Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[featherhead007]

It's true! (I thought it was a joke, but NO) National Chicken Lady Day. I Learn something new every day!

 

[featherhead007]

Who better to invite in.

Right?

 

[LozzyR]

“It’s wet, let us in!”

 

[Anime2lover]

Hello. How is youor flock today?

 

[LozzyR]

“Wait... you mean if we stand here, we won’t get wet??”

 

[micstrachan]

I appreciate the intent but some losses are still too raw for me to fully participate. My 1st 18 months or so I lost a BR to broodiness, & 3 Australorps to unknown causes; 1 faded away & 2 I still have no idea. One went to bed in a nesting box & was dead in the morning. The other laid her egg, went downstairs & I found her dead under the coop 10 minutes later. I still have no idea...

Ouch. So sorry. Just out of curiosity, do you ever do necropsies? Either at home or by a lab?

 

[micstrachan]

A story for you ByBob.

We have a double glass sliding door leading from the kitchen/dining area to the side yard.

A couple of weeks ago I heard a tremendous squawking and flapping just outside this door .
Outside, there is Deana leading the charge with beak, claws and wings against a young red bellied black snake about 2.5 feet long.

The poor thing was thrashing up against the window trying to get away from these deadly velociraptors . It looked so panicked that my first impulse was to open the door and let it in! Luckily I thought better of it and the snake found a gap under the front gate and escaped to the front yard.

Chickens : 1
Deadly Australian Snake: 0

(Actually Google says Red Bellies can make you sick but don't usually kill you)
Here's a pic of one from the net. I wasn't quick enough to take a photo of our visitor.
View attachment 2397249

Oh my! Brave flock!

 

[micstrachan]

So sweet the three of them together there! Now I feel somewhat bad about my thoughts of a potential under-deck coop. I’ve been trying to think of things to do on the south side of the house, right now my dining room doors open to a 5-6’ drop. I know I am going to have to put a deck off the back of the house and was toying with the thought of walling in the space underneath for some chickens. I may brick it up as a root cellar too.

I think under-deck coops can be brilliant! I think it all depends on how they're done.

 

[micstrachan]

Please don’t invite the venomous snake in... please! It’s very pretty, and I’m sure it was just looking for an escape... it might not be terribly deadly but still, I wouldn’t want you to get bit by it trying to help it escape your vicious attack chickens! Now if only we could train them to go after zucchini like that!

Do you get Eastern Browns where you are? Or Taipans? Most of Australia gets King Browns, or Mulgas, which are interestingly enough actually a close relative of the red bellied blacks, and not an actual brown snake.

One of my ex co-workers father was bitten by a red bellied black, he was a cattleman and out working his herd alone when it happened, and had to drive himself to hospital. It wasn’t a dry bite, but he may not have taken a full envenomation. He survived it, but really, the casual attitude to all those venomous reptiles still boggles me!

I think snakes are awesome. But they can also be very scary if super poisonous! (What's the difference between poisonous and venomous?) Anyway, here in California we have rattlers. I have never seen any here at this house, but at our old house, they were more common. DH took one on with a shovel and a hockey stick. LOL!

 

[micstrachan]

And I am so thankful to know you and all our other wonderful chicken friends here. It helps me keep my perspective on this huge change I’ve made to my life. I really just wanted a backyard flock in my yard in the city. Much like what you have. Maybe 5-6 hens... but it was not allowed under my city bylaws, then I looked into bees... which were allowed, but so highly restricted in placement that it was essentially impossible. That’s why when the opportunity arose to move to the farm I was so ready to make the switch.

It would be so much “easier”, “more profitable”, “normal” to fall into conventional poultry industry thinking. But would it be better? Ethical? I admit I’m at the verge of chicken numbers where it wouldn’t be too hard to fall into that trap of thinking. But seeing the close relationship you and others have with your birds. Seeing all those distinct personalities, makes me more aware of it in my own flocks (even when I don’t have quite so personal a relationship with all the hens in a flock... a lot of that falls to my boys!)

My flocks are my primary source of income on the farm, and until we have a more active role or financial compensation from all the other farming here, will likely remain that way. But I love them dearly too, and hope to never lose that aspect of chicken keeping.

Kris, I have stopped eating chicken (unless it's served to me, because I would not let a life go to waste), because I don't know how to buy chicken I feel was raised in a good environment. Having said that, I would buy chicken from you any day!