Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Grammy60]

A Window Opens

They say that when a door closes, a window opens.

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Elphie's passing led to us rescuing the two hens that along with Daisy, the greatest hen ever, would form our flock for the next 3 years. Mrs BY Bob did not want another leghorn as she associated the white hens with tragedy. When I learned of these poor hens living their lives under a porch I decided they were for us. I also decided that we needed a "spare" chicken in case something happened so I wasn't scrambling to find a friend for a lone hen ever again.

Lilly was that "spare" chicken. What a great decision that was. When Daisy passed I was able to take my time and plan the flock expansion. And just look at her. She is still going strong strong today.

Patsy and Lilly came to join us 5 years ago today. Here they are that first day. Their feet touching grass for the first time.

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You are such a good person and I just know they love you for saving them When we see the reactions of any animal that's been through bad experiences and getting a second chance, its priceless!! Thank you for being such a caring person

 

[micstrachan]

Wow, that is a close encounter that you could do without.

And people say that Australia has dangerous wildlife!

P.S. Why were you throwing the pumpkin in the bin? Wouldn't your chooks like it?

They might, but I had already roasted one and gave it to them. They didn’t love it, and I had left it in the run. I figured I didn’t need even more rat attractant inside the run. Plus, there are two more (uncarved) pumpkins on the kitchen counter.

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

Crazy Encounter!

We were outside on the patio watching a movie, with a separate speaker going. My dog’s ears perked up and she was looking at the fire pit, where I had a jack-o-lantern sitting. (A rat had chewed on it the night before, so we all figured the dog heard a rat.) I ran inside and grabbed a bright flashlight. I could not see the rat, but figured I’d throw out the jack-o-lantern right then before I forgot (the movie was still going). I headed for the waste bins with flashlight in one hand and pumpkin in the other and just as I was about to step off the patio, my flashlight illuminated a mountain lion 50 feet away, just sitting there behind my neighbor’s vehicle. I quickly told my family, “There’s a mountain lion. Get inside.” We shined a light on it again and it turned its head and just looked at us, not at all bothered by our presence. We went back inside. Several minutes later, my husband went out with a flashlight again. Our neighbor came out with a flashlight, as well. It just laid there in the field with two bright lights on it and humans calling out to each other across the yard. It finally retreated, but I find it worrisome that it would come into the yard while people were outside watching a movie, and then not run off once we obviously saw it. The waste bins in between us and the cat? That’s where I was headed with my jack-o-lantern. The cougar was literally 20 feet from the bins before it retreated to the field in the video. With daylight savings, the chickens won’t have free range time after work this week. I’m ok with that!

The video is poor quality, but still!

Wow! I have to tell you, I would have had to throw my underwear in the trash after that!

 

[BY Bob]

You are such a good person and I just know they love you for saving them When we see the reactions of any animal that's been through bad experiences and getting a second chance, its priceless!! Thank you for being such a caring person

I can't look at Lilly without thinking how much she remembers of her life under the porch. It always gives me a warm feeling inside to see her out in the yard.

These pictures of her and Patsy in the high grass are some of my all time favorites.

 

[micstrachan]

Well that is frightening. There is no other way to view it. I really don't like any wild animal that is not afraid of me. What are you going to do? They are very strong. I would think an electric wire might be in order. Yikes!

I just don’t know. We know they live here. We know for a fact that coyote and fox pass through our yard. We once saw a mountain lion down the street. The scary part is that it wasn’t afraid of us. For starters, I’m getting an air horn. Even if I had hot wired the entire chicken yard, we still would have been outside its perimeter. I don’t think a big cat would try to get inside the chicken enclosure, but you never know. I think the greatest risk would be it it jumped up on top of the run; I’m not sure how well it would bear that kind of weight. But yes, a hot wire is a more serious consideration now.

 

[micstrachan]

What a beautiful portrait of Lilly. She is glowing with health.

This may sound weird, but I can't help admiring her nostrils. They are so clean and clear.

Tsuki's are all dark and cruddy and I don't know if or how I should do something about them.

They ARE so clean and clear! And now that you’ve pointed them out, I see a little nick in her nare, just like Bridge has.

 

[micstrachan]

We got Davis because Dr. Zoidberg and Isabel did not get along and Dr. Zoidberg needed a friend. He wanted to play and Isabel does not play. She is above that. It worked like a charm. Then Dr. Z passed way too soon from colon cancer. But they were best friends.

You can see how much Isabel, on the left, liked both of them.
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Davis actually had a paw on Dr. Z as they slept.
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They loved to wrestle together.
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It was just what we had hoped and then Dr. Z passed.

Aww... they were so cute together! That’s so sad, Bob.

 

[micstrachan]

A Window Opens

They say that when a door closes, a window opens.

View attachment 2396292

Elphie's passing led to us rescuing the two hens that along with Daisy, the greatest hen ever, would form our flock for the next 3 years. Mrs BY Bob did not want another leghorn as she associated the white hens with tragedy. When I learned of these poor hens living their lives under a porch I decided they were for us. I also decided that we needed a "spare" chicken in case something happened so I wasn't scrambling to find a friend for a lone hen ever again.

Lilly was that "spare" chicken. What a great decision that was. When Daisy passed I was able to take my time and plan the flock expansion. And just look at her. She is still going strong strong today.

Patsy and Lilly came to join us 5 years ago today. Here they are that first day. Their feet touching grass for the first time.

View attachment 2396321View attachment 2396322

Beauties! I’m so glad you brought them in.

 

[Grammy60]

I can't look at Lilly without thinking how much she remembers of her life under the porch. It always gives me a warm feeling inside to see her out in the yard.

These pictures of her and Patsy in the high grass are some of my all time favorites.
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I can see why you love these so much, they are truly enjoying the grass and their new home

 

[micstrachan]

I can't look at Lilly without thinking how much she remembers of her life under the porch. It always gives me a warm feeling inside to see her out in the yard.

These pictures of her and Patsy in the high grass are some of my all time favorites.
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Beautiful! I will have to find the part about them living under a porch and how you saved them. I assume it’s in this thread?