Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[pspatbyc]

Smuggling one of @Shadrach's chickens back home with me is beyond tempting!
But practically it is very confusing. Maggie is a Rhode Island Red which is described as a 'Heritage Breed' (unlike ISAs), but then the vet says RIRs have been bred to 'production standards' (shudder). So I think you need 'heritage breeds' that are also not bred for production. Or, barnyard mutts which is more where I lean. I am wondering if next time I have room for new chicks I see if I can persuade @CrazyChookChookLady to part with a Ned or Lucky offspring!

Or maybe the farm guy near me where I got the Young Ladies is actually breeding real chickens not production chickens in which case that will be easy.
Thank you all for hearing me out. Still fuming

You can frequently find eggs per year info. I'm guessing the lower the number in a heritage breed the longer lived they might be ?? I'm also guessing any hatchery breed bird is going to be geared towards production

 

[RoyalChick]

You can frequently find eggs per year info. I'm guessing the lower the number in a heritage breed the longer lived they might be ?? I'm also guessing any hatchery breed bird is going to be geared towards production

@BY Bob's post about my Legbars made me have the exact same thought that I need to figure out eggs/year and choose the smallest number possible!

 

[Ribh]

I don't think anyone ever stops hurting from grief, but you can adjust to living with it. So it becomes part of you, but not the main you, ideally. Here's my flock of 4 Buckeyes, they are coming up on 12 weeks old.

I'm wondering about putting a colored band on their legs to tell them apart; as they've molted they have really changed! I know Butters and Hazel(nut) by sight. And they are the boldest, especially Hazel who is like a sewing machine eating out of your hand ("Mealworms? Make way, pardon me, coming through!"). Butters leads in exploring out and about, but Hazel rules the food area. But I can only tell Popcorn and Peanut apart by Popcorn's voice. She is a little raspy, it happened one evening when they were young, during their bedtime yelling routine. And Peanut is the shyest of them and doesn't cram in for food, she hangs back. She must be lowest in the pecking order. I often use two hands with treats, and stretch one hand out to her in the back, so she gets some. At least until the others discover that second pile....

I am having trouble loading a picture. I will see about it - is 5 megs too big? It keeps stopping and then is crossed out...OK got it!View attachment 2347590

Wow! That is lovely! What part of the world are you in?

 

[MaryJanet]

I don't think anyone ever stops hurting from grief, but you can adjust to living with it. So it becomes part of you, but not the main you, ideally. Here's my flock of 4 Buckeyes, they are coming up on 12 weeks old.

I'm wondering about putting a colored band on their legs to tell them apart; as they've molted they have really changed! I know Butters and Hazel(nut) by sight. And they are the boldest, especially Hazel who is like a sewing machine eating out of your hand ("Mealworms? Make way, pardon me, coming through!"). Butters leads in exploring out and about, but Hazel rules the food area. But I can only tell Popcorn and Peanut apart by Popcorn's voice. She is a little raspy, it happened one evening when they were young, during their bedtime yelling routine. And Peanut is the shyest of them and doesn't cram in for food, she hangs back. She must be lowest in the pecking order. I often use two hands with treats, and stretch one hand out to her in the back, so she gets some. At least until the others discover that second pile....

I am having trouble loading a picture. I will see about it - is 5 megs too big? It keeps stopping and then is crossed out...OK got it!View attachment 2347590

What a great photo!

 

[Ribh]

@BY Bob's post about my Legbars made me have the exact same thought that I need to figure out eggs/year and choose the smallest number possible!

True Bantams, maybe...They tend to not be such prolific layers & they're supposed to be great mums. My Wyandotte bantam is my fiercest broody

 

[MaryJanet]

@BY Bob's post about my Legbars made me have the exact same thought that I need to figure out eggs/year and choose the smallest number possible!

I have worked out that Mary is very special because not only is she the blue ribbon layer, with 13 eggs in 13 days, her holidays are so long, she'll live to... 25 years old

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Wow! That is lovely! What part of the world are you in?

"Upstate" New York State, in the northern foothills of the Catskill mountains, about 4 hours from New York City. Rolling hills and fertile valleys, it is a beautiful area. We are up on a hilltop at about 2200 feet and on a clear day we can see north across the Mohawk Valley to the faint outlines of the southern Adirondack mountains.

 

[Ribh]

"Upstate" New York State, in the northern foothills of the Catskill mountains, about 4 hours from New York City. Rolling hills and fertile valleys, it is a beautiful area. We are up on a hilltop at about 2200 feet and on a clear day we can see north across the Mohawk Valley to the faint outlines of the southern Adirondack mountains.

My Side of the Mountain country? Thank you for sharing that. It really is lovely.

 

[Shadrach]

There! Made it just in time. Now I've got to think about just who's fluffy butt that is.
I think it's Tackle.

 

[Ribh]

There! Made it just in time. Now I've got to think about just who's fluffy butt that is.
I think it's Tackle.
View attachment 2348178

Welcome back, stranger. We have been watching for smoke signals.