Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[micstrachan]

I love OK Go! 's film clips. Being a dog person, my favourite of their videos is "White Knuckles"

Too cute! And I see a couple border collies in there!

 

[BY Bob]

I love the Fluffy Butt Acres coop Christmas decorations! Good job!

Thanks Alex. I'll tell Mrs BY Bob.........

......... she says thank you!

 

[micstrachan]

Such wise words Ribh.

Remember lost loved ones with joy and today's loved ones will be grateful.

I'm reminded of this song.

This is amazing and hilarious! Quite the Rube Goldberg project and I love how the scale keeps escalating! It also reminds me of a littke joke we have going at work. We call it “ 2020 Apocalypse Bingo.” Pandemic? Check! Wildfires? Check! Power Safety Shutoffs? Check? Other issues I cannot mention on a public forum? Check!

 

[micstrachan]

Flock Observations from the Weekend

Hattie was more herself this weekend than she has been at any time since she started her molt. I sat on the ground with them several times with snacks and Hattie actually came within arms reach again. She was doing her usual good job of alerting everyone to danger. Even more telling, she was following me around on Sunday, checking out what I was doing. She has not followed me around in what feels like months.

Phyllis thinks a second coop door is in order. Aurora is back to her Gandlaf imitation. "You shall not pass". So twice over the last 4 days, Phyllis led me to the other side of the coop so I could open the big coop door and let her in. I pondered this all evening and frankly I can't really figure out how I would add another coop door to the other side. It is much more difficult than just cutting a hole. It would however stop the Gandlaf treatment. Is it sad that I am thinking of doing construction because of 1 renegade hen?

Just because it is such a great scene and so apropos.

Amazing scene and, no. I think you are amazing for considering construction for one renegade hen.

 

[micstrachan]

Mugshot Monday! Ophelia says good morning everyone!
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Hi, Ophelia!

 

[micstrachan]

MUGSHOT MONDAY:
Aoife.
View attachment 2431472​

Cutie!

 

[micstrachan]

Jaffar posed for me this Mugshot Monday morning:
View attachment 2431639

Hello, Jaffar!

 

[micstrachan]

Okay.. I’ve missed so much but apparently there is now a “mugshot Monday”? Well here’s mine... TRUMP and Lilly! I couldn’t choose...View attachment 2431664View attachment 2431666

Hi Trump and Lilly!

Bummed I missed Mugshot Monday. Maybe next week!

 

[micstrachan]

I went to see the Witch yesterday about Fudge. I explained my options naming all the chemicals. She wasn't impressed. Definitely a big NO to the acidified cooper sulphate. Not over keen on the anto yeast products either.
She told me to go back in an hour or so and she would make something up for me.
I was looking for advice tbh more than anything else. My view is, crop problems are best sorted as quickly as possible. I've been lucky in that I was on it very early.
One of the benefits of checking the tribes on a regular basis, not just when things have gone wrong.
I came back with a small bottle of liquid. The liquid comprised, garlic, thyme, a root extract I don't know the name of, liqorice root and lemon juice.
Fudge has been improving but she's been losing weight. Not a lot but she doesn't carry a lot anyway.
I'm going to write up the treatment she's had in case it helps someone else. But, my deciding line between sick and going downhill and sick but recovering is based on these things.
Are they eating?
Fudge wasn't eating really.
Are they grooming.
Fudge wasn't doing that either.
Posture.
Fudge's posture was not that of a fit and interested chicken. Head drawn in, seperate from the tribe, sitting too much and only really becoming alert when approached.
Fudge did eat a bit before going to roost. Her crop was about half full and she was huddled up next to Fat Bird when I first checked after roost time.

At 1,30 am I woke up and decided I would give Fudge the witches brew. It had to be warm, temeperature similar to what a lamb takes milk at. I've done a lot of that.
I took Fudge off her perch and tube fed the brew into her and put her back with her tribe.
I was a bit apprehensive when I opened Tribe 1 up this morning. The first thing I did was grab Fudge and feel her crop. It was completely empty. I mean so empty I could sqeeze it gently between my thumb and forefinger and not have to adjust the gap from the top to the bottom of the crop.
There was a really stinky pile of blackish runny poop below where she perched.
Once I had her in the house she was obviously hungry and even after I had fed her 10cl of live yogurt with the coccivex and Flubenvet in she set about the commercial feed.
She's been a different hen today. Active, interested, in with the tribe and letting the juniors know she's still with us.
This was the poop she did before the yogurt and feeding.
View attachment 2431744
It's very runny but bits free and the urates are about right. The blackish liquid looks much like what went into her earlier.

It's not over yet. I still don't know what caused the slow/sour crop although I'm guessing all the stuff she ate when moulting eventually clogged her up.
She may have has worms. She may have had a bout of coccidiosis.
That's Fudge by the maternity unit. So good to see her foraging.
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This is Fudge with her daughter Tackle eating before going to roost.
View attachment 2431745

Yay, Fudge! And yes! We need that recipe.

 

[micstrachan]

This is Mel. She's been pecking at my leg demanding food.
You may remember she got attacked and injured by a Goshawk a while ago and that I missed a puncture wound that became infected.
I've been cleaning her twice a day as well as dealing with Fudge.
Mel is still moulting but with regard to attitude and general fitness I would say she's going to be allright.
I'm not sure if the feathers around her chest and at the top underside of her wings will grow back this year but she's very much alive.
View attachment 2431765

Yay, Mel! Thanks for the update.