Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[RoyalChick]

All my flock. A bit hard to see but the babies are warming up under their plate and all adults are perched on the L-shaped day perches visible through the brooder wall to the right.
They all definitely know about each other!

 

[micstrachan]

I have started looking at feed labels. Most of the contents is very similar between brands - but it is the % crude fat in the feed that varies the most. Purina has 2.5% crude and a brand I picked up at PetCo because I had a surprise shortfall and didn't have time to go to TSC had 3.5% crude fat. It doesn't sound like a lot but it is 40% more fat than the Purina.
Kalmbach brand has 3% and Healthy Harvest has 4% (double the fat of Purina).
All I am saying is maybe your brand is higher in fat than it should be. And yes, they need to exercise, but you are doing everything possible about that.

Yes, I definitely need to reevaluate the feed. I thought it was the best I could get them. The other brand offered at my feed store was what they were on when Roxy had the bloated, bleeding intestines a couple years back. I thought it might be from the feed and stopped it. But, yes, I think I need to look into this.

 

[Lexicon]

I think it's thirsty Thursday is it not?

My critters are too lazy to go to nice fresh water - they would rather drink in a muddy puddle!

View attachment 3052942

My girls found their first puddle of the year. They were so excited! You would think they had been dehydrated all winter by the way they kept going back over and over. I think they were just thrilled to have a novel water source, but perhaps it's easier than dealing with the nipple waterer.

Two of my brave Buff Orpingtons also discovered that they can walk on top of the crusty snow without sinking in and were off to do some intrepid exploring. The others looked at them askance and tried reminding that that is snow and we don't like snow except to eat, but they didn't care. Who knows a random morsel of food could be up there just waiting for them to discover! I have shovelled a large area for them to explore snow-free, but there's lots of scope for snow exploring too.

 

[RoyalChick]

Bella needs a hobby. All she does is eat. I am quite glad because she is definitely smaller than the other two so maybe she has some catching up to do. And she remains the most accomplished flyer. But she rarely goes more than a few inches from the food bowl!
They are eating a lot - one of those little chick feeders you get at TSC doesn't even last a day now - I may need to rig up something bigger for them.

 

[Ponypoor]

All my flock. A bit hard to see but the babies are warming up under their plate and all adults are perched on the L-shaped day perches visible through the brooder wall to the right.
They all definitely know about each other!
View attachment 3053016

That's wonderful! When do you throw the youngsters in with the oldsters?

 

[Ponypoor]

My girls found their first puddle of the year. They were so excited! You would think they had been dehydrated all winter by the way they kept going back over and over. I think they were just thrilled to have a novel water source, but perhaps it's easier than dealing with the nipple waterer.

Two of my brave Buff Orpingtons also discovered that they can walk on top of the crusty snow without sinking in and were off to do some intrepid exploring. The others looked at them askance and tried reminding that that is snow and we don't like snow except to eat, but they didn't care. Who knows a random morsel of food could be up there just waiting for them to discover! I have shovelled a large area for them to explore snow-free, but there's lots of scope for snow exploring too.

Could also be dissolved minerals in the puddles their bodies crave...

That's my theory I will stick to it

 

[Kris5902]

Yes. The Merck veterinary manual does not say that outright but sure implies it.

Yes, I'm starting to wonder if this is true. I am also questioning what humans may have done to their genetics as well. Perhaps they no longer metabolize nutrients like they should.

So, most of the rations here are made to support those high production breeds, that have planned lifespans for very short lives of pumping out eggs daily. Now with our “backyard” flocks and moderate to low egg production breeds there’s a whole different metabolism than a super “thrifty” production breed. If every sedentary office
Worker ate like a professional athlete would they be healthier? Probably not… the calorie and nutritional needs are completely different.

I actually ration to underfeed quite a bit, but free range. In forest and pasture with lots of bugs. Some of my high production girls (unintentional flock members) are a little thinner than I would like. Most of my own crosses from the heritage breeds are doing just fine though. I try to supplement the red production gals as much as possible with extra treats.

To digress even further we can look at Jimmy
And Arduinna. Jimmy eats well over 3x what satisfied Arduinna. She literally gets more nutrition out of her foraging than he does because she has evolved back to a more wild type of sustainable goat. Jimmy needs more feed as a high production milk breed (even obv not producing milk due to gender limitations) just to sustain him. Ardy thrives on poor pastures and browse but Jimmy needs much more calories to keep healthy body condition. Also interesting Ardy has a thick Wooly undercoat, and Jimmy is all guard hairs. I can see his skin when I part the fur, but Ardy is like a sheep under her guard hairs.

So I think it’s a Combination of the genetic factors and the one size fits all chicken feeds designed for those high performance production chickens with very low life expectancies.

 

[RoyalChick]

That's wonderful! When do you throw the youngsters in with the oldsters?

Not totally sure - will be up to them a bit. This stage will be a few days so they get used to each other's sounds and smells.
Then there is a little door to the brooder that leads into the rest of the Chicken Palace. A chick-sized door - so nobody can chase them in. The trouble is it is high up, so I have a sort of fire-escape structure I made so the chicks can come and go but I need to be sure they can navigate it and know their way back.

 

[lightm]

It is amazing that people read all the way through this thread. I am so impressed by those of you who do.

What a lovely bum! Who is that sitting in someone's lap?

Only Inky and Foggy the rooster are not lap chickens. In the picture, it is Tina that's in my husband's lap. Behind Inky is Wendy. Both Tina and Wendy are RIR. On the left of the pic you see Foggy and Ginger.

Tina is a jealousy girl. She mostly only jumps on your lap when somebody else (usually Poopy) is already there... After she drove out the other girls, she may or may not stay.

Picture again below:

 

[Lexicon]

Could also be dissolved minerals in the puddles their bodies crave...

That's my theory I will stick to it

I am trying not to think about all the "extras" in that puddle!