Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Making Plans

I was out in the run today and a more simple expansion idea came to me. It seems silly that I have never considered it. More so even if you know where I put the temporary coop every time I integrate. Why not a raised coop in the run? I can keep all of the run space by elevating the coop just like the main coop is elevated and build an additional coop onto the studs I already have out there. I already did that with the outside nesting box. Plus I lose no more square footage from the yard.

Maybe house legbars and polish out there as they are both smaller breeds. I could put Phyllis in charge of them.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

[BY Bob]

The Roving "Rooster"

Phyllis found a new place to roost last night. When I saw this, I thought that she was on the high roost again because Sansa had her spot.

Nope. She took Aurora's old spot at the far end of the roost. I just armed the cameras to capture tonight's roosting extravaganza.

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

Hello everyone, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I got behind on keeping up with this thread and the forum the past couple months. Its funny how far behind you can get here with just missing a day, impossible to keep up when you go a week or longer without popping on. Last few days i've played catch up as much as I could and i'm deeply sorry to read a couple members have lost flock members. Especially Stanley, he was gorgeous. Hopefully Ned can fill his fathers big footprints one day. My flock is doing well and is completely different from this time last year. Thanks to my compulsive broody hens and desire to hatch off more marans chicks for myself in hopes of more hens i now have 10 of the lovely black beauties. And "knock on wood" my rooster streak was broke, of 7 maran chicks hatched, only 1 boy who i've decided to keep as a backup incase something were to happen to my beloved Drummie. Praying that never happens, I want that lovebug around for years. I think my family has came to the realization that i am the crazy chick lady and that they are not a fad and will be around forever like my daughter is with her horses. For Christmas i got a incubator, egg turner and more chicken accessories. It is what i've been wanting for a while now but refusing to buy for myself as i know me, i cant bring myself to break a broody hen, when hatching season starts that thing will stay full lol. Since its now a new thing for monday mug shots i have 2 for everyone. Taken on Christmas.
Holly

Butter, my mom's personal favorite chicken who she has spoiled and thanks to her has admitted she need to join the crazy chicken lady club.

Both girls working hard to fill up the incubator. After all, never used one before, and it does need to be tested out before hatching season starts...and this is coming from my MOTHER lol. Right now have 6 eggs set aside, 3 from each girl, thinking of starting the process tomorrow evening. I was going to be a good person, and not fire it up untill the last week of January.

 

[BY Bob]

Hello everyone, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I got behind on keeping up with this thread and the forum the past couple months. Its funny how far behind you can get here with just missing a day, impossible to keep up when you go a week or longer without popping on. Last few days i've played catch up as much as I could and i'm deeply sorry to read a couple members have lost flock members. Especially Stanley, he was gorgeous. Hopefully Ned can fill his fathers big footprints one day. My flock is doing well and is completely different from this time last year. Thanks to my compulsive broody hens and desire to hatch off more marans chicks for myself in hopes of more hens i now have 10 of the lovely black beauties. And "knock on wood" my rooster streak was broke, of 7 maran chicks hatched, only 1 boy who i've decided to keep as a backup incase something were to happen to my beloved Drummie. Praying that never happens, I want that lovebug around for years. I think my family has came to the realization that i am the crazy chick lady and that they are not a fad and will be around forever like my daughter is with her horses. For Christmas i got a incubator, egg turner and more chicken accessories. It is what i've been wanting for a while now but refusing to buy for myself as i know me, i cant bring myself to break a broody hen, when hatching season starts that thing will stay full lol. Since its now a new thing for monday mug shots i have 2 for everyone. Taken on Christmas.
Holly
View attachment 2466304
View attachment 2466306
Butter, my mom's personal favorite chicken who she has spoiled and thanks to her has admitted she need to join the crazy chicken lady club.
View attachment 2466310
Both girls working hard to fill up the incubator. After all, never used one before, and it does need to be tested out before hatching season starts...and this is coming from my MOTHER lol. Right now have 6 eggs set aside, 3 from each girl, thinking of starting the process tomorrow evening. I was going to be a good person, and not fire it up untill the last week of January.

It is so nice to have you back and congratulations on getting the family to recognize who you are now. If you are going to incubate then I really want to follow along. Please provide us with updates as I find the whole process fascinating.

You do have some beautiful ladies. The sheen on those black hens is stunning.

 

[Shadrach]

I'm so sorry Shad.

Do you have any of his offspring in the tribes?

I'm not 100% sure. I think that Tack might be his daughter. The hens in tribe 2 are happy mating with either Punch or Mag. Given they're such a mix anyway it would be difficult to be certain no matter what characteristics show.

 

[RoyalChick]

Making Plans

I was out in the run today and a more simple expansion idea came to me. It seems silly that I have never considered it. More so even if you know where I put the temporary coop every time I integrate. Why not a raised coop in the run? I can keep all of the run space by elevating the coop just like the main coop is elevated and build an additional coop onto the studs I already have out there. I already did that with the outside nesting box. Plus I lose no more square footage from the yard.

Maybe house legbars and polish out there as they are both smaller breeds. I could put Phyllis in charge of them.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm

View attachment 2466211

Genius! And I am willing to bet they will have their own ideas on who will roost where, and that Aurora will go nuts running back and forth trying to guard two coops. Great idea!

 

[micstrachan]

Coming of age
Indeed yes they are big, though temperatures here are well below freezing and they are exceptionally good at fluffing themselves up - so they look way bigger than they really are.
Dotty has been laying eggs for some weeks now - though she has some kind of problem in that she doesn't shut off the poop tube when she lays, so her pretty little blue eggs are always covered in s**t and so are effectively brown eggs
Minnie however has for a couple of weeks now been teasing me on the egg front. Every day she spends ages in the nest boxes rearranging the wood chips.

Then she emerges and shouts the house down announcing the egg she has not produced. No egg from all that activity.

But yesterday she finally produced an egg. A teeny, tiny egg. Here it is compared to Dotty's egg (poop brushed off an hidden from camera) and Elizabeth's egg.
A robin would be proud!

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Anyway, it is clear they are no longer 'The Little Princesses'. I now have a flock of 5 Princesses.

Awww... precious! Congratulations!

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

Thank you BY BOB. I love all my chickens, and each one is beautiful in their own way, but, it is mesmerizing looking at the black girls and the colors sunlight brings out in them. And to think i used to be under the impression that a all black chicken was that...black, boring. Boy was i wrong, best thing to compare them to is my favorite gemstone the Black Sapphire, at first glance its just that, black. Put it under sunlight and the color pops. I've also came to realize that as far as pretty egg basket color goes my favorite shade is brown. The darker the better. As of right now of my laying hens my only white egg layer is my game hen momma, when she's not broody that is. I have momma's daughter snickers who has not started laying yet but is only half game so hoping she lays at least a tannish color. Henrietta lays a light brown almost pinkish egg and Butters is tan with sorta purplish spots. Henrietta's daughter Bread should start laying around the end of feb and i'm hoping for a tan egg from her as well. Mix the tan eggs in with the dark or speckled eggs of the marans and it makes such a warm looking egg basket. Now as for my mom and spoiling the chickens, I had kept them off the front porch. If you went out the back door yes, expect to be mobbed looking for treats but front porch was off limits. She taught Butter and Drumstick, who in turn taught the rest of the flock that if you come on the front porch you will be handfed the most prized treat, dried fruit. Drummie will now give you until about 10am to come out with the treats. If your late he comes up on the porch with everyone in tow and will crow right at the front door once. He will wait for just a few more minutes and then it starts.....he pecks *knocks* on the screen door until you come out to give everyone their prize. Never fails...every morning now. And to my flock raisins, dried cranberries or cherries is to them the equivalent to grubworms to other chickens. I actually bought a small bag of grubworms to try. My guys turned their beaks up at them, ended up giving them to a neighbor who has silkies.

 

[Shadrach]

I'm so sad for you. Thanks for sharing the information as it may help one of us to recognize the same condition. I'm sorry that this is happening. How old is he?

He's three years and seven months old I think. I can't find his baby pictures atm.

 

[Shadrach]

New Dishes

For Christmas this year I decided to surprise Mrs BY Bob by replacing the fish plates we have been using since the children were little. Of course I went looking for something chicken themed. I found these on Wayfair.com, otherwise they would have been way out of my price range. Luckily, she loved them.
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My new Son in Law has arrived to celebrate the holidays. He wants to learn how to make pasta by hand and so Mrs BY Bob started his education last night. My daughter and myself are very lucky as we got to enjoy the fruits of that education. Homemade pasta, Mrs BY Bob's sauce (gravy), and her meatballs which the two of them made together on her new Italian plates. Add a little Chianti and it was almost like we were back in Italy last night!
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That's a rather handsome set of crockery Bob.