Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

I know Fat Bird misses Ruffles. So do I. I'm okay for Fat Bird but that's partly because I'm all that's been here as long as she has that she will have anything to do with.

I have almost named one of my hens Ruffles each time I have added. I am really glad that Lilly has that best friend finally. Who knows why her and Sansa have connected so well. I wish that for Fat Bird but she is quite a bit older than Lilly and perhaps she is done with silly young birds. I am very glad that she has you.

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

Well cross your fingers everyone, I've got the incubator up and running. If it continues to maintain its temp and humidity readings I will add eggs around 9ish tonight. 6 Marans eggs from Holly x Drumstick and 4 Maran mix eggs from Butter x Drumstick. It is a bit sooner then I originally planned to set the first round of eggs, but I've never used a incubator before and this is my trial run. I've gotten requests from 3 different local people who are serious about wanting Maran chicks so I've got to get this figured out. It will be nice if my birds can start contributing to their feed bill.

 

[MaryJanet]

I need a set of those drug dealer scales.

I've been thinking of something like this. If you put some straw in the bowl and weigh them at night, it might not be too much of a struggle.

 

[MaryJanet]

Ok, my take on integration is very different and I don’t know how well it would work with your arrangement. I have a lot more birds, flocks of 10+ in 6x12’ tractors with 3x6’ roosting boxes and about 3x3’ of that is actual roosts. I slip new girls in at night onto the roosts and make sure to let everyone out very early the next morning, generally that is it. I minister and make sure there’s no bloodshed and let them sort it out on their own from there. My integration of the 8 newest rescues into the free range flock essentially was the same, with a couple nights of showing them where to roost, and now they are settled in nicely.

Nightime integrations work well for me too. My neighbour waits til they're fully asleep before sneaking a new bird on to the roost. Then, like Kris, he's up "at a sparrow's fart" (his words) to open up. His hens have lots of space to get away from each other during the day.

But we never have snow so hens rarely spend their days in the run.

 

[Shadrach]

I've been thinking of something like this. If you put some straw in the bowl and weigh them at night, it might not be too much of a struggle.

View attachment 2478689

Those are some very ambitious drug dealer scales.
I can weight the chickens, but bits of a gram for individual dosing is a bit here and there.

 

[MaryJanet]

Fluffy Butt Friday:
Olivia.

View attachment 2471534​

Spectacular!

 

[Shadrach]

Well cross your fingers everyone, I've got the incubator up and running. If it continues to maintain its temp and humidity readings I will add eggs around 9ish tonight. 6 Marans eggs from Holly x Drumstick and 4 Maran mix eggs from Butter x Drumstick. It is a bit sooner then I originally planned to set the first round of eggs, but I've never used a incubator before and this is my trial run. I've gotten requests from 3 different local people who are serious about wanting Maran chicks so I've got to get this figured out. It will be nice if my birds can start contributing to their feed bill.

What's wrong with your hens?

 

[MaryJanet]

Those are some very ambitious drug dealer scales.
I can weight the chickens, but bits of a gram for individual dosing is a bit here and there.

Ohhhhh i see

 

[Kris5902]

I've been thinking of something like this. If you put some straw in the bowl and weigh them at night, it might not be too much of a struggle.

View attachment 2478689

Those are some very ambitious drug dealer scales.
I can weight the chickens, but bits of a gram for individual dosing is a bit here and there.

Time to visit a chemistry supply or local “head shop?” Lol those 0.001g scales are not quite a dime a dozen here, but pretty close to it!

 

[MaryJanet]

Wet here too. Still. Lovely steady showers & much better than last year's fires.

Very little rain here, which is far, far better than none, so I'm delighted!