Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Scrambles83]

So probably a stick or something instead an infection. That is great news. You're right its very good that it bled. Good job catching and helping her out!

Give her a hug from me when you carry her next time.

Lilly is glad to hear she is doing better.
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That is Lilly's happy face.

I just love Lilly, from the beginning I have had a soft spot for your Enforcer

 

[Scrambles83]

This was Fat Birds eye condition this morning before treatment. Yesterday it was completely covered in bubbly liquid and more swollen.
The eye got another rinse out. I use cotton wool soak in PH neutral eye wash and sort of dab and squeeze to flood the eye. Now it's less swollon I can see a small cut on the lower lid and another in the corner of the same eyelid. I administered a single drop of Oftalmowell eye treatment and off she went to join her tribe.
Just done her again this evening but can't get a decent picture. The eye is much better; more eyeball showing and the bubbles are gone. The small cut in the corner has bled a bit which is good because that will help clean it.
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Oh Fat Bird. I know I’m well behind in the story but I just love your birds @Shadrach. I’m hoping this all ends well

 

[LozzyR]

Hopefully, the “house” situation is very temporary!
Today she only had two accidents inside, she used her overnight litter box with rag lining once during the day, and actually peed in my cats litter box once! So potty training is honestly going really well. She hasn’t peed the bed in about a week now. She is absolutely great at holding it in the truck until we park, and she gets out in her harness and leash. I’m trying to train her more like a dog, and she might even become the mascot for our neighbors, the “Feral Goat Winery”. The vineyard used to belong to our farm but was sold after a family dispute between my husband’s Grandfather and his Brother-in-Law.

You’ve got to take a photo of Arduinna on a harness and leash!

 

[LozzyR]

My baby Belle being her curious self the other day
Sorry for my mug being in there but couldn’t record without being in it myself

That’s no worries, I love seeing what my chook friends look like!

 

[LozzyR]

Oooo bonus heery coo land chicken!

Those aren’t heery coo giant land chickens, they are just regular garden-variety giant land chickens!

 

[LozzyR]

Charlie’s not broody anymore!!

 

[Scrambles83]

Who speaks chicken?
What is going on here? It is not a squeaky door hinge on the Chicken Palace it is Diana. A moment before she saw something out of the window and craned her neck towards it and sort of 'shouted'. I was right there and couldn't see a thing. Then she started this noise and was very alert for quite a while. The other two Princesses didn't seem that bothered by it all. And 10 minutes later everyone was fixing their feathers for the night. Would love to know what this sound means.

I would not be surprised if they were wary right now because last night the outside coop cam picked up these lovelies.

And tonight another one (or is this a possum?)

But all these are after dark and it was still light and I was right there looking out of the same window as the Princesses. Very puzzling.

I must say I’m so glad we don’t have half these nighttime predators here in Aus! My 2 ISA’s used to scare any crows and magpies that dared to land in the backyard, running at them and leaping with ‘talons out’. A poor seagull got the treatment one day too
Cats got on the fence but didn’t have much of a chance because our terrier mutt would burst out anyway being the sheriff he is and start the running off and the girls were so big they would intimidate the cats I guess, the cats never dared jumping down off the fence into the yard.
They would free range in the backyard all day, unsupervised for 2+ years without any incident.
With the newbies I am a bit less complacent. I feel I have had my eyes opened by you good folks on here and feel lucky that Penny and Bok got out unscathed. I shut the coop nightly just to be safe, haven’t done that since Pen and Bok were about 8 months old (Bok will be 3 in March)
They don’t have the freedom our first 2 had (of which we still have Bok) and our gardens and concrete are much neater for it They do have free range time each day and Belle is always hopping up on my knee to see if I have food, jumping down when I don’t
I won’t let them free range unsupervised with the dog yet either. He’s a great fella and I love him to death (first child before our now 5yo human child ) but the pullets move so fast I can see him getting excited and wanting to play but his play and what they can handle are 2 different things. He’s 11 but they still have puppy energy type moments.
Sorry for the novel, got a bit too into sharing

 

[Scrambles83]

I bet you could find lots of sounds on YouTube.... sometimes I play roosters crowing for the gals just to see their reaction

Hahaha, glad I’m not the only one that has done the rooster thing

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

The Ring

In general dry chicken feed comes in 2 varieties, crumbles and pellets. The school of thought describes the advantages of each as follows.

• Pellets: Less wasted feed. Chickens don't drop as much on the ground.
• Crumbles: It takes longer for the chickens to eat. It is closer to normal food intake and therefore provides a more satisfactory eating experience for the chickens.

The disadvantages of each are generally the opposite.

• Pellets: The chickens fill up quickly, the feeding experience is not satisfying and boredom can result. Boredom can lead to behavioral issues like feather pecking if there are not suitable enrichment opportunities for the chickens.
• Crumbles: Waste. Chickens will scoop feed onto the ground while looking for bigger crumbles or just fling feed onto the ground as they eat.

I started my ladies out on pellets. After taking my course on chicken behavior and learning of the potential for boredom and then evaluating my small coop and run in the winter when they were trapped inside, I made a decision to switch them to crumbles. I wanted to head off any potential boredom issues. Additionally I added some enrichment to the run for them.

With the rat infestation I started to wonder how much food they were actually spilling. So this past week I decided to try a little experiment. I placed a feeder up on the deck in the sun. After 5 days, this is the ring of spilled food they made. The feeder was full at the start of the 5 days so this is the waste from 1 feeder full of food. Chickens are for size purposes.
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My girls get pellets that are in a treadle feeder. There is next to no spillage since I learnt not to fill it to the brim.

They still get a bit of scratch spread on the breakfast bar every morning which they really like.

I think Edwina is not the sharpest tool in the shed though. She keeps banging on the lid of the feeder and seems startled when she puts her foot on the treadle and it opens. She's only been using the treadle feeder for 2 years....

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

This is one of the reasons I make a mash. It is also handy on cold days because you can use wram water. Making a mash wont stop some waste. Most keepers have on or two hens that will insists on scraping feed out with their feet. Fat bird does an interesting sideways sweep with her beak which showers feed everywhere.

Tsuki does the same thing as Fat Bird. She has difficulty emptying the half full treadle feeder though!