Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[featherhead007]

I chased the birds back inside the coop. But I took my emotional support rooster inside with me. He’s laying on my chest watching YouTube with me. Say hi Jaffar

You can bet, waddles WILL be rubbed!

 

[bgmathteach]

is there a way of not having to?

Yeah, not treat them as pets/not love them as individuals..
unfortunately, (?fortunately?)I am not able to do that.

Or, become vegetarian. I'm not willing to completely give up meat. I hope that doesn't make me a bad person.

I guess that makes me a real oxymoron. I love them, but I also eat them?

 

[Kris5902]

My guess is if you keep it clean with some anti-infective agent it will heal well with no closure. Young skin heals fast!

That’s what I’m hoping for, but (pardon the description) the majority of the drumstick is showing so I’m trying to close it up… since I taped her up (pulling the two edges closer to closed) the walking has gotten much better… as seen by the escape attempts. I’m going to move her into a box of some sort before I head down to pick up DH from the farm tonight and drop off the batteries for charging… I’m going to have to turn the heat plate off soon and put the battery back on the heater to keep the room temperature close to “normal” in here. At 8:30 once the chickens are up for the night I will throw on the generator as well which should let me plug into the trailers 120v no problem for an hour or so. Im also going to go tap into the trailers 12v for the heater and see if there’s enough juice in that battery to get the heater running as I’m down to my last deep cycle.

 

[RoyalChick]

That's an interesting comb! Great photo !

I am rather taken with interesting combs.
Minnie’s all seems to sprout from one small spot on her noggin.

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

Oh I see! Are chicks a big part of your income stream? Do you sell fertile eggs too? How do you navigate the pet/livestock divide? I imagine it can be tricky sometimes. Sorry for being so curious. It's a very different lifestyle to my own and I'm fascinated. If I'm over-stepping just ignore me.

Nope, I just enjoy hatching and raising chicks. Now if I could guarantee every chick I hatched was a pullet, I'd make a fortune. I've already had several inquires on this group of chicks, and everyone wants pullets. Yes I sell hatching eggs if someone wants them. Most times due to the way I store my eggs If someone wants hatching eggs I can have them ready with a day or two's notice. Mostly my hens pay for themselves with egg sales. And to be honest, I enjoy them so much they could be freeloaders and I would keep them. As far as navigating the pet/livestock divide, if my family ate chicken more, and ate more then the occasional boneless, skinless chicken breasts I would raise some for meat. We don't though. None of us like dark meat, and in my perspective unless you are going to use the whole animal it is a waste to butcher them just for the breasts. So my birds become beloved pets who supply breakfast. Eggs are a different story, we go through a lot of eggs which is why I have so many hens.

 

[RoyalChick]

That’s what I’m hoping for, but (pardon the description) the majority of the drumstick is showing so I’m trying to close it up… since I taped her up (pulling the two edges closer to closed) the walking has gotten much better… as seen by the escape attempts. I’m going to move her into a box of some sort before I head down to pick up DH from the farm tonight and drop off the batteries for charging… I’m going to have to turn the heat plate off soon and put the battery back on the heater to keep the room temperature close to “normal” in here. At 8:30 once the chickens are up for the night I will throw on the generator as well which should let me plug into the trailers 120v no problem for an hour or so. Im also going to go tap into the trailers 12v for the heater and see if there’s enough juice in that battery to get the heater running as I’m down to my last deep cycle.

Got it. Don’t close it up too tightly (hard with a steri-strip and a wriggling chick so I suspect you are OK).
If you really fully close a wound you risk abscess formation under the closure. It is good to allow an escape route for any infection by leaving it only loosely closed.

 

[bgmathteach]

Then again, are chickens vulnerable to strep?

Apparently so.

I don't know which Strep colonizes in humans.

 

[micstrachan]

Hi peeps. Happy Friday. Not fluffy butts, but a fresh pic none the less.

 

[micstrachan]

I think I’ll try this in a day or two… this mama has taken in extras at 10 days old before without problems. As soon as the wound has healed up enough for it to keep up… or she may be getting hand raised… I wouldn’t say she’s thriving but definitely doing too well to cull IMO. I think she will recover, but the tear is in a very awkward place it’s on the top of the leg between the leg and body, almost under the tiny wing… their skin is so delicate when they are babies I’m having a really hard time getting it to stay closed, but it’s not bleeding at all.

Ugh, Kris, I can’t find the post explaining what happened to this little chick?

 

[micstrachan]

So, I know this is hard with fuzzy chicks...but I had to do this once. If it is somewhat under the wing....can you take a lady's razor and shave the fuzz....or trim with scissors...and either put a couple of stitches in the skin to hold it together....or use some steri strips? If you have a wide 'scar' because the skin edges aren't close, you can end up with 1 or two problems: skin adhesion as it regrows, and a large area that never grows feathers.

I have used just regular (but the smaller ones) hand sewing needles and cotton thread. Sterilze both (either use a betadine solution, or white vinegar wet/soak both needle & thread.) And tie a large knot so it doesn't pull through/tear the delicate skin.

Wow, you’ve actually done this? Impressive!