Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[RebeccaBoyd]

I love that nice old lady, and I have purpose to take care of her. (Oops, my Christianity is showing)

That is very kind of you and not many people would do that these days. Besides visiting her, I'm sure it gives her great comfort and peace of mind knowing that her animals are being taking care of while she has to be at the hospital. I feel that alone is a great step in her healing process.

 

[Shadrach]

I can do that!

We have six layer hens: three Buff Orpingtons, two Barred Rocks, and one light Brahma. We also have a pardoned meat chicken (Henny Penny) and two turkeys (also pardoned).

Lucy, the light Brahma, is current flock leader. Her BCF (Best Chicken Friend) is Francis, one of our two Barred Rocks. She's a very posh chicken.
View attachment 2571551
Truffle, one of our BOs, is my sister's favorite chicken. She has a very low, content cluck, and follows us around as we do our chores outside. She's second in command and acts as the "watch chicken."
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Jenny, Barred Rock, was the former flock leader. She fell from power around the beginning of February. She's great at bossing (practices a lot) and can be a little mean to the chickens below her, but was a great flock leader until Lucy took over. Her BCF is Ginger.
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Jenny's best friend, Ginger, is our fluffiest chicken. She has a very heavy step and is the most skittish, but she's warming up to spending more time with us.
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Nutmeg is fourth in the pecking order. She's very curious about anything we do, and will skip breakfast to scratch in straw. She has a very anxious expression.
View attachment 2571570
Francis, our little BR, is the lowest in the pecking order. The other hens don't need to rub it in, though; she is content where she is and doesn't mind it at all. She is actually becoming friends with Truffle, but her BCF is Lucy, who was her friend from the brooder. Francis had a few problems when she was a chick: she suffered from pasty, and was our weakest. She has had crooked toes since we got her, but it was too far gone to help correct the condition. But she makes the most of every day and we're so happy to have her.
View attachment 2571891
Henny Penny isn't with the main flock at the moment, but when she returns she will probably once again assume the position of undeniable flock leader, "The Queen". (We had to quarantine her because she had a few issues that popped up, but those are gone now and she's doing great!)
View attachment 2571629
Our turkeys were going to be for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, but they imprinted on us (we didn't expect that) so they were pardoned and we had pork for dinner.
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Perhaps all these pictures could count as my shots for Mugshot Monday

I hope this wasn't too much!

Love it.

 

[LozzyR]

I can do that!

We have six layer hens: three Buff Orpingtons, two Barred Rocks, and one light Brahma. We also have a pardoned meat chicken (Henny Penny) and two turkeys (also pardoned).

Lucy, the light Brahma, is current flock leader. Her BCF (Best Chicken Friend) is Francis, one of our two Barred Rocks. She's a very posh chicken.
View attachment 2571551
Truffle, one of our BOs, is my sister's favorite chicken. She has a very low, content cluck, and follows us around as we do our chores outside. She's second in command and acts as the "watch chicken."
View attachment 2571559
Jenny, Barred Rock, was the former flock leader. She fell from power around the beginning of February. She's great at bossing (practices a lot) and can be a little mean to the chickens below her, but was a great flock leader until Lucy took over. Her BCF is Ginger.
View attachment 2571554
Jenny's best friend, Ginger, is our fluffiest chicken. She has a very heavy step and is the most skittish, but she's warming up to spending more time with us.
View attachment 2571612
Nutmeg is fourth in the pecking order. She's very curious about anything we do, and will skip breakfast to scratch in straw. She has a very anxious expression.
View attachment 2571570
Francis, our little BR, is the lowest in the pecking order. The other hens don't need to rub it in, though; she is content where she is and doesn't mind it at all. She is actually becoming friends with Truffle, but her BCF is Lucy, who was her friend from the brooder. Francis had a few problems when she was a chick: she suffered from pasty, and was our weakest. She has had crooked toes since we got her, but it was too far gone to help correct the condition. But she makes the most of every day and we're so happy to have her.
View attachment 2571891
Henny Penny isn't with the main flock at the moment, but when she returns she will probably once again assume the position of undeniable flock leader, "The Queen". (We had to quarantine her because she had a few issues that popped up, but those are gone now and she's doing great!)
View attachment 2571629
Our turkeys were going to be for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, but they imprinted on us (we didn't expect that) so they were pardoned and we had pork for dinner.
View attachment 2571601
View attachment 2571885
Perhaps all these pictures could count as my shots for Mugshot Monday

I hope this wasn't too much!

They are all lovely! I used to have a Lucy and a Henny Penny as well but they have both now gone to the big chicken coop in the sky.

Here they are hanging out with me after a hard afternoon’s foraging. Lucy (who became my alpha) is facing me whilst Penny has her back to me. Miss you ladies!

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

Since the boys stole one of her cat toys, Jynx has retaliated in stealing one of the hens nest boxes. She's pleased with herself and Clover who uses that box is angry.

 

[featherhead007]

That's so good of you. I hope your neighbor is ok

She's not OK. I think this is the end for her. I pray not, but time will tell

 

[Shadrach]

Tribe 2. Tack is sitting on a few eggs in one of the coops. Lock is at the bottom of the tree thinking about joining the others. Link is off somewhere trying to pick a fight with Notch.
By the time I got back from checking on Fat Bird they had all come down and were waiting for supper. Scrambled eggs and baked white fish tonight.

 

[featherhead007]

Tribe 2. Tack is sitting on a few eggs in one of the coops. Lock is at the bottom of the tree thinking about joining the others. Link is off somewhere trying to pick a fight with Notch.
By the time I got back from checking on Fat Bird they had all come down and were waiting for supper. Scrambled eggs and baked white fish tonight.
View attachment 2572678View attachment 2572679

Thanks, I needed that Shad!

 

[Marie2020]

She's not OK. I think this is the end for her. I pray not, but time will tell

What animals has she got. Bless her she will be so worried for them

 

[LozzyR]

The thing is this, I think, about crumbling versus soaking - unless you're closely inspecting frequently, when their bums are noticeably pooey it is likely already past the point when crumbling will work pain-free.

Spoiler: Potential poo situation and why soaking is better for that

Because when you get in there and closely look, you may find a small hardened poo blob right under the vent, cemented to several feather shafts, right next to the skin. As if small amounts have slowly built up there, painted on. There's no room to manipulate it without pulling uncomfortably on the feather shafts, and getting it off the shafts cleanly even if you broke it up could be difficult. If you find that situation then soaking may be your best solution. The hens were worried about my fingers touching them back there so close to their vent especially. But they got used to the feel of my hand with warm water, not messing with the poo brick, just soaking them there. Eventually I would gently rub the outside of it, working the water and baby shampoo in and breaking up bits off the outside. That was as much as they would tolerate. When it finally softened up enough to break into pieces, that was much better for them and they tolerated my dealing with the individual shafts, cleaning them off.

When I give my girls a butt bath I get hubby to help me. He holds them on the window-sill whilst I squirt them with warm water from a spray bottle. I then rub in some hypoallergenic pet shampoo and massage the poo out. I can then rinse with the spray bottle but I find it doesn’t quite get all the suds out. So if it’s not cold, I put them in a tub of warm water to rinse, then towel-dry them off. I have blow-dried the girls before, they didn’t seem to mind it.

 

[MaryJanet]

She's not OK. I think this is the end for her. I pray not, but time will tell

Alex, you may already know this way of doing kindness, but when mum died we were told she could still hear us right up to the end. So if you get a chance, you can send her on her way with gentle words in her mind.

I was lucky to be in the room as mum left us and that's what I did. Over time, the memory of what I had said to her became a great comfort for me as I adapted to the loss and was sorrowful.