Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Scrambles83]

Fat Bird looking in lovely condition.
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Lovely, so glad she’s doing better,

 

[Marie2020]

Snow has a tiny bit of stuff there but for a white chook, she does pretty well, that’s the first time it has happened.
When choosing her I didn’t think of poopy butt on white feathers

Mine are caked in mud. So unlady like. A bit like me thinking of it.

 

[Marie2020]

I've decided to spook you all again before I go to bed

 

[BY Bob]

This baby comes up to me every time I peer over into the brooder. This time, she jumped up on the board I put on the side. A little ..mug.. shot. View attachment 2618210 Got some photos of the bigger littles. I see my legorn is showing off her future fluffy butt..and the Polish is getting friendlier! Her white is disappearing on her body. No long white feather on the side. View attachment 2618215View attachment 2618218View attachment 2618219 Ok..last photo. See the blur of the blue's head? See the grass poking out of the Polish's mouth. Blue got it.

They really are lovely. I've said this before but I am loving watching the Polish grow up. I just picture my little Phyllis.

 

[BY Bob]

I thought a decent microscope would cost much more.
Have you thought about turning this into an article. There is already a very good one by Sue Gremilin but it's not as concise as yours.
SHRA Tax.
View attachment 2618368

Yes it will be an article. I'm going to record myself doing one thisvweekend and then I will put it up. In fact I may put it up in advance of the video after I do a few more edits.

 

[Marie2020]

Good night fluffy butt slaves.

@featherhead007 . Don't you dare fly get cocoa, she's got more chance than you have of flying that plane

 

[BY Bob]

Here comes trouble! Don't they look like they are up to nefarious plans?
This shot was from yesterday. And Naughty Girl Allele (ISA Brown...I think??) in fact did get up to some antics...she was perching on the top brace of the hammock stand this morning. It is at least 6 feet off the ground!

I think she used the run to launch from.

Adventurous little girl

Those mugs definitely meant trouble.

 

[BY Bob]

This article is very well done Bob! You have a nice, very personable, very relatable, thoughtful and patient style. I think you've explained and laid this out really well!

I am seriously considering getting this stuff, I have no problem with poo inspection or blood and guts, as they say. Loved biological sciences and all labs in college. The nearest avian vet is over an hour away.

Here are the bits that threw me or caught my attention with questions.



#4 - I got everything up to this word "meniscus" which I don't recall encountering in the article prior to this and I don't know what it is except in relation to knee joints. Are you referring to how the top of water in a glass has a layer of surface tension you can see?


#5 - So there is going to be spillage, definitely! + + 🖐 = At least if you're talking about pouring enough in there so that the only thing keeping it from spilling out is water tension, though thicker than usual, at the top of the test tube Not making fun of you here, it's me I see...Thus the mat accessory will be a must....

Not that I care personally due to ick, but do you recommend gloves for this? Are there things with chicken poo like some cat feces & pregnant women that shouldn't go together, that would be bad for a human to get into themselves? Get the hazmat suit!

OK so I'm picturing the cover slip being bigger than the top of the test tube or one could never take it off. Never did this method in my basic science labs, it was always putting a drop of whatever on the slide and then placing the cover on it as you describe.


#7 McMaster's method, concept of capillary action - a pipette will draw fluid up by itself, correct? Like a tiny finger stick blood sample, some people have experienced that. Am getting at there's no need to siphon anything - no mouth on pipette please!

Also, how does one "dispense"? Just touch the tip of the pipette to the surface so that the fluid "sticks" and then moving it around as it is pulled out by capillary action? That's what I'm picturing. What do you mean by dispensing slowly, though, if you're relying on capillary action for it to come out? How do you slow it down? How is there control on it? I assume you stop by lifting the pipette up. Also, do you recommend a practice run of any sort?


How is it that the more time you wait, the more things I assume we want to be looking for will float up and "adhere" to the cover slip, and yet "debris" doesn't adhere, and sinks instead? The parasitic eggs are always lighter than the general poo contents in the float solution? But what makes them "adhere" exactly? I can't see them actually sticking to the cover slip. They just stay inside the layer of thick fluid near the top because they are light, and the cover slip pulls that layer away? I think I'm hung up on the word adhere. Your call, of course.
Small typo up there - "you" should be "your"


I am thinking by "cap" you mean the different colored / shaped bits, one on either side of some of the cysts (I can see them on the gapeworm and threadworm drawings and then on the photos). It might be helpful to point that out earlier, too, like in that b&w size difference chart above the colored pictures table.

I think this article is going to be very cool. I am going to look at the links when I can. You know what would be EXTRA cool? To be able to take & send each other - especially our far-away vets - pictures of what we see. In addition to "What breed is this?" posts on BYC we can ask "What cyst/egg is this?" !!!! You know how birders "digiscope" and take pictures through their binoculars or telescopes before they were built-in, sometimes by rigging up plastic jug ends to help attach a camera or phone? Can that be done on a microscope? I assume there are microscopes with digital cameras built-in, but they are probably big bucks.

Sorry for the long post, sometimes my feedback is too much. But this is a very good article and I am excited for you!

Excellent feedback. I am going to clear all of this up.

4 - yes the meniscus is the little bit of liquid that extends above the test tube opening. The bubble so to speak.

5 - some will run down the outside of the test tube. I am working on a disclaimer regarding touching your face, etc. Pregnant women can do these tests.

7 - the chamber will draw in the liquid. You may need to slowly squeeze the pipette to expel liquid so it can be drawn up by the chamber. You are correct that capillary action is what is used in a tiny finger stick.

You are correct when you say "They just stay inside the layer of thick fluid near the top because they are light, and the cover slip pulls that layer away?" Adhere was a much shorter way to say that.

As far as why the stuff we want to see floats and "most" of the debris does not, it is a function of the float solution. Much like people can float in the Dead Sea the eggs and oocysts float in the solution while other denser materials sink.

I will add the cap description and edit a drawing like you suggested.

Thanks for taking the time. This input is very helpful.

 

[Lady Red]

If we can share I'll help

Deal! Sisters in crime...don't tell Alex...he'll go all stop in the name of the law thing

 

[Lady Red]

Fat Bird looking in lovely condition.
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Yay Fatbird!