Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[fuentemoon]

We have gone from winter to summer. It has been mostly too cold still at night to get much in the ground, still hitting freezing or below many if not most nights. Now it is suddenly predicted to be 80-88 this weekend!
Did manage to get one set of cabbage and peas in, much to the chickens consternation. That garden area was a favorite winter hangout.

Same spot before they helped clear it

 

[fuentemoon]

Oh and we had our first 3 egg day last weekend! We are getting at least one egg a day, which is pretty amazing from our 3 year old ladies
In icky news we are battling mites again, but we have caught them early, so hoping we will keep them from becoming the problem they were last year.

 

[BY Bob]

Depending on where you are storing it - squirrels will chew through plastic. Just sayin'!

Yes they will. They are very effective at chewing through plastic.

 

[BY Bob]

Funny - for many years some company sent me a Christmas popcorn gift which has left me with a load of metal containers and I am using one for scratch grain and one for sunflower seeds and one for medicines. The company didn't send one to me last year so I guess I dropped off their mailing list - but I have more than enough for my chicken needs. I missed the popcorn though - it was yummy!

I used to get them every year as well. That ended many years ago. I miss them as well but I have all of the cans.

 

[BY Bob]

I am still getting my mind around a chicken turning its beak up at a wriggly worm. I think mine would all kills you if you stood in the way of a worm.
My mission this weekend is to get a video of the mayhem that breaks out when a worm is found inside the Chicken Palace. It is almost as bad as when they catch a mouse.

I would love to see that!

 

[BY Bob]

Oh yes! I had a squirrel chew a giant hole in a plastic tub in just a couple of hours!! It had chicken scratch in it! I deleted the pics...

Didn't you post that photo? I feel like I saw it.

 

[BY Bob]

The rain won’t quit here! They are locked up and not happy about it!View attachment 2617709View attachment 2617708

Yikes that is a lot of water!

 

[RoyalChick]

More Flockservations

Hattie
First of all, whatever was bothering Hattie that morning is cleared up. I am going to assume it was egg related and she got the egg out. I have seen no weird eggs of any kind. She is definitely back to her old self. I personally just have this unease now and I am sure that I am staring at her when I'm outside.

My grand lady looking fit
View attachment 2617889

I have noticed two things about Hattie over the last few months.

First: She no longer joins the scrum
If I put out some leftovers or other snacks out for the girls, Hattie no longer joins in the piranha-like feeding frenzy that occurs, with exceptions. She stands back and waits until things calm down or everyone grabs a piece and runs away with it before she approaches the snack. Lilly has exhibited this behavior as well since taking over as Alpha hen. As I said there exceptions to this behavior for certain kinds of food, say pasta. I would say about 90% of the time, she hangs back.

Secondly: She is enforcing her position more vigorously
Hattie used to be very laid back when it came to her relationship with others in the flock. I almost never saw her peck at anyone else. It is not often but it is happening. Now I see her actually pecking at others and even going after others with what seems the sole purpose of reminding them of their position. I have even seen her make Aurora, of all hens, bow down in submission. I cannot recall this ever happening before in all the time Hattie has been with me. In fact only Maleficent had ever made Aurora bow down before. Even after the big fight when Lilly tried, Aurora did not submit to her.

An Odd Pairing
At first blush it makes no sense. They are truly odd when viewed together. I will explain more in a minute.

I have said many times that my tribe tends to pair off as they go about their ranging. This is one of the reason I am a huge proponent of even numbered "hen only" tribes. Roosters change the equation. I tend to watch with interest who is paired up with whom. It used to be that they pretty much matched up in pecking order. As I watch what is going now though I do believe that pairing up in such a fashion wasn't really pecking order but based upon "siblings". Maleficent and Aurora were not hanging out together because they were 3 & 4 in the pecking but rather because they grew up together and thus were friends.

So what is the current odd pairing?

Aurora and Phyllis

That's right. Let me break down why I think this happening.

1. Phyllis is no threat to Aurora's position. This is leading to Aurora really not pecking at her unless Phyllis actually steals something from Aurora. Which Phyllis will do from time to time. No dominance displays are required.
2. Once the newbies arrived and Lilly dumped Hattie for Sansa. Hattie and Aurora had been the frequent pairing. After the big fight, the pairing dissolved. There was a lot of flux for a quite a while. With Hattie enforcing her position more now to the point of making Aurora bow down and submit, I think Aurora decided to look elsewhere for companionship.
3. When looking elsewhere, with Lilly and Sansa paired up, that left Sydney and Phyllis for Aurora to pair with. Aurora and Sydney as a combination might make some sense. They are very similar in their quest for food. They will both steal food from anyone. However, Aurora feels the need to dominate Sydney. Now Sydney is a quick submitter but I am sure that is not a lot of fun for Sydney. Whereas Hattie is not as dominating a hen. I think Sydney may have chosen Hattie herself. This leads me back to point 1.
4. Aurora and Phyllis are the weird looking hens. The odd balls. Between Phyllis' head of feathers and Aurora's beard and muffs, they just don't look like the others. Perhaps this is also playing some role.

The Odd Couple together
View attachment 2617876

Hattie and her new partner just hanging out on the porch.
View attachment 2617881

I feel Hattie may have been engaging in self-help assertiveness classes when you weren't looking.

 

[BY Bob]

Good morning, Fluffy Butt-ers!!!
I’m still in PA, hanging with my kids and grands. I am loving every minute of it.
When this is over, I will need to devote two entire days to catching up on all the posts I have missed.
Just wanted to reach out and touch base, so you all know I didn’t disappear from the planet.

You can always swing by and see the flock in person if you want. I'm not that far out of the way.

 

[BY Bob]

Yes, I worked as a CNA. I know better. I tried drinking and drinking, but it kept going straight through me.. like last year. I just couldn't drink enough to keep up. I'm drink now. So..you did this..you know the feeling. Ugh

Yes, I worked as a CNA years ago, so I know better, I kept drinking and drinking thinking I could keep up with it, but couldn't. So, you did this before, you know how it feels. Ugh. Love your little chicken tax up there. View attachment 2617781

Knowing and doing are two different things. The key is to realize that you need help before it gets bad. That is the lesson I learned. I was a completely different person after the two bags of fluid.

Your chicken tax is amazing, what a cutie!