Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Chicken behavior is fascinating, isn’t it?

It's one of the reasons I love having them so much. Their behaviors fascinate me.

 

[micstrachan]

Really? I remember memorizing the song and singing with my sister. ☺



That's just what I was about to say!



What a grumpy neighbour.

I'm so glad backyard fences are the norm around here so I don't have to worry about straying pets. I also give my neighbours eggs so they are well disposed towards my chickens. Amazing what a bit of bribery and corruption can do

When my neighbor saw the new temporary fence he called out, “Michelle, I haven’t seen your chickens in awhile.” I answered, “I’m keeping them in here.” Then he said, “Your chickens are welcome. But your dog’s not.”
I’m sorry, but what a dick. Just had to get that last dig in.
For the record, there has been zero communication about why he hates my dog. He did mention that one of his cats went missing. Umm... helloooo... my domestic, well-fed, always watched border collie who was raised around the cats since she was a puppy is not the predator. Could have been the large fox he mentioned. Or a bobcat, coyote, eagle, great horned owl (we have a nesting pair), mountain lion, raccoon... If anything, my dog is a predator deterrent. Ok, off my soap box now. Sorry for the rant. Another good thing about keeping them in is that I have a better idea what they are eating while free ranging, unlike when they venture to his yard. My chicken pasture was mistly grown from seed. The last couple days I’ve been handcutting some of the clover and throwing it into the run.

 

[micstrachan]

Baby Pictures

Hattie was born July 16, 2018. I was going through old pictures this morning and I found some of her chick pictures. I'm going to share some today but I think moving forward I'm going to start celebrating everyone's birthday's with baby photos. Therefore I'm going to save some for her actual birthday. I'll have to celebrate Lilly on the anniversary of when she came to live with us.

Here's Hattie

They day she arrived, 7/17/18
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First Flight, 8/1/18
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A little over 2 week's old. 8/4/18
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Feathered hanging out with Jabberwocky, 8/16/18

Moved out of the house to live outside. 8/31/18

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And our gorgeous girl today.

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Precious baby! And you know how gorgeous I find her as an adult!

 

[micstrachan]

So I think catching up on the whole thread is unrealistic for me at this point, but catching up on this week is doable! Here’s a Ruby update… I took Ruby into the Avian Vet on Tuesday to see if we should just repeat what we’ve done in the past, or put her down. fortunately, the Avian Vet was able to draw fluid off of her this time. The last few times, she was unable to access the fluid. So I was thinking maybe she had cystic right oviduct that would shrink back down on hormones. Unfortunately, the fluid was turbid, yucky, bloody, and yolky… I thought long and hard about having her put down. However, decided to give her one last hurrah. she got a hormone implant and a prescription for antibiotics. She’s been on antibiotics since Tuesday afternoon and will be on for a total of 14 days. She has had aspirin a few times, which really seems to help. Ruby went off feed completely, so I did syringe feed her a couple days to help her out. Just today she seems to have a little appetite back. Here’s proof of that! She has continued to eat bugs all along… And I helped her find worms by digging holes with a shovel. She’s still sort of dribbling wet poop, but I think her G.I. tract is just starting back up. Also, the antibiotics often cause issues with that, so I don’t really expect great poops for another couple weeks. I really struggled with and beat myself up for a couple days wondering if I had done the wrong thing or the right thing. I don’t want to prolong her suffering. However, I want her to go out on a good note. So if she responds well and has a good couple of months, I may end it when her hormones first come back, instead of before she suffers more. She is definitely in better shape than before I took her in on Tuesday, and really seems to enjoy her free range time foraging around the yard. She moves slower than normal, but her vocalizations are coming back a bit.

 

[micstrachan]

Mad as a Wet Hen

If wet hens are truly angry. This lot would have ripped me from limb to limb yesterday. They were soaked.
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Of all the hens, Sansa seems to be the most waterproof.

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Phyllis had a bald spot when really soaked. This is the first I have seen it.
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As to the phrase, "mad as a wet hen". Mine actually seemed fine with the readin yesterday so that got me interested in where that apparently false saying came from. I will admit that most sayings about chickens seem to actually be true. So that made me more curious about the origin of this particular phrase. Here is what I found out when researching it.

From Urban Dictionary:
In the old south, after a hen laid her eggs she would want to sit on them until they hatch. Even if you gathered up all her eggs, she would still sit on the empty nest. So in order to “break her” and get her to lay more eggs, the farmer would lift her off the nest and dunk her in water. She’d then go right back to her nest, so this had to be done two or three times, after which she’d be mad as all get out and start “fussing and scrambling about” Apparently this “broke her” and she’d start laying eggs again.

I love the way they are trying to describe chicken behavior to people with no experience raising chickens.

Holy Smokes! Mine like to play in the rain if it’s a light drizzle, but not to the point of saturation!

 

[micstrachan]

Haha! I wonder if I should try this with my two broodies?! ... I just might... I don’t feel like putting them in jail...

I have to chime in on this one, even though I’m a few days late. I would definitely not wet any hen whose health is in question at all. I did not know any better, and killed a sick hen doing that. We were having a record breaking temperatures over Labor Day weekend. I dipped the hens one by one to cool them off. Some resisted, but some enjoyed it. I did the sick one last. She resisted, and the moment I took her out of the water, she started screaming like she was trying to clear her throat. I don’t know if I caused a heart attack, her lungs to collapse, or what exactly happened. But she continued to scream and then started to stumble, laid down and died in my arms when I picked her up. It was very dramatic, traumatic and a horrible thing I will never forget. I don’t recommend it.

 

[RoyalChick]

So I think catching up on the whole thread is unrealistic for me at this point, but catching up on this week is doable! Here’s a Ruby update… I took Ruby into the Avian Vet on Tuesday to see if we should just repeat what we’ve done in the past, or put her down. fortunately, the Avian Vet was able to draw fluid off of her this time. The last few times, she was unable to access the fluid. So I was thinking maybe she had cystic right oviduct that would shrink back down on hormones. Unfortunately, the fluid was turbid, yucky, bloody, and yolky… I thought long and hard about having her put down. However, decided to give her one last hurrah. she got a hormone implant and a prescription for antibiotics. She’s been on antibiotics since Tuesday afternoon and will be on for a total of 14 days. She has had aspirin a few times, which really seems to help. Ruby went off feed completely, so I did syringe feed her a couple days to help her out. Just today she seems to have a little appetite back. Here’s proof of that! She has continued to eat bugs all along… And I helped her find worms by digging holes with a shovel. She’s still sort of dribbling wet poop, but I think her G.I. tract is just starting back up. Also, the antibiotics often cause issues with that, so I don’t really expect great poops for another couple weeks. I really struggled with and beat myself up for a couple days wondering if I had done the wrong thing or the right thing. I don’t want to prolong her suffering. However, I want her to go out on a good note. So if she responds well and has a good couple of months, I may end it when her hormones first come back, instead of before she suffers more. She is definitely in better shape than before I took her in on Tuesday, and really seems to enjoy her free range time foraging around the yard. She moves slower than normal, but her vocalizations are coming back a bit.

Such hard decisions. I am sure she knows that you are doing the right thing for her.

 

[Ali James]

Good evening everyone - at least it is evening in the UK - I'm just popping in to say hi.

After many months away from BYC, I have sooo much catching up to do. I am currently on page 455 of 1048 of Bob's thread, but I am going to read every post! I love all your stories, photos and chat.

Sorry to hear about Tuppence @Ribh - I hope you're holding up

 

[Ribh]

Sorry to hear about Tuppence @Ribh - I hope you're holding up

Thank you, Ali. Unfortunately losses are part of chicken keeping. I know she had the best possible life with us ~ she loved it. I miss her though. She was rather special.

 

[BY Bob]

When my neighbor saw the new temporary fence he called out, “Michelle, I haven’t seen your chickens in awhile.” I answered, “I’m keeping them in here.” Then he said, “Your chickens are welcome. But your dog’s not.”
I’m sorry, but what a dick. Just had to get that last dig in.
For the record, there has been zero communication about why he hates my dog. He did mention that one of his cats went missing. Umm... helloooo... my domestic, well-fed, always watched border collie who was raised around the cats since she was a puppy is not the predator. Could have been the large fox he mentioned. Or a bobcat, coyote, eagle, great horned owl (we have a nesting pair), mountain lion, raccoon... If anything, my dog is a predator deterrent. Ok, off my soap box now. Sorry for the rant. Another good thing about keeping them in is that I have a better idea what they are eating while free ranging, unlike when they venture to his yard. My chicken pasture was mistly grown from seed. The last couple days I’ve been handcutting some of the clover and throwing it into the run.

There is nothing worse than having issues with a neighbor. You have my sympathies.