Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Aussie-Chookmum]

Hungry Hungry Hattie

I was checking on the ladies early this morning and I saw this at 1:00 am.

So I finally started doing the math. I'm a little slow in realizing what might be going on.

The sun sets here now around 5 pm. At 1:00 am, Hattie had been roosted for apx 7.5 hours. Her craw must be empty. The poor girl is hungry.

I don't normally keep food in the coop except in the winter. She is taking advantage of it and snacking. She can't get back on the roost but at least she's not hungry. I may need to keep food in the coop a little longer into the spring now until the nights are shorter so she can snack.

Who knew?

I love your chook spy camera Bob. I'm learning so much about the behaviours we don't usually get to see.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

I have had a lot of fun over the holiday reading all 328 pages of this thread and hope you don't mind me joining in. Thank you all for such a lovely thread - I have laughed and cried at all the ups and downs of Bob's chicken family and appreciate this group for its wisdom and humor, and for being such nice chicken-people. Sadly, as I got to page 326, a tragedy of my own struck. Through the window I saw a big fox heading towards the chicken coop. I rushed outside to scare it away I can't have been more than 2 mins behind the fox, but now one of my lovely family of four is gone. Shortly after, a neighbor came by to say he just saw a fox run by with a chicken in its mouth. It is dark so I can't even tell if it is Maggie or Scary that is gone. I also cannot figure out how the fox got into the run or the chicken got out. I am so sad, I feel like I let her down. I was going to introduce myself and my flock of 4 (now 3) but right now I am too sad.

Oh no! What a dreadful shock for you. It's extra sad that you were almost able to prevent it too. So sorry for your loss RoyalChick.

It will be lovely to "see" you when you are ready to join and tell us about your flock. Take care of yourself in the mean time.

 

[LozzyR]

Jasper the Chocolate Burmese decided to dive out the back door this arvo when I was coming into the house. The girls were out free-ranging. I involuntarily swore in front of my eight year-old and shouted for Jasper to come back. He promptly turned tail and fled back into the house. I don’t know whether he came back because I shouted at him, or he took one look at Charlie (who is almost twice his size) and thought “yeah, nah.”

It’s not like I need extra grey hair!

 

[Shadrach]

Wow. Most of what I've read says no food in coop & they don't see well enough in the dark to move around. That camera sure does reveal some interesting insights!

I think the food in coop is dependent on keeping arrangements.
If you have a secure coop and run (I'm thinking rats and mice) then leaving food 24/7 is probably fine.
I can't do that here. I can't even leave food down during the day. The coops are open during the day and everything here it seems will eat chicken food.
Another aspect to this is being hungry in the morning isn't necessarily bad, or abnormal for any creature. I'm hungry in the mornings.
My view is if the chickens go to roost with a full crop then that is good enough.
The pullets here metabolize their food fastest which is to be expected; they're growing.
The senior hens tend not to show being particularly hungry most mornings.
Then these is also a marked difference between what is considered underweight in the US for example and what is considered underweight here.
Another aspect to this is that if you feed free range chickens they tend not to forage as much. There is a balance when free ranging. My view and the view of most free range keepers here is that assuming forage is decent the chicken is healthier eating what it finds foraging than it is eating the commercial feed. I think Centrarchid has a similar view with his flocks.
The down side is a foraging chicken is often more obvious to predators.
In the Spring and some of the summer I only feed commercial feed twice a day. In the winter months I feed three times a day.

 

[Shadrach]

I have had a lot of fun over the holiday reading all 328 pages of this thread and hope you don't mind me joining in. Thank you all for such a lovely thread - I have laughed and cried at all the ups and downs of Bob's chicken family and appreciate this group for its wisdom and humor, and for being such nice chicken-people. Sadly, as I got to page 326, a tragedy of my own struck. Through the window I saw a big fox heading towards the chicken coop. I rushed outside to scare it away I can't have been more than 2 mins behind the fox, but now one of my lovely family of four is gone. Shortly after, a neighbor came by to say he just saw a fox run by with a chicken in its mouth. It is dark so I can't even tell if it is Maggie or Scary that is gone. I also cannot figure out how the fox got into the run or the chicken got out. I am so sad, I feel like I let her down. I was going to introduce myself and my flock of 4 (now 3) but right now I am too sad.

Hello RoyalChick. Daytime hunting foxes are a complete nightmare.

 

[Ribh]

Jasper the Chocolate Burmese decided to dive out the back door this arvo when I was coming into the house. The girls were out free-ranging. I involuntarily swore in front of my eight year-old and shouted for Jasper to come back. He promptly turned tail and fled back into the house. I don’t know whether he came back because I shouted at him, or he took one look at Charlie (who is almost twice his size) and thought “yeah, nah.”

It’s not like I need extra grey hair!

lol Kirby [avatar] has a high prey drive & had a go @ the girls when I first brought them home but he tried it on a BR & a BR all fluffed out, wings spread & standing tall was more intimidating than Kirby cared for. Now he leaves even tiny Lottie alone ~ you know, just in case she swells up...

 

[Ribh]

I think the food in coop is dependent on keeping arrangements.
If you have a secure coop and run (I'm thinking rats and mice) then leaving food 24/7 is probably fine.
I can't do that here. I can't even leave food down during the day. The coops are open during the day and everything here it seems will eat chicken food.
Another aspect to this is being hungry in the morning isn't necessarily bad, or abnormal for any creature. I'm hungry in the mornings.
My view is if the chickens go to roost with a full crop then that is good enough.
The pullets here metabolize their food fastest which is to be expected; they're growing.
The senior hens tend not to show being particularly hungry most mornings.
Then these is also a marked difference between what is considered underweight in the US for example and what is considered underweight here.
Another aspect to this is that if you feed free range chickens they tend not to forage as much. There is a balance when free ranging. My view and the view of most free range keepers here is that assuming forage is decent the chicken is healthier eating what it finds foraging than it is eating the commercial feed. I think Centrarchid has a similar view with his flocks.
The down side is a foraging chicken is often more obvious to predators.
In the Spring and some of the summer I only feed commercial feed twice a day. In the winter months I feed three times a day.

I keep a treadle feeder in the coop. It keeps the rats & mice out but not bandicoots. They are heavy enough to operate it. My girls also prefer the open tubs. Easier access but they really like to toss their food round on occasion!

 

[RoyalChick]

Hello RoyalChick. Daytime hunting foxes are a complete nightmare.

Thank you all for the virtual hugs and support - it is really why I posted here because I can tell this community would understand how I feel. I think most of my friends would shrug and mutter something about nuggets! Anyway, today is a day for processing and examining the run to figure how she got out. Admittedly the run is temporary as I am in the middle of building my princesses a good solid chicken palace. Their temporary digs are definitely not raccoon proof which is why they get locked in the coop at night but in the day they have a rigged up run and I am sure she found a gap somewhere and got out. Today they will stay secure in the coop. They will complain, but the neighbor who saw the fox said that it turned around like it was coming back for seconds - so I am sure the fox will be close and watching today. Will post some pictures of my princesses later.

 

[Ribh]

Thank you all for the virtual hugs and support - it is really why I posted here because I can tell this community would understand how I feel. I think most of my friends would shrug and mutter something about nuggets! Anyway, today is a day for processing and examining the run to figure how she got out. Admittedly the run is temporary as I am in the middle of building my princesses a good solid chicken palace. Their temporary digs are definitely not raccoon proof which is why they get locked in the coop at night but in the day they have a rigged up run and I am sure she found a gap somewhere and got out. Today they will stay secure in the coop. They will complain, but the neighbor who saw the fox said that it turned around like it was coming back for seconds - so I am sure the fox will be close and watching today. Will post some pictures of my princesses later.

I don't want to freak you out or anything, but your coop is predator proof, isn't it? Not only will foxes dig under, they will climb over & I've seen them squeeze through some very small gaps. Their reputation for cunning is well earned.

 

[Shadrach]

I keep a treadle feeder in the coop. It keeps the rats & mice out but not bandicoots. They are heavy enough to operate it. My girls also prefer the open tubs. Easier access but they really like to toss their food round on occasion!

I built a treadle feeder a long time ago. The rats climbed in while the chickens held it open.