Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[MaryJanet]

Wildlife often gets the blame. It's rarely the case. I have lots of wildlife here and while I get injuries and predation, mostly the chickens stay healthy.
Cocciiosis is almost always a ground management problem.
Scaly leg mite is just one of those things one learns to live with and try to keep on top of.
Pasty butt is another thing that most who have chicks have to deal with at some point. If you catch it quickly, it's not a long term problem.
There is constantly promoted falsehood that chickens are easy to keep. They may be if you stuff a few in a coop and run, collect their eggs and kill them at the slightest sign of sickness or reduction in egg laying. For the rest of us; I'll speak for myself here, I've found keeping chickens harder work, more stressful and more upsetting than any of the other creatures we have and have had here. The list is long.
Tonight I have one hen missing, probably killed while sitting on egg on an outside nest. I have one rooster that needs an injury cleaned and bandaged every day. I have three hens and one rooster with ongoing SLM issues. I have one hen with physiological issues who needs keeping an eye on and another having a summer moult which means she is reluctant to stay close to her tribe in case one of the roosters jump on her. I have one hen who thinks she should move in with me and needs 'secorting' to her tribes coop at night and another senior hen who thinks that given her age (10y) she is entitled to be carried from the coop to the nearest feed station in the morning.
Did I mention the fights?
On top of all this there is all the day to day stuff, feeding, watering, coop cleaning etc.
Are they worth all the trouble? OH YES!

I knew about all of these extra care commitments but reading it all in one post really makes an impact!

 

[HappyClucker7]

Wildlife often gets the blame. It's rarely the case. I have lots of wildlife here and while I get injuries and predation, mostly the chickens stay healthy.
Cocciiosis is almost always a ground management problem.
Scaly leg mite is just one of those things one learns to live with and try to keep on top of.
Pasty butt is another thing that most who have chicks have to deal with at some point. If you catch it quickly, it's not a long term problem.
There is constantly promoted falsehood that chickens are easy to keep. They may be if you stuff a few in a coop and run, collect their eggs and kill them at the slightest sign of sickness or reduction in egg laying. For the rest of us; I'll speak for myself here, I've found keeping chickens harder work, more stressful and more upsetting than any of the other creatures we have and have had here. The list is long.
Tonight I have one hen missing, probably killed while sitting on egg on an outside nest. I have one rooster that needs an injury cleaned and bandaged every day. I have three hens and one rooster with ongoing SLM issues. I have one hen with physiological issues who needs keeping an eye on and another having a summer moult which means she is reluctant to stay close to her tribe in case one of the roosters jump on her. I have one hen who thinks she should move in with me and needs 'secorting' to her tribes coop at night and another senior hen who thinks that given her age (10y) she is entitled to be carried from the coop to the nearest feed station in the morning.
Did I mention the fights?
On top of all this there is all the day to day stuff, feeding, watering, coop cleaning etc.
Are they worth all the trouble? OH YES!

Seeing that all in one post reminds me how crazy we all are, to put ourselves through all this trouble. But, then again, chickens are just so darn cute. How could you not love them?

 

[BY Bob]

I got treated very badly by a doctor who thought he was God.

I'm very sorry that happened to you.

I have no time for that nonsense. I've seen way too many do stupid things through ignorance. I had one tell my Dad to prepare my mother to die, 4 years ago. He did this through ignorance. Because he had not kept up his knowledge. We found her a physician who had kept up. My mother is now as hale and strong as she has ever been. They are humans even if they don't know so.

No sign of Tack today. I did find two abandoned nest with broken eggs, maybe Tack's maybe not. It's hard to tell unless they are in one piece. She may have just sat the day out. I'll be keeping an eye out for her tomorrow.

I'm sorry Shad. Don't give up on her yet.

 

[BY Bob]

Final count is 2 chicks. 1 from Henrietta and 1 from my marans pair Drumstick x Daisy. I had to assist the little maran as she was horribly malpositioned and starting to shrink wrap. She's alive and getting stronger but i really wont breath a sigh of relief untill the 48 hour mark. The other egg i thought had pipped was a quitter on the verge of exploding. And since nugget was a angel and very tolerant of me messing with the eggs/chicks last night i was able to candle the other 3 eggs properly. all early quitters. I don't know if the poor hatch rate was due to the fact that she chose to sit in the middle of our hottest time of the year had anything to do with it. Or if i was just due for a poor hatch.
Meet Clover.
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Super adorable! Thanks for the pics. I love chicks!

I'm sorry that the others wound up nonfertile.

 

[MaryJanet]

Thanks, I never imagined having chickens would be just one medical crapshow after another. We were able to overcome every issue we encountered until this week.

To reassure you, the hens at my housd have an absurdly large ranging yard and an absurdly large Fort Knox henhouse for roosting. They have clean water every day, around the clock access to a balanced diet, treats in very small amounts, and plenty to forage.

Yet still this year I started with five hens, lost one to a persistent uterine infection, another had an eye infection that required a surgical procedure, a third has a chronic pancreas problem. All this is with the luxury of guidance from a superb avian vet.

With all the attentive care he provides, even ByBob had a hen down with heatstroke the other day, had a chick die a few weeks back, and lost one hen to a predator a while back.

If your flock is around 50% healthy, that seems to be about right. Tragedy is only a day away and the best way to manage is to expect it.

I think you've been doing a great job for a beginner. Don't worry too much about the wildbirds. The hens will be happier foraging than kept in.

 

[BY Bob]

I almost lost Ned 90 minutes ago

Somewhere between 4 and 5:00 pm locally Ned fell in the pool. I found him at 5:00. The ambient air temperature was 92°F (33°C) and the water was 84°F (29°C). This is what saved his life.

As I got t o the edge of the pool he was able to swim over to me at the side. I thought I had another simple extraction. Watch what happens when he gets out on the video below.

Something was clearly wrong with him.

 

[MaryJanet]

I almost lost Ned 90 minutes ago

Somewhere between 4 and 5:00 pm locally Ned fell in the pool. I found him at 5:00. The ambient air temperature was 92°F (33°C) and the water was 84°F (29°C). This is what saved his life.

As I got t o the edge of the pool he was able to swim over to me at the side. I thought I had another simple extraction. Watch what happens when he gets out on the video below.

Something was clearly wrong with him.

Is he ok now? Maybe it was the shock of waterlogged feathers that made him stumble?

 

[MaryJanet]

No sign of Tack today. I did find two abandoned nest with broken eggs, maybe Tack's maybe not. It's hard to tell unless they are in one piece. She may have just sat the day out. I'll be keeping an eye out for her tomorrow.

If she was taken I hope it was over quick. Poor Tack.

 

[BY Bob]

What is Wrong with Ned?

It became plain quickly that Ned was suffering hypothermia. Watch him shiver in the video below.

 

[MaryJanet]

What is Wrong with Ned?

It became plain quickly that Ned was suffering hypothermia. Watch him shiver in the video below.

Poor little chap.