re literally fighting decades of selective breeding for unnatural production levels and an expected lifespan of 2 years tops. The calcium also helps with the muscle contractions I believe.

 

[Kris5902]

I do believe that Teensie and Weensie may have stopped laying, with all the egg eating it’s quite hard to tell but another promised “I should get some pictures of that…” actually happened yesterday, check out the Spurs on these ladies! I now believe I know where the “horn” in leghorn comes from! And these girls are only 1/2 Leghorns! (Assuming breeder was accurate…) please excuse Princess’s not so fluffy butt in the background.