Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

I especially love at the end when Sansa grabs a big piece of cabbage on her way out!

 

[RoyalChick]

Hangin with Hattie

Farmer Bob slept in today. Happy Saturday! So the ladies were forced to coexist in the complex. These 4 decided to hang out together.

Love it - though I do see a bit of intimidation going on!
@BY Bob , how do you hang up the cabbage? I think I want to try something similar. Mine were rejecting red cabbage (which I love) but when I sat with them and fed them by hand they seemed to get a taste for it and are now fighting over the scraps. So now I want to try hanging one for them but I am too stupid to figure how to get a string through (with a drill?)

 

[BY Bob]

Love it - though I do see a bit of intimidation going on!
@BY Bob , how do you hang up the cabbage? I think I want to try something similar. Mine were rejecting red cabbage (which I love) but when I sat with them and fed them by hand they seemed to get a taste for it and are now fighting over the scraps. So now I want to try hanging one for them but I am too stupid to figure how to get a string through (with a drill?)

You are right. Hattie can intimidate with just a look.

You can see why I have started calling Aurora my little T Rex. She wades into them like a T Rex into humans in Jurrasic Park!

The one time I gave them red cabbage their poo was lime green so don't be frightened if that happens.

I use a dry cleaner's metal hanger. I fold over the long parts and use the hook to pierce the cabbage at the stem and bend around. I tied the long ends to a string that I hung from the roof of the run. I have to replace it once a year as the hook falls off from all the bending.

 

[BY Bob]

As the Elimination of Caged Hens is a Passion of Mine....

I am posting this article. Aside from the fact that the British prefer brown eggs over white while in the US it's reversed, the nonsense that is being fed to the British public is embarrassing. Do the right thing and outlaw the practice of beak trimming (it is inhumane) and the deplorable conditions. Then the hens won't be eating each other.

https://www.treehugger.com/sustaina...h-shoppers-told-buy-white-eggs-not-brown.html

 

[ValerieJ]

How do you teach a chicken not to put plastic bags over her head?!

Unfortunately, I don't have an avian vet anywhere near me. Even the vets I do have are 40 min and more away, but none of them see chickens. They will do a fecal float test for worms only. When I heard back on that she said "presence of some coccidiosis", so I switched treatment. Until then I was going by advice I was getting on Backyard Chickens. It is my best source for info. Other folks who have faced the same symptoms in their birds seem to know a whole lot more than the veterinarians in my area.

On another note. This is farm country here. When I was at the Vet with a cat yesterday, I was talking to a couple who were standing next to me in an overcrowded 8x10 waiting room for this "country doctor". He said something about chickens and I asked how many he had. He said between the three houses there were 220,000. I didn't ask any more questions about chickens. I know how they are treated here in the commercial farms. I mention it because it puts the vet experience in perspective. A sick hen is immediately culled in these parts. Worms will effect the whole flock quickly, so they do fecal float tests for farmers so they can put Corid in the water. It's pretty basic here.

 

[ValerieJ]

Hangin with Hattie

Farmer Bob slept in today. Happy Saturday! So the ladies were forced to coexist in the complex. These 4 decided to hang out together.

I love this serene view of your chicken coop. I really need to get cameras installed when we have our new coop. Do you keep a light in there so you can see at night,?

 

[BY Bob]

A sick hen is immediately culled in these parts

That is exactly the same as here. It's frustrating. I get my poo analyzed at the state lab. I don't even know of a vet that does the test.

 

[BY Bob]

I love this serene view of your chicken coop. I really need to get cameras installed when we have our new coop. Do you keep a light in there so you can see at night,?

The cameras have night vision. So I can see at night. I do not have any lights installed.

 

[ValerieJ]

As the Elimination of Caged Hens is a Passion of Mine....

I am posting this article. Aside from the fact that the British prefer brown eggs over white while in the US it's reversed, the nonsense that is being fed to the British public is embarrassing. Do the right thing and outlaw the practice of beak trimming (it is inhumane) and the deplorable conditions. Then the hens won't be eating each other.

https://www.treehugger.com/sustaina...h-shoppers-told-buy-white-eggs-not-brown.html

Uncaged hens in the USA are not necessarily better off than the caged ones. When I have to buy eggs, I buy Happy Egg Company eggs. They point out what it really means when the carton says free range. Most of those hens don't see the light of day. Here is a link to the page describing how their chickens are raised.

 

[ValerieJ]

That is exactly the same as here. It's frustrating. I get my poo analyzed at the state lab. I don't even know of a vet that does the test.

The vet I took the sample to sent it out to a lab. That's a 1 day turn around. The state lab takes 2 to 3 weeks. I think they are all about finding out what happened after the fact.