Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[LozzyR]

Love it - though I do see a bit of intimidation going on!
@BY Bob , how do you hang up the cabbage? I think I want to try something similar. Mine were rejecting red cabbage (which I love) but when I sat with them and fed them by hand they seemed to get a taste for it and are now fighting over the scraps. So now I want to try hanging one for them but I am too stupid to figure how to get a string through (with a drill?)

I used a nylon string with a stick attached to the end, until the string frayed and broke. I’ll have to use something thicker.

Because two of my girls’ beaks are trimmed, cabbage is too tough so I use an iceberg lettuce. It’s soft enough that they can rip bits off and I can shove an apple corer down the middle. They love it!

 

[LozzyR]

As the Elimination of Caged Hens is a Passion of Mine....

I am posting this article. Aside from the fact that the British prefer brown eggs over white while in the US it's reversed, the nonsense that is being fed to the British public is embarrassing. Do the right thing and outlaw the practice of beak trimming (it is inhumane) and the deplorable conditions. Then the hens won't be eating each other.

https://www.treehugger.com/sustaina...h-shoppers-told-buy-white-eggs-not-brown.html

I couldn’t agree more. And anyway, everyone should be eating blue eggs!

 

[LozzyR]

Unfortunately, I don't have an avian vet anywhere near me. Even the vets I do have are 40 min and more away, but none of them see chickens. They will do a fecal float test for worms only. When I heard back on that she said "presence of some coccidiosis", so I switched treatment. Until then I was going by advice I was getting on Backyard Chickens. It is my best source for info. Other folks who have faced the same symptoms in their birds seem to know a whole lot more than the veterinarians in my area.

On another note. This is farm country here. When I was at the Vet with a cat yesterday, I was talking to a couple who were standing next to me in an overcrowded 8x10 waiting room for this "country doctor". He said something about chickens and I asked how many he had. He said between the three houses there were 220,000. I didn't ask any more questions about chickens. I know how they are treated here in the commercial farms. I mention it because it puts the vet experience in perspective. A sick hen is immediately culled in these parts. Worms will effect the whole flock quickly, so they do fecal float tests for farmers so they can put Corid in the water. It's pretty basic here.

I’m really lucky here having avian vets nearby. My Frizzle breeder friend has no such luck and either us to treat herself or cull. She has access to a large animal vet but they don’t do birds.

 

[BY Bob]

Is there a problem with that?

No. There is not

 

[MaryJanet]

Knocks chicks are at an age and size now to want to roost with the adults. I've seen two of them wedged between Notch and the coop wall on a couple of nights now when I've done my night rounds.
All three has a look in the spare coop so I think they're getting the hint from the adults that it's time to move out (This is what the spare coop was built for).
I'm going to rearrange the roost bars in Tribe 3's coop to see if I can encourage them to stay.
These are the chicks. I male and two females I believe.
View attachment 2050864

They're all gorgeous but to my eye, lemony one is outstanding.

 

[MaryJanet]

Hattie is ravenous after she lays. She chows down.

Same with Peggy. Thirsty too.

 

[BY Bob]

This lot will be complaining if they read about the coops and treats.
View attachment 2051650

Do they get on the computer at your house like this one? If so, they know!

 

[BY Bob]

Given the choice of making the choice for other creatures I would rather not have to make the choice.

 

[BY Bob]

I used a nylon string with a stick attached to the end, until the string frayed and broke. I’ll have to use something thicker.

Because two of my girls’ beaks are trimmed, cabbage is too tough so I use an iceberg lettuce. It’s soft enough that they can rip bits off and I can shove an apple corer down the middle. They love it!

That's very smart and accommodating of you. Very good.

 

[ValerieJ]

Given the choice of making the choice for other creatures I would rather not have to make the choice.

Me either, but I feel a responsibility to them. I try to strike a balance between safety and freedom, and mostly it has worked. I think most of us do this.