What you all doing this morning?
Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock
- Thread starter BY Bob
- Start date
LaFemmeKatia
Crossing the Road
Good morning!
Did my chicken chores, now I am having coffee with the dogs. (It’s too cold this morning to have coffee with the chickens).
It’s ok. Shouldn’t serve coffee to the chickens anyways (keeps them up late)Good morning!
Did my chicken chores, now I am having coffee with the dogs. (It’s too cold this morning to have coffee with the chickens).
Yep. x2 on both.
I would think so! My avian vet calls chickens “life size birds.” I bet their size make them easier to work on than say a parakeet!To me, a bird is still a bird. I get that they are different, but if you are a doctor to some birds, surely the anatomy is similar enough that you could at least make an attempt?
Good morning. It’s 6:16 and Ester is about to get her first meal. This girl’s feathers are coming in, but they still aren’t long enough to cover skin and she’s not drinking on her own yet and is barely eating anything on her own (only very specific treats... I do keep offering feed... wet, dry, fermented). Thus tube feed is sustaining her for now. I wish her feathers would hurry up so I could let her have some outside time, but on Saturday she just self isolated in the coop shivering when we tried. Did you guys see how naked she got?
Here she is with me after a feeding on Monday with something in her crop!
Here she is with me after a feeding on Monday with something in her crop!
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Yesterday after the morning visit I was with the chickens from about 2:30pm to 5:15pm. Roosting order yesterday: Hazel, Butters, Peanut, Popcorn, Queenie! This post is again long so I highlighted the main points for those speed-readers!
Hazel had the stink-eye for everyone all day, and I mean everyone, but particularly Butters, she was unrelenting at times. She got Queenie to move along a couple of times, and Queenie placidly did; Hazel didn't harass her much at all. Queenie was getting little pecks from everyone now and then but it didn't bother her. However Hazel seemed really pissed off at everyone else, and made it her job to go after anyone and everyone who was a Buckeye for no seeming reason. The upset spread or it was already this way, but Peanut pecked both Popcorn and Butters, and also fiercely chased Hazel, too. I hung around and didn't see anything horrible, it was all just unsettled. But then I was cleaning off the poop tray and roosting bars at the other end and heard a commotion and then actual loud sqwawking, ran back around to look and it was Hazel facing off with a Buckeye, I think it was Butters. Later I saw Butters get very low with her head while Hazel stood tall in front of her.
Butters has always been a quite congenial and pretty easy-going pullet, I think she was top hen because she started out bigger and is maybe a few days older - she had little feathers on her wings and tail when everybody else was all fluff - and because she has a certain boldness (along with Popcorn, her general partner in exploring). She has never pecked anyone that I recall seeing. Hazel, the barge-right-in-and-eat-like-a- sewing-machine pullet, has always seemed to be more driven.
It was about 3pm, when I checked the nest box area and found an egg!!! It was cold and may be frozen, or partially frozen, it was 29F all day yesterday. Wowee! Is it Queenie's? She had been pacing around under the coop yesterday after breakfast, and was pretty vocal. Calling what I would characterize as a "wanting" call. She had been somewhat vocal the day before too, but not like that. Now I wonder if her going up the coop ladder partway even the day before that, and then I saw her looking up the ladder yesterday, was her looking around for where she could lay? I checked everywhere in the runs and crawled under the coop to look for any other egg. I carefully sifted under the coop with a close-tined hay shovel, and didn't find any.
Here's a view of the nesting area. The egg was in the newly-made bowl in the nest material! It is deeper than it looks. One of the ceramic eggs had been pushed away. At first I had to compare it with the ceramic eggs, hey, there were only two fake eggs in there before....
It has concerned me that the nest box is the same height and is right next to the roost area with a sliding door between. You can see the door on the right there. So I had been leaving it open so the Buckeyes would know it's there, but then closing it because someone had roosted and pooped in there, then more recently just perched on the divider and pooped into that side. But since Queenie's arrival - and hearing about new eggs on this thread too! - I've been lately trying to get in the habit of opening it in the morning when I let them out, and closing it before roosting time, as advised by Omlet to train them not to roost there. But I have not been consistent in remembering I'm afraid. I think I won't have any trouble now though! And yesterday I remembered! Many people do fine with this Omlet setup so I figure it's possible to leave it open eventually. With all the roosting changes though, I'm going to keep doing it for awhile until (hopefully) things settle down. The area is about a foot wide and almost 3 feet long.
Later on, nearing roosting time but still early, at about 4:15pm, Hazel drove all chickens from the low run. Really. She chased anyone who was in there, or even ventured in. It's not hard to play keep-away in the narrow run even with the log divider. I may put another bucket there to act as a disrupter and alternative getaway channel, it works well near the coop and ladder. The other Buckeyes were non-plussed, not understanding what was going on. Queenie didn't act very concerned at all. She did a quick about-face and walked away and just hung out. She did a lot of preening.
Eventually Butters made the roosting wail, and Hazel decided to let everyone wander in to the low run. Queenie came in too, but hung back a bit, preening, unconcerned. She made no attempt to get on the ladder right away. Butters again eventually slowly came around from under the coop, drummed on the bucket with Popcorn a bit, and came around to look up at the pop door. She jumped up to the perch. Hazel jumped up too, and stood to her right. Butters stood a long time up there looking in carefully, then changed her mind and turned around, then changed it again, turned around and got on the threshhold and stayed there leaning in, her big fluffy butt filling the door. She took a few steps in but then came out onto the top ladder step. Hazel decided that was it, Butters has conceded, and after a few seconds squeezed by - Butters let her - and went in and stayed in. Butters went in after her.
Queenie acted so non-chalant through all this it was amazing compared to yesterday's performance. She just stood a little ways away and preened. She moved a little closer as Peanut and Popcorn got closer, but made no move to go third. She stayed on the ground as those two jumped up and went in, in that order, only jumping up to be next to Popcorn after there was room on the perch. She preened up there too while she waited just a bit for the commotion of those two to settle, and then went in, setting down in the middle, sort of to the left, facing out.
Hazel had the stink-eye for everyone all day, and I mean everyone, but particularly Butters, she was unrelenting at times. She got Queenie to move along a couple of times, and Queenie placidly did; Hazel didn't harass her much at all. Queenie was getting little pecks from everyone now and then but it didn't bother her. However Hazel seemed really pissed off at everyone else, and made it her job to go after anyone and everyone who was a Buckeye for no seeming reason. The upset spread or it was already this way, but Peanut pecked both Popcorn and Butters, and also fiercely chased Hazel, too. I hung around and didn't see anything horrible, it was all just unsettled. But then I was cleaning off the poop tray and roosting bars at the other end and heard a commotion and then actual loud sqwawking, ran back around to look and it was Hazel facing off with a Buckeye, I think it was Butters. Later I saw Butters get very low with her head while Hazel stood tall in front of her.
Butters has always been a quite congenial and pretty easy-going pullet, I think she was top hen because she started out bigger and is maybe a few days older - she had little feathers on her wings and tail when everybody else was all fluff - and because she has a certain boldness (along with Popcorn, her general partner in exploring). She has never pecked anyone that I recall seeing. Hazel, the barge-right-in-and-eat-like-a- sewing-machine pullet, has always seemed to be more driven.
It was about 3pm, when I checked the nest box area and found an egg!!! It was cold and may be frozen, or partially frozen, it was 29F all day yesterday. Wowee! Is it Queenie's? She had been pacing around under the coop yesterday after breakfast, and was pretty vocal. Calling what I would characterize as a "wanting" call. She had been somewhat vocal the day before too, but not like that. Now I wonder if her going up the coop ladder partway even the day before that, and then I saw her looking up the ladder yesterday, was her looking around for where she could lay? I checked everywhere in the runs and crawled under the coop to look for any other egg. I carefully sifted under the coop with a close-tined hay shovel, and didn't find any.
Here's a view of the nesting area. The egg was in the newly-made bowl in the nest material! It is deeper than it looks. One of the ceramic eggs had been pushed away. At first I had to compare it with the ceramic eggs, hey, there were only two fake eggs in there before....
It has concerned me that the nest box is the same height and is right next to the roost area with a sliding door between. You can see the door on the right there. So I had been leaving it open so the Buckeyes would know it's there, but then closing it because someone had roosted and pooped in there, then more recently just perched on the divider and pooped into that side. But since Queenie's arrival - and hearing about new eggs on this thread too! - I've been lately trying to get in the habit of opening it in the morning when I let them out, and closing it before roosting time, as advised by Omlet to train them not to roost there. But I have not been consistent in remembering I'm afraid. I think I won't have any trouble now though! And yesterday I remembered! Many people do fine with this Omlet setup so I figure it's possible to leave it open eventually. With all the roosting changes though, I'm going to keep doing it for awhile until (hopefully) things settle down. The area is about a foot wide and almost 3 feet long.
Later on, nearing roosting time but still early, at about 4:15pm, Hazel drove all chickens from the low run. Really. She chased anyone who was in there, or even ventured in. It's not hard to play keep-away in the narrow run even with the log divider. I may put another bucket there to act as a disrupter and alternative getaway channel, it works well near the coop and ladder. The other Buckeyes were non-plussed, not understanding what was going on. Queenie didn't act very concerned at all. She did a quick about-face and walked away and just hung out. She did a lot of preening.
Eventually Butters made the roosting wail, and Hazel decided to let everyone wander in to the low run. Queenie came in too, but hung back a bit, preening, unconcerned. She made no attempt to get on the ladder right away. Butters again eventually slowly came around from under the coop, drummed on the bucket with Popcorn a bit, and came around to look up at the pop door. She jumped up to the perch. Hazel jumped up too, and stood to her right. Butters stood a long time up there looking in carefully, then changed her mind and turned around, then changed it again, turned around and got on the threshhold and stayed there leaning in, her big fluffy butt filling the door. She took a few steps in but then came out onto the top ladder step. Hazel decided that was it, Butters has conceded, and after a few seconds squeezed by - Butters let her - and went in and stayed in. Butters went in after her.
Queenie acted so non-chalant through all this it was amazing compared to yesterday's performance. She just stood a little ways away and preened. She moved a little closer as Peanut and Popcorn got closer, but made no move to go third. She stayed on the ground as those two jumped up and went in, in that order, only jumping up to be next to Popcorn after there was room on the perch. She preened up there too while she waited just a bit for the commotion of those two to settle, and then went in, setting down in the middle, sort of to the left, facing out.
At my vet it isn't an 'avian vet' it is an 'exotic animal vet'. So that is worth checking on. There are the guys who see cats and dogs and then there is the guy who sees exotics which according to his tech includes Hamsters, reptiles, and birds (apparently he sees a lot of ducks).To me, a bird is still a bird. I get that they are different, but if you are a doctor to some birds, surely the anatomy is similar enough that you could at least make an attempt?
Poor baby! I am so glad you have been able to help her.
Fantastic. It has been so fun to watch this play by play! Congrats on the egg. I bet it’s Queenie’s, but let us know when you know for sure!
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