Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

I came in this morning, hoping to see some Fluffy Butts, but Wow, what troubles we all have
today. (I still need my fluffy butt fix) Even two of my hens are molting now.

Here you go. My fluffiest right now.

 

[FransGran]

I didn’t get any fluffy butts yet today. I was pulled into a senior staff meeting. Topic: we don’t like those little chickens.

 

[micstrachan]

Oh wow! She is gorgeous! She looks like a rooster! They will definitely be next on my list... hopefully I’ll find some locally

Thank you! I recommend their personalities, but as a high production breed, they are prone to health issues

 

[BY Bob]

Thank you! I recommend their personalities, but as a high production breed, they are prone to health issues

Sadly. That is very true.

 

[featherhead007]

Here you go. My fluffiest right now.
View attachment 2345040

Thank you Bob, I was needing that! I went out and played with my own fluffy butts.

 

[BY Bob]

Thank you Bob, I was needing that! I went out and played with my own fluffy butts.

I am sure they were glad to see you.

 

[LozzyR]

Molt Update

As far as I can confirm the following ladies are molting

• Hattie
• Sydney
• Phyllis (I am really curious to see how her "hair" molts)

Not Molting

• Aurora (early on I thought she was joining the club but she clearly has not)
• Lilly (no signs of molting at all)
• Sansa (no signs at all)

Hattie and Phyllis are also not eating normally. They are turning their beaks at things they would have trampled others for a couple of weeks ago. They are clearly craving something else. Normally I would switch the flock to feather fixer feed but I can't get it. Along with cracked corn with purple corn. No purple corn for a week now. So i went to a feed store and got 10 lbs of just yellow cracked corn. Now I have yellow cracked corn that no one will eat. I guess I'll have to feed the squirrels with it.

How are Hattie’s poops? That is something I would keep an eye on.

 

[RoyalChick]

Maggie's day out
Today Maggie went to the vet. She has not laid anything since she delivered two lash eggs last week.
I used the cat carrier but instead of a towel I put in a lot of wood shavings. Unlike getting the cats in a carrier which is always a battle of wills that I usually lose, all 3 Princesses wanted to explore the carrier so it wasn't that hard to nudge Maggie in and shut the door.
She made herself at home and she snacked on blueberries in the carrier so I don't think she was stressed.
I drove very gently and a vet tech came out to collect her. He called her sweetheart and took my little pot of blueberries in case she needed a snack while she was waiting for the vet (so of course I liked him immediately!).
The vet called me and said he thought Maggie looked in good health and was not in pain. He felt something working its way down which felt like it could be an egg but could also be another lash. He said she wasn't even tender feeling around her ovaries. She wandered around his exam room and was curious and clearly not in any distress.
So far so good.
But from there not so clear.
He said that lash egg is how hens deal with internal infection but the source of the infection can be various places so it is hard to know. He also said that surgery is an option (though eye-wateringly expensive) but that he cannot do it. He would have to refer me to a specialist and he wasn't sure whether there was one nearby.
He told me how he isn't really allowed to treat with antibiotics though I got the sense that he might be willing if I pushed.
But what he thought we should do is wait a couple of days and see what it is that he felt - might be a regular egg, might be another lash egg.
I am to call him with what I discover and if any there is any deterioration of her condition. At that point we can make a decision of what to do.
Then he explained to me what you have all been telling me, which is that she was probably bred to only live 2, maybe 3 years and so rather than dealing with what I was thinking was a rather young hen (18 months) I am dealing with a middle-aged or even elderly lady. And so now I am all enraged about this breeding thing and feel like I can't handle having hens if they are all going to die on me after a couple of years. I mean that is no time at all.
So I am very relieved she is not in distress, I am not really closer to knowing what to do and I am angry about chicken breeding!
So, she and I will go forward one day at a time.
She is back in the Chicken Palace chasing the young ladies and we will see what tomorrow brings.
Here is a picture of Maggie who dug herself a nice hole in the shavings and seems quite at home in the cat carrier.

 

[Ribh]

Maggie's day out
Today Maggie went to the vet. She has not laid anything since she delivered two lash eggs last week.
I used the cat carrier but instead of a towel I put in a lot of wood shavings. Unlike getting the cats in a carrier which is always a battle of wills that I usually lose, all 3 Princesses wanted to explore the carrier so it wasn't that hard to nudge Maggie in and shut the door.
She made herself at home and she snacked on blueberries in the carrier so I don't think she was stressed.
I drove very gently and a vet tech came out to collect her. He called her sweetheart and took my little pot of blueberries in case she needed a snack while she was waiting for the vet (so of course I liked him immediately!).
The vet called me and said he thought Maggie looked in good health and was not in pain. He felt something working its way down which felt like it could be an egg but could also be another lash. He said she wasn't even tender feeling around her ovaries. She wandered around his exam room and was curious and clearly not in any distress.
So far so good.
But from there not so clear.
He said that lash egg is how hens deal with internal infection but the source of the infection can be various places so it is hard to know. He also said that surgery is an option (though eye-wateringly expensive) but that he cannot do it. He would have to refer me to a specialist and he wasn't sure whether there was one nearby.
He told me how he isn't really allowed to treat with antibiotics though I got the sense that he might be willing if I pushed.
But what he thought we should do is wait a couple of days and see what it is that he felt - might be a regular egg, might be another lash egg.
I am to call him with what I discover and if any there is any deterioration of her condition. At that point we can make a decision of what to do.
Then he explained to me what you have all been telling me, which is that she was probably bred to only live 2, maybe 3 years and so rather than dealing with what I was thinking was a rather young hen (18 months) I am dealing with a middle-aged or even elderly lady. And so now I am all enraged about this breeding thing and feel like I can't handle having hens if they are all going to die on me after a couple of years. I mean that is no time at all.
So I am very relieved she is not in distress, I am not really closer to knowing what to do and I am angry about chicken breeding!
So, she and I will go forward one day at a time.
She is back in the Chicken Palace chasing the young ladies and we will see what tomorrow brings.
Here is a picture of Maggie who dug herself a nice hole in the shavings and seems quite at home in the cat carrier.

View attachment 2345539

I am glad you have got some good news but the high egg production breeding thing makes a lot of us angry. I was careful to choose breeds that did not fall into this company because, like you, it distresses me to lose young hens. Maggie has a good life with you & so far it sounds like you both have more time together.

 

[LozzyR]

Maggie's day out
Today Maggie went to the vet. She has not laid anything since she delivered two lash eggs last week.
I used the cat carrier but instead of a towel I put in a lot of wood shavings. Unlike getting the cats in a carrier which is always a battle of wills that I usually lose, all 3 Princesses wanted to explore the carrier so it wasn't that hard to nudge Maggie in and shut the door.
She made herself at home and she snacked on blueberries in the carrier so I don't think she was stressed.
I drove very gently and a vet tech came out to collect her. He called her sweetheart and took my little pot of blueberries in case she needed a snack while she was waiting for the vet (so of course I liked him immediately!).
The vet called me and said he thought Maggie looked in good health and was not in pain. He felt something working its way down which felt like it could be an egg but could also be another lash. He said she wasn't even tender feeling around her ovaries. She wandered around his exam room and was curious and clearly not in any distress.
So far so good.
But from there not so clear.
He said that lash egg is how hens deal with internal infection but the source of the infection can be various places so it is hard to know. He also said that surgery is an option (though eye-wateringly expensive) but that he cannot do it. He would have to refer me to a specialist and he wasn't sure whether there was one nearby.
He told me how he isn't really allowed to treat with antibiotics though I got the sense that he might be willing if I pushed.
But what he thought we should do is wait a couple of days and see what it is that he felt - might be a regular egg, might be another lash egg.
I am to call him with what I discover and if any there is any deterioration of her condition. At that point we can make a decision of what to do.
Then he explained to me what you have all been telling me, which is that she was probably bred to only live 2, maybe 3 years and so rather than dealing with what I was thinking was a rather young hen (18 months) I am dealing with a middle-aged or even elderly lady. And so now I am all enraged about this breeding thing and feel like I can't handle having hens if they are all going to die on me after a couple of years. I mean that is no time at all.
So I am very relieved she is not in distress, I am not really closer to knowing what to do and I am angry about chicken breeding!
So, she and I will go forward one day at a time.
She is back in the Chicken Palace chasing the young ladies and we will see what tomorrow brings.
Here is a picture of Maggie who dug herself a nice hole in the shavings and seems quite at home in the cat carrier.

View attachment 2345539

Oh RC, I feel your pain. This is why I no longer get ISA Browns or Leghorns, and go for longer-lived pure-breds. I am crossing my fingers for you and Maggie, it’s really tough. Please keep us posted.