Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[LozzyR]

Yes it is & Nyssa has a beautiful mug! I love my SF too, they are just beautiful & I assume they all have amazing personalities!

They definitely have personalities! Nyssa is one smart little cookie and River likes to complain a lot.

 

[LozzyR]

Have you had problems with coccidiosis in the past? I've dealt with it a couple of times now & I do know that it's been in warm & damp conditions.

It’s only shown up in a fecal float once but sometimes I’ll do a preventative treatment if it’s muggy. It’s not warm at the moment, just wet.

 

[Ribh]

Monday Mugs

Hey Aussies! How am I the first to post a mug?!
View attachment 2580232

Sorry, Bob, I have my hands rather full here but here's a double header for you:​

Olivia & Titania.

 

[drstratton]

They definitely have personalities! Nyssa is one smart little cookie and River likes to complain a lot.

Spazzy is broody right now...2nd time this year. She's hilarious when she's trying to eat & keep away from the roosters at the same time. I need to get a video of her!

 

[drstratton]

It’s only shown up in a fecal float once but sometimes I’ll do a preventative treatment if it’s muggy. It’s not warm at the moment, just wet.

I might be tempted to do a preventative treatment. We don't have the humidity here that you all deal with. That being said there are probably others here that might have more to add!

 

[drstratton]

Sorry, Bob, I have my hands rather full here but here's a double header for you:​

Olivia & Titania.
View attachment 2581014

What a cute double header...all dry & fluffy again! I hope you don't run yourself ragged....

 

[BY Bob]

I just discovered that as well as listen to them through the camera I can also talk to them. @BY Bob, does yours work that way? I had no idea!
It was actually very touching - I tried it out and just very quietly said “Hello chickens” and they all came running.
I know they come running for me in person but I always kind of assumed it was as much about the bucket of treats they could see and I assumed they didn’t really think of me as an individual. But they sure know my voice!
I don’t want to use this feature too much because of course I wasn’t there to reward them with a treat - but is is good to know I can summon them if I need to.

Why I don't know. I will have to try that. What model cameras do you have?

 

[BY Bob]

I got the same one as Bob got. It is called Arlo. They are pricey but the system has given me so much joy I count it as multiple birthday presents to myself!
It is really intended for home security and I keep saying I will deploy one of the cameras on the front door for that purpose (one day!), but it is also great for chickens and wildlife.
It has a base station which connects to your home router, and then the cameras talk to the base-station, and then you can see it all via an app or by logging in on your computer. I am not at all tech savvy but I set it up myself. I have a wireless extender for my router in the garage and the base station plugs into that in the garage and that is probably 200 feet from the Chicken Palace.
I mainly use mine on my phone. It records video (motion triggered) and you can take still shots from your phone.

They are also battery operated so you don't have to run power to the coop and run.

 

[RoyalChick]

Why I don't know. I will have to try that. What model cameras do you have?

Hmmm - I don't know! I got them after meeting (sort of) you so they are less than a year old I guess.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

I just love this.
I guess you won't be posting about heritage breeds, or breeding to the SOP then.
Does Chicadee have a mate currenntly?
Do you provide a coop of any description for her?
Do you know where she nests?

This is very close to my ideal chicken management ideal. There are quite a few farms in the area where I live that have chickens living on the property. The property owners collect a few eggs from the nests they find and supply feed in return. Other than that the chickens are essentially feral. Many roost and nest in farm outhouses and some of the property owners at least will provide some sort of health care. Most of the cockerels get eaten. The better "keepers" pay attention to which cockerels and roosters are favoured by the hens. That's who governs the breeding stratagy; the hens.
I do hope you post lots, stories and pictures.

Actually maybe @cfonts is in the best position to talk about heritage breeds - I was interested in finding out why so many chickens have survived there and it's because Kauai has no mongoose, unlike the other Hawaiian Islands. If I am gathering this correctly from some very brief reading, it is thought Polynesians brought Red Jungle Fowl to the Hawaiian Islands ages ago, and Europeans introduced some modern chicken breeds, but mostly the wild chickens grew in numbers after the '82 and '92 hurricanes where domesticated chickens got loose and lost. So there's interesting research being done with DNA analysis of the chicken populations there, and it's possible that Kauai may turn out to have an important pool of preserved Red Jungle Fowl genes that could be helpful to the rest of the world in bringing some sanity and health back to the world's over-bred and in-bred chickens. Apparently the remaining Red Jungle Fowl in their "native" places are suffering from lack of wild places to live and the introduction of domesticated chicken genes.
https://www.livescience.com/57669-animal-sex-kauai-chickens.html
https://research.msu.edu/invasive-feral-chickens-provide-evolutionary-insights/
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/mec.13096

Chicken tax for Mugshot Monday. I don't recall if I've posted this one before. From early February. Once again it is Hazel I think (and Queenie in front). @featherhead007 - I have figured out what it is about Hazel, and maybe it's a Buckeye thing - they have a strong brow, with full feathers. They look quite studious and serious, in a way. So when they are intent on something, their expression is extra-intense! (Or they look like they're mad at you )

It is interesting - Hazel has appointed herself Patroller of Queenie, but I also find them often foraging together quite peacefully. Maybe that's self-interest on Hazel's part? Queenie grew up free-ranging, so maybe they know she knows how to find things. They do all instantly rush over when they think she's got something.

Things are fluid and not set in stone, but Popcorn and Butters are generally thick as thieves when foraging, more so than any other pair. I call them Partners In Crime. Peanut floats between these groups.