Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[ChicoryBlue]

Make sure you sign these! I think you should set up an online shop.

Yes, there may be something to Lozzy's suggestion @Blazinga - early on I read about a bit of a kerfuffle on BYC - and I'm not straight on the details - but some people were upset about the use of their posted pictures. I read that some people put signatures or watermarks on their photos for this reason. I wondered if this had to do with the yearly calendar or the threads in general, I don't know. Anybody here know? But your artwork has real value and you wouldn't want it appropriated. At least we here don't want that to happen to you.

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

I was very despondent last night. I'm not sure quite what prompted me to do it; maybe having a phone easily to hand. I rang my friend Mohammed. I think I've mentioned, he keeps Game Fowl.
I told him as much as I could about Fat Birds problem. He suggested massage. He said back in thhe day when his father had fighting cocks, sometimes a cock would get upended and land on his lower back. This dislocated caudal vertebrae
and sometimes damaged the nerves that send balance signals from the 'tail' nerves to the brain. We think, Gloria and I, that Fat Bird either banged her back just above this region, or now I think in retrospect that it is more likely that a tool handle such as a rake or broom got knocked over and hit her. All Tribe 1 was spending a lot of time in the care port at the time and stuff is always falling over.
Mohammed explained what I should feel for and a bit about how to massage gently pushing the joints upwards.
I gave it a try early this morning.
You would not believe the difference it made.
Fat Bird has been with her tribe all day. Her balance while not great is much improved. Considering yesterday she sat in just about the same place all day and hardly ate anything the change in her general demeanour is remarkable.
Let me show you.
This is the North earth retaining wall next to my house. There was no way Fat Bird would have attempted to come down this way yesterday; she would have split from the tribe and come down the South wall which has steps.
View attachment 2597817View attachment 2597819View attachment 2597822
Here she's having a bit of a sunbath and grooming. She hasn't been grooming much for quite a few days.
View attachment 2597823
Much better overall posture here and although you can't see it her feet are much better positioned.
View attachment 2597824
This is the one that had me worried. This slope is steep and if I have to go down it at this point I use a rope tied to the fence. The whole tribe had been down there and I saw the rest come over the top without Fat Bird and looked over the top of the fence expecting to see her stuck and sat down. She's eating on her way up. She made it all the way no problem.
View attachment 2597825View attachment 2597826

Mohammed says that the bones are unlikely to properly align again and if a nerve is damaged it's doubtful that it will properly repair. However, he believes that provided some relief is possible a chicken will in time learn to compensate for the lack of nerve response.
His view is that much like humans after an accident that damages the nervous system and may make walking almost impossible, if some relief can be provided they will learn to adapt. If on the other hand it is always too difficult then they stop trying.
Fat Bird still stumbled a bit today but I didn't see her fall over and she was normally active all day from what I could see. She went to roost with her tribe this evening. She was already on the perch when I went to look for her expecting she wanted carrying to the coop.
None of the above will sort out her internal problems but while she's coping with those I want to see her active, with her tribe and eating at least some commercial feed.
We all have to die, but I don't want her suffering needlessly on route.
I'm going to give her a half dose of Metacam in the evenings. Being in pain during the day for me at least is bearable. Being in pain when I'm trying to sleep, which is our natural escape, pisses me off and in time just brings me down.

This is amazing. In essence you gave Fat Bird a chiropractic adjustment! With positive results!

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

I had to take little Coco in to relax with me a while. Pic taken 5 minutes ago.
(That’s about as relaxed as a young pet can get! ) View attachment 2597938

That is just too cute!!!

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

Thanks, Michelle. I still haven't named them. They are so unlike what I'm used to in chickens & so far nothing has really resonated with me & them.

Maybe the Man should give them names, as he is the one who was taken with them.

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

I am so sorry you've lost Dorothy, it is very hard to lose a dear pet friend. You can forgive your family who don't know what they're talking about, but you can let them know that those kinds of comments are hurtful, if they don't care about the chickens they ought to care about your feelings for them at least. Hugs to you

I found your own thread with your first post about Dorothy, and the time you posted indicates it was probably some time before 6pm that she passed. I don't know much but I doubt any roosting accident because that is at least an hour and a half before sunset. Did she usually roost that early? I'm guessing she was in the coop and just happened to be under the roost when she passed. I am so sorry for your loss. She was a beautiful hen, and more importantly, so precious to you.

You are right. It was too early. They don’t get on the roosts during the day. Can a chicken that young have a heart attack? I mean, earlier that afternoon she was completely normal, doing what they all do during the day. I examined her from head to foot, and she appeared to be in perfect condition except that she was dead.
It’s unnerving.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

I hear you. Last year my 16 year old cat Moses passed. He was a special cat to me and we lived through a lot of things together. I still feel sad that he is no longer with me.
I have said goodbye to pretty many dogs and cats at this point and it’s never any easier. One would think that I would stop having them, but I love having animals in my world.

Yes. And what @BY Bob wrote - one must take and feel the sadness in order to also really have and feel the joy. We generally expect to outlive our animal companions, but that is a fiction, and an interesting thought experiment is to consider the opposite. Suppose it was the other way 'round? There are some animals that generally live way longer than we humans.

We do not really know when our animal companions will pass, or when we will pass, for that matter. This is kind of embarrassing - but the way we usually view people so differently from our animal companions, and our expectations for each species, was clarified for me in a Star Trek series, one of the later iterations, where a non-human on board, her species only lived for nine years. So the series explicitly posed this question: is an expectation of losing someone so soon a good reason for avoiding a serious relationship, marriage I think, with them? The character looked very human and female (as opposed to her lover) so the viewer could not retreat easily to a sense of "other". I think about this when I think of the pain of losing a dear pet and when considering caring for more.

I try to remember to enjoy every day and every one in it as if it will be the last and the last time you may be with them, because that could very well be the case. It is a cliche but has unfortunately been true for me, with both pets and humans! Hugs

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

(To music) ol Mac Donald has two farms, I owe, I owe, I owe!

Jeanette’s property is two acres next mine. Big enough for a “small veggie garden “ I’m thinking.

Wow. I should say!

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

Yes. And what @BY Bob wrote - one must take and feel the sadness in order to also really have and feel the joy. We generally expect to outlive our animal companions, but that is a fiction, and an interesting thought experiment is to consider the opposite. Suppose it was the other way 'round? There are some animals that generally live way longer than we humans.

We do not really know when our animal companions will pass, or when we will pass, for that matter. This is kind of embarrassing - but the way we usually view people so differently from our animal companions, and our expectations for each species, was clarified for me in a Star Trek series, one of the later iterations, where a non-human on board, her species only lived for nine years. So the series explicitly posed this question: is an expectation of losing someone so soon a good reason for avoiding a serious relationship, marriage I think, with them? The character looked very human and female (as opposed to her lover) so the viewer could not retreat easily to a sense of "other". I think about this when I think of the pain of losing a dear pet and when considering caring for more.

I try to remember to enjoy every day and every one in it as if it will be the last and the last time you may be with them, because that could very well be the case. It is a cliche but has unfortunately been true for me, with both pets and humans! Hugs

That’s what I do. I know how long pets live, so I assume that I will outlive my pet. And I try to enjoy the time I have with them. It’s always sad when the day comes, I’m never “ready”. I have a harder time when it’s “too soon”, and/or totally unexpected, like with Dorothy. The feeling of shock and disbelief comes into it.

 

[micstrachan]

Oh goodness. I just realized this did it post:

I was very despondent last night. I'm not sure quite what prompted me to do it; maybe having a phone easily to hand. I rang my friend Mohammed. I think I've mentioned, he keeps Game Fowl.
I told him as much as I could about Fat Birds problem. He suggested massage. He said back in thhe day when his father had fighting cocks, sometimes a cock would get upended and land on his lower back. This dislocated caudal vertebrae
and sometimes damaged the nerves that send balance signals from the 'tail' nerves to the brain. We think, Gloria and I, that Fat Bird either banged her back just above this region, or now I think in retrospect that it is more likely that a tool handle such as a rake or broom got knocked over and hit her. All Tribe 1 was spending a lot of time in the care port at the time and stuff is always falling over.
Mohammed explained what I should feel for and a bit about how to massage gently pushing the joints upwards.
I gave it a try early this morning.
You would not believe the difference it made.
Fat Bird has been with her tribe all day. Her balance while not great is much improved. Considering yesterday she sat in just about the same place all day and hardly ate anything the change in her general demeanour is remarkable.
Let me show you.
This is the North earth retaining wall next to my house. There was no way Fat Bird would have attempted to come down this way yesterday; she would have split from the tribe and come down the South wall which has steps.
View attachment 2597817View attachment 2597819View attachment 2597822
Here she's having a bit of a sunbath and grooming. She hasn't been grooming much for quite a few days.
View attachment 2597823
Much better overall posture here and although you can't see it her feet are much better positioned.
View attachment 2597824
This is the one that had me worried. This slope is steep and if I have to go down it at this point I use a rope tied to the fence. The whole tribe had been down there and I saw the rest come over the top without Fat Bird and looked over the top of the fence expecting to see her stuck and sat down. She's eating on her way up. She made it all the way no problem.
View attachment 2597825View attachment 2597826

Mohammed says that the bones are unlikely to properly align again and if a nerve is damaged it's doubtful that it will properly repair. However, he believes that provided some relief is possible a chicken will in time learn to compensate for the lack of nerve response.
His view is that much like humans after an accident that damages the nervous system and may make walking almost impossible, if some relief can be provided they will learn to adapt. If on the other hand it is always too difficult then they stop trying.
Fat Bird still stumbled a bit today but I didn't see her fall over and she was normally active all day from what I could see. She went to roost with her tribe this evening. She was already on the perch when I went to look for her expecting she wanted carrying to the coop.
None of the above will sort out her internal problems but while she's coping with those I want to see her active, with her tribe and eating at least some commercial feed.
We all have to die, but I don't want her suffering needlessly on route.
I'm going to give her a half dose of Metacam in the evenings. Being in pain during the day for me at least is bearable. Being in pain when I'm trying to sleep, which is our natural escape, pisses me off and in time just brings me down.

What a wonderful update on Fat Bird, Shad! Can you describe the massage in more detail when you get a chance? Can you actually feel her vertebrae?

 

[featherhead007]

Shad, Can I use the name "Fat Bird" for one of my new Barred Rocks? (It does suit her well, she's growing up very fat) And I would consider it a favor, and an honor? Please