Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ribh]

Ok, good to know! I’m pretty chuffed that Charlie has started squatting for me!

Yep, that's pretty cool!

I've got 3 hens that like to jump their fence. The Favorelle X runs to me when she sees me & squats even though she knows I will pick her up & put her back in the run. One of the Campines puts herself back over the fence but the other lets me corner her, squats & basically shuts her eyes for a quick nap & a cuddle when I pick her up!

I just double checked & realised Charlie was already laying so she may just have decided you are **the rooster who must be obeyed.**

 

[Shadrach]

Wow! That's an amazing difference Shadrach. What changes did you make to have such an improvement? Apart from letting them in the house I mean...

It's a very long story. A bit about the changes undergone here can be read in my articles and the chicken stories in my signature.
Basically I let them arrange themselves with regard to their living arrangements. They arranged themselves into tribes. The breeds sticking together and the group sizes reduced to something close to what most keepers here on this mountain have, which is no more than three hens per rooster.
I also put the incubator in the rubbish and allowed the hens and roosters to raise their own families. People aren't very good at this. Despite all the oh they're so cuddly and cute and the fascination with hatching (an addiction for some it seems) humans cannot teach chicks what a mother hen can. The hens that survive here survive because they've learn't how to in this environment. They teach this to the next generation.

 

[Shadrach]

Hey Brains Trust, especially those with regular broodys. Do you find that just before your girl goes broody she submits a lot? Charlie has submitted to me twice in the last two days, for the first time ever! She also laid her first egg in two weeks today and went to bed whilst the other two were still out. Is she about to go broody again?!

Not to me they don't. I think they know I'm not a rooster and not the boss and wouldn't make a very reliable father.
Despite how it looks, I don't handle the chickens here unless absolutely necessary.
The study I'm doing for a university group is about a hens nesting/broody strategy. I think hens know they are going to sit well before we generally think. Basically, it's planned.
If your hen looks like this when she mixes with other chickens then she's about to sit.

 

[Ribh]

Yep. That looks sadly familiar. ​

 

[LozzyR]

One of the Campines puts herself back over the fence but the other lets me corner her, squats & basically shuts her eyes for a quick nap & a cuddle when I pick her up!

I wish my girls would settle down for a cuddle and a nap when I picked them up!

I just double checked & realised Charlie was already laying so she may just have decided you are **the rooster who must be obeyed.**

Maybe she’s realised that she doesn’t get murdered when she gets picked up and it’s not all that bad!

 

[LozzyR]

All my broodies get quite aggressive on the nest when laying, fluffing up, being chicken hissy, pecking @ me ~ though never enough to really hurt or draw blood.

Fluffy screeching pancake!

 

[BY Bob]

Hey Brains Trust, especially those with regular broodys. Do you find that just before your girl goes broody she submits a lot? Charlie has submitted to me twice in the last two days, for the first time ever! She also laid her first egg in two weeks today and went to bed whilst the other two were still out. Is she about to go broody again?!

I did not see that with Maleficent. She has been my only experience with a broody. Maybe others have.

 

[BY Bob]

Costume Ideas

I have already done Maleficent and Lilly's costumes. I need ideas for Hattie and Aurora. They will need something to celebrate with tonight. So what do you all think they should dress up as?

 

[BY Bob]

In and Out before I can even pull my phone out of my pocket

Miss Aurora just tried to fly the length of the pool. I cannot say why. While she did chewable nearly 6 feet in height I knew she would not make the length. She splashed down in the deep end, coasted to the edge, placed her feet on the lip, and flapped her way out. Like she had done it a million times before! I did not even have time to get my phone out of my pocket to snap a photo! The only proof, a few feathers on the water.

 

[mixedUPturk]

Ok, now I'm tearing up . That's poetic and thoughtful. I was wondering about the leaf and walnut though. Thanks for sharing Shad

If u want beautiful, back when she passed, i had to look it up. I am from 'the magnolia state' and knew it was a special flower. The magnolia symbolizes dignity and nobility