Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Shahann]

What a cute flock!

 

[BY Bob]

What a cute flock!

Thank you. Come join us at the discussion end of the thread as well. The flock has changed a lot since I started the thread.

 

[BY Bob]

They Just need Little Rocking Chairs

Every morning when I go out to let everyone out to free range, this is what I see.

Ned just needs to have a piece of straw in his beak!

 

[Trevorusn]

Where did you get your chickens from?

The Brahmas, blue SF, BLR Wyandotte roo and blue and splash JGs are all from researched and knolwedgeable breeders. So, when I had 35 birds 2 weeks ago, 22 were breeder birds, the rest hatchery. Now, of my 32 remaining, 21 are breeder and 11 are hatchery.

 

[Trevorusn]

They Just need Little Rocking Chairs

Every morning when I go out to let everyone out to free range, this is what I see.
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Ned just needs to have a piece of straw in his beak!

Now this is a show worth watching!

 

[WhoDatChick]

They Just need Little Rocking Chairs

Every morning when I go out to let everyone out to free range, this is what I see.
View attachment 2285779View attachment 2285780

Ned just needs to have a piece of straw in his beak!

Adorable!! ❤

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

I think all chicks are very cute but I've got to say that the darker colored ones like Claudine and Clover really catch my eye.

Thank you. You know truth be told, besides having a soft spot for barred rock or Dominiques which i grew up with years ago i have never been a fan of dark or black chickens. Then i joined this forum and started reading and looking around and realised that there were lots of different breeds and types that i'd never knew existed. Next came toothy who is half black and i started seeing in sunlight that his black was not just a dull black but gleamed with shades of blue/purple or green. Finally this spring i got my Black Copper Marans, which is what Clover is. 2 weeks in i'm lost, black is my favorite chicken color now, and Marans my favorite breed. Its hard to capture on camera but when we sit out in the sun especially my girls Daisy and Holly, the sun makes each individual feather look like a gemstone.

 

[BY Bob]

Thank you. You know truth be told, besides having a soft spot for barred rock or Dominiques which i grew up with years ago i have never been a fan of dark or black chickens. Then i joined this forum and started reading and looking around and realised that there were lots of different breeds and types that i'd never knew existed. Next came toothy who is half black and i started seeing in sunlight that his black was not just a dull black but gleamed with shades of blue/purple or green. Finally this spring i got my Black Copper Marans, which is what Clover is. 2 weeks in i'm lost, black is my favorite chicken color now, and Marans my favorite breed. Its hard to capture on camera but when we sit out in the sun especially my girls Daisy and Holly, the sun makes each individual feather look like a gemstone.

I have always loved that about my black hens. That iridescence in the sunlight makes them look spectacular and so interesting.

 

[CrazyChookChookLady]

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

It was too Close

As I sat there holding him in the hot sun, wrapped in a warm towel on one side and against my chest on the other side I was sure he was going to close his eyes and not open them again. He was shaking so violently. No one else was here to help me. Maybe if Mrs BY Bob had been home she could have gotten the blow drier or made hot water to feed him or dunk him in, or warmed towels in the drier for me to use, all to help warm him. I had nothing but me and the sun to save him.

I kept rubbing him and talking to him as his eyes closed. Told him to stay with me.

After a while his sister came over to check on him. She peeped for him, he weakly tried to answer her. She was confused but finally saw him, then left and rejoined the flock.

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Here he is in my lap.
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After a while the shivering eased a little and he stoop up. Relief flooded through me. I knew he would make it now.

He eventually crawled up onto my shoulder and sat down.
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He nestled on my shoulder for a long while. That's when Mrs BY Bob got home. Always fashionably late that one.

Eventually Ned would move up to the back of the chair and preen in the sun.
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Holy cow Ned! Way to give @BY Bob a heart attack! I'm so glad he's ok. I would never have thought about hypothermia in summer.

 

[BY Bob]

Holy cow Ned! Way to give @BY Bob a heart attack! I'm so glad he's ok. I would never have thought about hypothermia in summer.

The larger hens don't usually suffer falling in the pool in summer. It happens frequently enough that i have never had an issue like this. When Elphie fell in it was late October and it was minutes and she was gone. I always say the water was Titanic cold.

I lost Dusty because she drowned so fast. So fast.

The hypothermia with Ned really surprised me but he is still a little fellow. The normal body temp for a chicken is between 105°F and 107°F (40.6° and 41.7°C). He clearly could not maintain that temperature when in 84°F water despite the sun and hot air temp of 92°F. Even 92°F is below his normal body temp.