Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[LozzyR]

You can post on your flock anytime. We just love talking chickens here. In particular I like photos and videos.

Yes, it does make it easier if you post to one, or a couple of threads. Makes it easier to keep track of! And when you’ve got someone as generous as Bob who shares their thread (or @Ribh , or @MaryJanet , or @Kris5902 ) that’s even better!

 

[LozzyR]

Sydney and Phyllis have slept roosted together every night until tonight.

If they’re besties, they’ll work it out again.

 

[BY Bob]

If they’re besties, they’ll work it out again.

I hope so. Sydney knew right where to go. Hopefully she can take Phyllis with her tomorrow.

 

[micstrachan]

Sydney and Phyllis have slept roosted together every night until tonight.

It will be ok; they’ll sort it out.

 

[micstrachan]

Ok... I’ll try to be better with photos. Buttercup says hello! We *finally* had rain, so her foot feathers are dirty.

 

[ValerieJ]

Ok... I’ll try to be better with photos. Buttercup says hello! We *finally* had rain, so her foot feathers are dirty.
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The perfect picture of why I don't want a chicken with feet feathers in rainy Washington. Seriously, she is beautiful!

 

[micstrachan]

The perfect picture of why I don't want a chicken with feet feathers in rainy Washington. Seriously, she is beautiful!

LOL! I did not want s feather footed breed. But DH picked her out when he picked up my chick order. She’s pretty awesome, but, yeah, the feet are slightly problematic. We’re lucky to be in California.

 

[micstrachan]

I’d like to provide an update on my flock.

I think they are slimming down. Lucky distinctly felt lighter when I picked her up to clean her bum today. Yay! Unfortunateky, the Modesto Milling organic, non-GMO feed has sesame meal, which results in poopy bums for several of my birds. Therefore; I still haven’t sorted the feed out.

Dorothy (pullet who laid a couple soft eggs)has laid a shelled egg almost every day. I dropped one, and the shell was pretty thin, so I’m checking daily. She’s due to lay first thing tomorrow, since she did not lay today.

Ruby (hen who likely has oviduct problems and is on hormones) is doing great. Her molt seems to have stopped, she eats, preens, and I saw her RUN today! I’m pretty sure she has slimmed down, and would love to know what the avian vet thinks (who said she was “well insulated, like a seal.”)

Someone else has started laying tiny eggs. I think it’s Millie (aka Little Mill) coming back into lay. So today I got six eggs from ten birds. Bridge hasn’t laid in a long time (though occasionally I wonder if one is hers), Ruby is on hormones, and Dorothy didn’t lay today. Cashew was last to finish molt and hasn’t quite reddened up in the face yet, so I’m pretty certain she isn’t laying yet and still lean toward Little Mill.

Not much else to report. However, toward the end of the day, Bridge spilled feed (gave them a little more before bed.) Lexi, the dog, decided to lick up the mess. Minnie (Buckeye pullet) went after Lexi and Lexi nipped in her direction! I grabbed Lexi’s face, gave her a firm growl, reminded her to be “gentle” and made her sit and wait for me to lock up the girls. I was shocked! Both my Buckeyes like to boss Lexi around. That isn’t usually a problem, but apparently it can be if feed is involved.

 

[Ribh]

Chicken Palace Tour: The servants' quarters (long post with lots of pics)
The main servant of course is me.
The basic set-up of the Palace is a coop at the top of the hill and then two covered runs stepping down the hill.

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The servants' quarters are where I can store feed and egg cartons and medicine and all my 'chicken-kit'. Naturally, I enter through the servants' entrance. The servants' entrance, like all the doors and windows, were a great salvage find and is why the thing is so big because it needed to accommodate full size people-doors - I was worried at first about that but now am very happy because it makes it so light and airy.

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Hopefully one day the servants' entrance will have a proper step - but for now the cement block works fine. For those worried about ventilation, note the hardware cloth covering the whole of the gable end as well as the soffits.

Coming in through the servants' entrance on the left is the kitchen cabinet which has the nesting boxes (I shared a few posts ago) as well as my chicken jail/hospital/brooder box (which can also just be storage when not in use). It doesn't have its doors on yet.


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At this point Diana is wondering why I am standing in the servants' quarters and not doing anything for her.
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At the other end of the servants' quarters is a door into the main part of the coop (so the servant can serve lunch of course!). It is another salvaged door where we cut out the panels and replaced by wire so I can see through into the coop. It doesn't really need that fancy vinyl 1/2" hardware cloth but it looks smart and we had plenty of scraps left over from the runs.

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And on the other side of the servants quarters is storage - I am hoping to rig up a water system to harvest rain water off the roof so some of the space will be taken up by a water barrel. The heater is not for the coop - it is for the people who are working to build the coop on some very cold days - it can come out soon. And above the storage is more ventilation into covered run #1.View attachment 2045221View attachment 2045222

And now the other princesses have joined Diana in demanding to know what I am doing just standing around in the servants' quarters. So time to stop now and go play with the chickens.

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@BY Bob - I am so sorry. I seem to have taken over your thread. I should have posted all this to a different thread and just posted a link here. I wasn't thinking it would get so long when I started! I will see if I can figure out how to do that for the next part of the Chicken Palace tour.

Wouldn't worry. We're all fascinated. Thanks for showing us round.

 

[Ribh]

Ok... I’ll try to be better with photos. Buttercup says hello! We *finally* had rain, so her foot feathers are dirty.
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She is seriously beautiful.