Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Kris5902]

Update: now it’s a zoo in here. Everybody is in. It’s OK gonna be cold tonight. And I have animal planet on anyways so...... it’s me and my birds tonight

Once Jaffar joined the sleepover, I had a “it’s only a matter of time before Alex has a full House of chickens in for the night...” thought! So this is no surprise! Because I know I would be tempted to do the same if it wasn’t for the two disapproving felines and DH!

 

[Kris5902]

@Shadrach may need to take out personal protection. @Kris5902 loves him & @Aussie-Chookmum is cursing him. I think he's in trouble...
Curse you Shad! Now added to my Xmas wish list

At least there’s something he can thank “The Covid“ for... a travel ban! And be thankful he’s on a different continent! We could even trade Family problems... it’s so much easier to tell someone to go stuff it when you’re not related to the situation!

 

[featherhead007]

Once Jaffar joined the sleepover, I had a “it’s only a matter of time before Alex has a full House of chickens in for the night...” thought! So this is no surprise! Because I know I would be tempted to do the same if it wasn’t for the two disapproving felines and DH!

That’s probably why I’m single

 

[featherhead007]

I put out some safflower seeds for my chickens this morning. But it seems my whole yard is full of doves now!

 

[Kris5902]

Fudge's crop was empty again this morning and she tried to avoid me this morning when I went to take her off the roost bar. She must be feeling better.
Two others in Tribe 1 do have worms I suspect so I'll be worming them all this week.
Two more days of Flubenvet and coccivex for Fudge and her treatment is finished. I will probably continue the crop massage and yogurt for a few more days after.
Between Fudge and Mel I've had less time to keep up with the others.
I got hold of Cillin this afternoon. He's so good. He came all the way up the South bank when I called for him.
The Stckholm Hoof Tar has as usual done a good job on sealing his broken spur. It now needs reshaping. I took the ragged bits off when I intitially treated him but he now has a flat end.
Locks legs have improved and I got around to giving her legs a coat of coconut oil this evening. This is something I would like to do daily for all the chickens that are prone to Scaly Leg Mite. It's a big undertaking though. Just sorting Fudge out takes at least an hour each morning.
Tap has decided she's beinng left out of the moulting club and decided she would have a go. It's far too late in the year and she's been looking a bit cold and wretched.
Notch as cut his leg high up on his hock and left a worring trail of blood leading into the bamboo which I discovered.It's not serious but it needed attending to.

A while ago I put up a stocknet fence attatched to the post and rail fence at the back of the vegetable garden. There was a chicken wire fence attatched before that. No it didn't keep the chickens out but it did keep most of everything else out. The stocknet was a further improvement being a lot stronger.
Over the weekend those in the main house deceided to take the stocknet down. Apparently it didn't look very nice.
Last night the wild boar got into the vegetable garden and tore the place apart. What they didn't dig up, they flattened.
I smiled and walked away. Some people just do not learn. No, I won't be repairing the fence.

Shad... You just can’t fix stupid. Was your stock net bright orange like my snow fencing?

I’ve got a similar contribution; after the attempted roosting by our bull (who is a gentle mild mannered sweetie, which I have only seen make any pretense at aggression when he hears animals in distress or comes upon the remains of a missing herd-mate) we moved the cattle in preparation for weaning and to get them out of (essentially) my front yard. Well DH and I were not invited to help separate the calves. Aunt in Law took the oh so helpful cousin. Supposedly Gus charged her in the field on sight. She stopped him by coming at his fave with a big stick. It was an “unprovoked attack” They are now worried because the adult cows are in BIL’s area and “I mean, like... what if he goes after BIL and kicks him?“ apparently “who cares? point and laugh” was not an appropriate response to this question. But it did get me a glance. The In-laws were playing the ‘I don’t see you, I can’t hear You, nah nah’ game until I said that. Bear in mind these are the same dangerous beasts that I have been in shoulder to shoulder with for a week. Nosing my window and mooing for hay. That I have been walking through with square bales from the barn to a clear place to feed while Gus is excitedly trying to nibble the bale I’m carrying. Apparently my “safety” was never of any concern though.

I would also point out the Black Cowboy Hat example Temple Grandin frequently uses about negative associations animals make and behavior, and maybe add in that these are the same people who prefer to herd by driving, hitting with sticks, spooking, and setting the dogs to harass (they aren’t trained to cattle, barely to sheep, and have nipping tendencies). Cows are far more intelligent than people credit. I think Gus has decided certain individuals are a threat. SMH

 

[Kris5902]

Rat Update
The rats are not engaging with my trap in box. Color me surprised.

However..........

I now know where they live. They have run the groundhogs out from under my shed.

How do I know that you might ask? Observation.

I have cleared the garden of vegetables now that they have been frosted and have died. Once I do that I will allow the ladies in and I will turn it over with a shovel and allow them to worm hunt. They will smooth it back out for me. The other day the flock and I turned over the garden and left a fairly even but rough surface. We had a little rain and the rats did me a favor by packing down a pathway with their little feet drawing a line right to their warren under my shed.

Here is the rat superhighway.
View attachment 2433370

So today I staked it out. Here is visual proof.

Their dirty little secret is out. This is bad news for them because I am switching to a big bang approach. If I can pull it together tomorrow, I am going to dry ice their house and kill them all at one time, if I'm lucky.

Oh my, Bob is out for blood! If I didn’t know how destructive and dangerous these critters are I would be concerned... between this and the Carnage that @RoyalChick is engaging in, I am shocked! I finally caught sight of the Mouse (a medium large Saturna Rattus, native sub-species unique to our island) that has taken up residence in our broken Furnace, bathroom sink cabinet, and possibly under the bathtub (but it’s colder there) it popped itself out for a brief chat Sunday night. Both cats were sleeping less than 2’ away. I also heard the distinctive baby mouse squeaks, so I’m sort of hoping that the cats don’t get her. I don’t want to have to fish out babies from in there, as I have ceded that territory to the rodents. Too much poop and too hard to get into to block the entrances. The stove mouse on the other hand needs to die.

 

[LozzyR]

I am. I am trying to learn Italian as well. For my daughter's wedding, whenever that winds up being.

Are you using the Duolingo app? It’s really good!

 

[Shadrach]

¿Que?

Need to nip this in the bud methinks.
I don't speak Spanish!
What I do speak here is Catalan......

 

[LozzyR]

Need to nip this in the bud methinks.
I don't speak Spanish!
What I do speak here is Catalan......

Is Catalan a dialect? How much does it differ from Spanish?

 

[Kris5902]

And I’ve mostly caught up... I believe I missed a few pages maybe on Saturday and early Sunday... but wow, over 40 pages behind... I haven’t been that far back since I got back online regularly again. I’ve been gone since Saturday because it was a very rough day here. Things didn’t go well in communicating with the in-laws, and I was honestly ready to pack it all in and leave between 3-6am on Sunday morning. After the stressful day, I found out through Facebook that a dear friend from work I had fallen out of touch with died. I did not take that well. I am fairly certain that Covid was partially to blame (social restrictions, and the psychological affects of this virus are hitting hard on many of my old friends). Although it wasn’t announced, everyone I’ve spoken with who also knew him, agrees it was most likely a Drug OverDose, probably not a suicide. Sunday was a write off. I didn’t even do the chickens... DH took care of it all for me. Monday was better, and we got some work done around the trailer. yesterday was jam packed with Chores and DH’s birthday dinner (47, a roasted chicken, don’t tell the girls) exchanging vehicles at the Garage, and getting the Sawmill ready to transport for repairs.

Chicken Tax photos will come eventually, they currently are all hiding from the windstorm, I just heard some more trees or large limbs come down, and I need to head out to fix my tarps again (3x today so far)... but here is how not to fix a portable sawmill (anyone remember the haystring tractor repair I shared a couple Two hay seasons ago?)

And my truck... now with brakes, but still some more brake repairs to go (one more rotor and caliper, and all the brake lines to go). Hey, she is stopping, it’s a win! And a flashy, new to me, only slightly cracked, high end fiberglass canopy... for dry feed transportation, a sure way to prevent precipitation for the near future!