Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Thank you. I will. I am aware this is going to be extremely stressful on the girls, I hope with all my heart it doesn’t push anyone over the edge and will do as much as I possibly can to keep them healthy and happy. Daylight savings is coming, which will help; they will get an hour more of free range time and they days are just getting longer.

As far as being patient with the humans, I have been packing for weeks and nobody else around here has done anything. As you know I suffer from high blood pressure and tachycardia and am really trying to keep my own stress level down, as well. I am the only one in the family who works full time all year round every year, and I think it’s fair for me to expect some help.

It surely is fair for you to ask for help. I hope others will step up and assist. I'm sorry that you are having to deal with this on your own right now.

 

[BY Bob]

Well word of mouth has gotten out in my area that I sell eggs. Yesterday evening there was a knock on the door. It was someone who lived on up the road who had been told I sold eggs and she wanted to buy 2 dozen. I was shocked as I'd never met her before, but numbers were exchanged and now she wants 2 dozen every week and a half. Afterwards I went out with a special treat for the girls Honeydew melon. I feel they deserved it as they are finally paying for their chicken feed.

The best way to sell is word of mouth. Added bonus, you meet another neighbor of sorts. Chickens improve your life in so many ways!

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

Yesterday evening it was time to fully gut and clean the brooder. I decided about 30 minutes prior I would make the chicks happy and give them a handful of hay to scratch around in. Instead of happily digging away I blew their minds and had them all huddled in a corner terrified of it and giving me dirty looks. Not one of them grew brave enough to check it out. When I cleaned it and put in their new sawdust I sprinkled a light layer of hay over the entire brooder. Put everything back in place and the chicks back in. For 10 minutes they panicked and was looking for a space clear of the chick killing hay. Finally Ezzie got brave enough to start pecking at it. Not long after the rest followed suit and before bed all were happily scratching through the hay. I also woke up to a pleasant surprise this morning. The downfall of using sawdust bedding is they are able to fill the waterer full of sawdust. I'm cleaning the basin out every couple hours. This morning.....it is miraculously clean with only a few pieces of hay in it. The next mind blowing new thing will be grass and dirt which I will introduce tomorrow I think. They have to learn that the world is not all carpet before they move outside.

 

[RoyalChick]

Yesterday evening it was time to fully gut and clean the brooder. I decided about 30 minutes prior I would make the chicks happy and give them a handful of hay to scratch around in. Instead of happily digging away I blew their minds and had them all huddled in a corner terrified of it and giving me dirty looks. Not one of them grew brave enough to check it out. When I cleaned it and put in their new sawdust I sprinkled a light layer of hay over the entire brooder. Put everything back in place and the chicks back in. For 10 minutes they panicked and was looking for a space clear of the chick killing hay. Finally Ezzie got brave enough to start pecking at it. Not long after the rest followed suit and before bed all were happily scratching through the hay. I also woke up to a pleasant surprise this morning. The downfall of using sawdust bedding is they are able to fill the waterer full of sawdust. I'm cleaning the basin out every couple hours. This morning.....it is miraculously clean with only a few pieces of hay in it. The next mind blowing new thing will be grass and dirt which I will introduce tomorrow I think. They have to learn that the world is not all carpet before they move outside.

I find it hilarious how suspicious they are of new things - even much bigger chickens.
I will never forget my first Halloween with the Princesses. The guy who built the Chicken Palace for me had a frost damaged pumpkin and he brought it for them. We were both excited to see them tuck in and were so disappointed when they did everything possible to stay as far away from it as possible.
Needless to say, two days later there was almost none of it left!

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

I find it hilarious how suspicious they are of new things - even much bigger chickens.
I will never forget my first Halloween with the Princesses. The guy who built the Chicken Palace for me had a frost damaged pumpkin and he brought it for them. We were both excited to see them tuck in and were so disappointed when they did everything possible to stay as far away from it as possible.
Needless to say, two days later there was almost none of it left!

At least yours eventually ate it. Mine, nope it will kill you. Gave them a pumpkin, carved it a little bit, tossed the guts and seeds around it along with their feed and corn and raisins. Not one of them grew brave enough to eat any of it.

 

[featherhead007]

Wow. That is wonderful. The only word of mouth around here is that I give free eggs so everyone brings me empty cartons - I could build a fortress of egg cartons.
So far I have had precisely three eggs this year!

Opposite here. I am getting more eggs than I have cartons for. Nobody brings me cartons, and the eggs are given away free!

 

[featherhead007]

I find it hilarious how suspicious they are of new things - even much bigger chickens.
I will never forget my first Halloween with the Princesses. The guy who built the Chicken Palace for me had a frost damaged pumpkin and he brought it for them. We were both excited to see them tuck in and were so disappointed when they did everything possible to stay as far away from it as possible.
Needless to say, two days later there was almost none of it left!

Chickens and pumpkins what’s the deal?

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

Opposite here. I am getting more eggs than I have cartons for. Nobody brings me cartons, and the eggs are given away free!

That is not right, especially when you give the eggs away. My neighbors who I give eggs to save cartons for me and will bring a grocery bag at a time and hang them on my door knob if I am not home. My customer's also return the egg cartons plus some. I'm actually swimming in egg cartons at the moment.

 

[RoyalChick]

Opposite here. I am getting more eggs than I have cartons for. Nobody brings me cartons, and the eggs are given away free!

I have an ink stamp that says ‘please return the carton’. I think that got the message across (a bit too well).

 

[featherhead007]

I have an ink stamp that says ‘please return the carton’. I think that got the message across (a bit too well).

How so?