Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[micstrachan]

That’s so cute!

Ok, this is yet another example where I can’t find Bob’s original post. And I always try to pick up where I left off. How do I keep missing these? And... YES! Super cute!

 

[micstrachan]

My doves are your pigeons, same problem. Sorry @biophiliac

I get juncos and another little bird that enters the run. I just tell my border collie, “Lexi! Get the little birds!” And she chases them out. I don’t want her killing them, which can accidentally happen if she’s super excited, so I also have to remind her to be gentle.

 

[micstrachan]

So 2.5 broodies? Not too bad. Certainly better then before.

Definitely!

 

[micstrachan]

My nerves are shot and I can’t promise a happy ending
(Sorry for the long post but I need support from my Chickeny friends)

It all started at about 6am with 3 hungry chicks.

Then, just before 9am the first little chick ventures out of the nest for the first time but thinks better of it.

Half an hour later he is still not sure but his siblings are more adventurous

Soon they are all out of the nest and what follows is many hours of complete mayhem. The babies can’t actually fly for real so they face-plant into walls and crash land in all sorts of strange places and are screaming for their mother:

• One gets stuck on the chimney breast
• One lands in a bucket of water (twice) and I have to fish him out each time and try and dry him off (so cute with his downy head tufts)
• Mom returns and goes frantic.

Eventually she gets two of them back up to the nest – it takes a few tries for each to get up there.

But one little chick is different. She really knows how to fly. And she flies out of the garage and high up into a tree.

But while she got an A for flight school she definitely got an F in navigation, and she won’t go back to the garage. Mom has been trying to persuade her but she is up high and just bleating for Mom but not following. I am sitting outside under the tree in case she crashes to earth and I can bring her back to the nest.
But now it is dark and it will be cold tonight so I am not optimistic she will survive the night.

At least she got to soar. But I am very sad nonetheless….View attachment 2140673View attachment 2140678View attachment 2140679

Oh no! Poor baby! Poor mama! I hope to learn how this ends as I keep reading.

 

[featherhead007]

The story is nearly done
Great day today with all 3 babies flying around in the garage and also into the trees outside. I think they have this flying thing nailed though they still like food delivery.
At bed-time Mom summoned them home to the nest.

But only two showed up. Unlike last night there was no baby crying in distress and Mom wasn't distressed either.
So I figure one of them was just ready to leave home. I assume the others will go over the next day or so.
I am sad to see them go, but they were beginning to get messy, so I am also happy to see them head off into the wild.

So, they didn't pay back rent, so you evicted them?

 

[LozzyR]

Speaking if wine tasting...

Non-alcoholic?

 

[LozzyR]

Wait, I thought River was OK?

Yes, I think she’s ok.

 

[micstrachan]

Update 2: Happy ending?
Here is Tweety Bird looking rather well after a couple of hours rest and multiple meals. My interfering is done and I can look forward to another day of mayhem in the garage.

YAY!

 

[LozzyR]

Ok, this is yet another example where I can’t find Bob’s original post. And I always try to pick uo where I left off. How do I keep missing these? And... YES! Super cute!

I always go back a page, every so often I haven’t seen the last post on it.

 

[micstrachan]

Oh yes indeed - the bucket got emptied and the sink dried out after the second splash landing, other hazardous stuff got covered up too (though what could be hazardous to a 1oz bundle of fluff is hard to predict).
But what a difference a day makes. Now they can all fly as well as Tweety Bird did yesterday. No more face plants on the walls, no more suddenly losing height mid-flight and plummeting to earth. The garage is basically full of birds flying from one perch to another and crapping on everything as they go. It is a joyous sight to behold!
It is also very interesting - I have never witnessed 'flight school' up close and personal. I guess I had never thought about how they learn to fly. And I now know that they learn to fly by falling out of the sky a lot!

Lucky you!