Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[micstrachan]

I'm really impressed with her. She's still young herself & doing a fantastic job!

Yes, she is!

 

[Shadrach]

Done for the Night

Sydney has them in for the night and I think I am going to bury Dusty and sign off BYC myself. I will reconnect with everyone tomorrow maybe.
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[Shadrach]

It is sad Bob but this is normal life for Mum and chicks. If it hadn't been the swimming pool it would have probably been something else in time. The mums here do not seem concerned as long as some survive. The hardest is when a hen only hatches a single chick and it dies. Then you can see the effect it has on the hen.
There is a tendency for humans to believe they can save them all and keep them safe. It's not a healthy view for the keeper or the chickens and often ends up with imprisoning the chickens in the belief that this will keep them safe. It doesn't and the quality of life is pretty appalling in many of the keeping arrangements one can see on BYC. Yes, it is better than most egg production keepinng arrangements but is a bit better good enough, especially when one thiks that the majority of breeds kept by backyard keepers only exist to cater for the backyard keeping craze. The keeping of such breeds has virtually no impact on the large meat and egg production businesses because these breeds are not used in such concerns.
For all the guilt and sadness you may feel, you've done the right thing in both letting Sydney sit and hatch and then allowing her as much freedom as possible in your circumstances. For a short period mum and chicks lived as close to a natural life as is possible in a backyard environment and that is the best gift of all.
Every hen here apart from Blue Spot has lost one or more chicks while still under their care. You will at some point I hope see the point at which mum stops full time care and the chicks pretty much abandoned to take care of themselves. This is hard to observe as well. For me it is harder than a death of a chick. The sudden transition from 24/7 care and mum ready to die for them, to getting pecked and bullied and pushed away by mum as well as the rest of the flock I've found heartbreaking.

 

[Ribh]

It is sad Bob but this is normal life for Mum and chicks. If it hadn't been the swimming pool it would have probably been something else in time. The mums here do not seem concerned as long as some survive. The hardest is when a hen only hatches a single chick and it dies. Then you can see the effect it has on the hen.
There is a tendency for humans to believe they can save them all and keep them safe. It's not a healthy view for the keeper or the chickens and often ends up with imprisoning the chickens in the belief that this will keep them safe. It doesn't and the quality of life is pretty appalling in many of the keeping arrangements one can see on BYC. Yes, it is better than most egg production keepinng arrangements but is a bit better good enough, especially when one thiks that the majority of breeds kept by backyard keepers only exist to cater for the backyard keeping craze. The keeping of such breeds has virtually no impact on the large meat and egg production businesses because these breeds are not used in such concerns.
For all the guilt and sadness you may feel, you've done the right thing in both letting Sydney sit and hatch and then allowing her as much freedom as possible in your circumstances. For a short period mum and chicks lived as close to a natural life as is possible in a backyard environment and that is the best gift of all.
Every hen here apart from Blue Spot has lost one or more chicks while still under their care. You will at some point I hope see the point at which mum stops full time care and the chicks pretty much abandoned to take care of themselves. This is hard to observe as well. For me it is harder than a death of a chick. The sudden transition from 24/7 care and mum ready to die for them, to getting pecked and bullied and pushed away by mum as well as the rest of the flock I've found heartbreaking.

That's a very sensible approach & my mind knows you're right. My heart does not run in tandem with my mind very well @ times.

 

[RoyalChick]

That's a very sensible approach & my mind knows you're right. My heart does not run in tandem with my mind very well @ times.

Perfectly said.

 

[micstrachan]

Don't make that decision so soon. Daisy, the greatest hen ever, was a wolf woman as at 6 weeks i could get nowhere near her. It was insane. I had to be very careful. I was afraid that she would get away and that would be that. I would never be able to catch her.

Instead she become The Greatest Hen Ever and super lappy. In fact their were times I had to put her down because I had other stuff to do. Just keep spending time with them. You never know.

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I agree. And there’s always getting them to eat from your hand first. Snd when their hormones come in, they will probably squat for you.

 

[RoyalChick]

I agree. And there’s always getting them to eat from your hand first. Snd when their hormones come in, they will probably squat for you.

Working on the eating from my hand. I think I am my own worst enemy because I can't resist picking them up for a cuddle (which they presumably find very intrusive, but they are so adorable I can't help myself.
I do the same with the Princesses and I am not sure they love it either but they tolerate it and definitely like hanging out with me.

 

[LozzyR]

Working on the eating from my hand. I think I am my own worst enemy because I can't resist picking them up for a cuddle (which they presumably find very intrusive, but they are so adorable I can't help myself.
I do the same with the Princesses and I am not sure they love it either but they tolerate it and definitely like hanging out with me.

None of my girls are cuddly and at the moment none of them tolerate being held, but they do like hanging out with me and most of them will eat from my hand, including River who is super skittish.

 

[MaryJanet]

None of my girls are cuddly and at the moment none of them tolerate being held, but they do like hanging out with me and most of them will eat from my hand, including River who is super skittish.

Same here Lozzy. Sometimes I pat them at night time too.

 

[Shadrach]

None of my girls are cuddly and at the moment none of them tolerate being held, but they do like hanging out with me and most of them will eat from my hand, including River who is super skittish.

I can cuddle Fat Bird if I want and Cillin and Treacle. Only the boys seem to like it. Cillin gets all silly if I do it while his hens are watching, but he puts up with it. I try not to embarrass him often.
If I cuddle Treacle and Cillin sees it he goes for Treacle once I've put him down.
Cillin and Fat Bird.