Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[CrazyChookChookLady]

Sometimes it feels like mine are living Game of Thrones.
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Aurora looks like she's molting a bit there...

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

I kind of want to die. Queenie was killed today, we think by a hawk. Butters may have been the first target but she escaped with a couple of big tufts of hackle feathers out of her neck. A hawk, we think THE hawk, came back and flew down towards the body, while I was gone digging a grave for Queenie, DH saw it and chased it away.

Spoiler: What likely happened and why I can't deal

We were home, out and about, and they were out in their yard. There was no sound that we heard, and it happened around the corner of the house just out of sight while we were moving the big wire run over to their yard to set it up there. We suddenly noticed we didn't see any chickens around, I went looking, only finding Queenie's body and seeing no others. Whatever it was had eaten some of her. But she was warm still, and limp except for her legs. Eventually one Buckeye came out of the coop box. The four had run into the coop tractor and up into the roosting enclosure, Butters far into the nest box. I need to check her body again but I found no blood, and she let me handle all of her except her neck area was very tender.

I am so sorry. I feel I got Queenie killed. And she is particularly dear to me. I have tried to let them be chickeny and also have been putting into place safety measures to try to minimize risk, which I knew there was - I accept that to some degree but I feel particularly guilty about putting the electric fencing not up to the back house deck. Peanut had tried to run under there before and encountered the fence. I had thought about doing that, but it would be in the way of gas deliveries and DH didn't want them hanging out on the deck and pooping on it. I think Queenie, who had also run to the house when there was a previous attack in this same area - another reason to not have widened the fence area to include this spot! - and she had run that way when this hawk came I think, and of course couldn't get past the net. There were fluff feathers there. She fought back though and made it halfway back towards the coop where she either died because of her injuries sustained already, or was overtaken again. I think Butters was attacked first and then Queenie, which makes her inability to escape due to what I did with the fencing, denying her the house which she probably had time to run to, really hard.

There aren't enough emojiis in the world

I am so sorry about Queenie. Know you gave her the best life possible even if it was a short one. Maybe in time when you are ready you can get another Buff Orp in her honor.

 

[RoyalChick]

Whatever you do, don't pattern your tribe after mine. Mine are clearly dysfunctional.

Yours are lovely. Also entertaining and puzzling.

 

[RoyalChick]

SHRA Tax
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That's Hattie with Jabber behind her, not new chicks. Just heading that off.

Oh Hattie!
I don’t remember seeing that picture before.
Beyond adorable!

 

[RoyalChick]

Josh is very happy that I am home. He hasn't left my side since and has been touching me all night.

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Once again I did a double take thinking you had posted a picture of one of my cats!
They look very alike but it sounds like they have similar natures too. Mine is always wanting to touch me.

 

[featherhead007]

I debated even posting this picture, but here in the spare room are Arizona and Leann in their favorite spot, worshiping their roll model. (The infamous PHYLLIS)
“Well a picture anyways”

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

I swear there is something in the water around here. I cleaned and stored my incubator and my last broody Clover hatched 7 chicks on mother's day. She was the 4th hen this spring that went broody and I let hatch. Ok, that is it, no more babies, even after rehoming 30 so far I still have chicks coming out my ears and about 75% have turned out to be boys. So when it is time to put everyone up last night and do my head count I have a hen missing. Holly had vanished, it took me a hour to find her. And what do I find, a shrieking pancake sitting on nothing. She had given me no signs or warnings of her intentions. I think i'm going to break her, I do not need any more chicks, and I'm sure the rooster fairy needs to visit someone else. Bunny's chicks are now old enough to determine gender, she has 4 out of her 6 remaining and of those, 3 boys. To top that off I still have the 6 now almost 13 week old boys, 1 of momma hen's 2 was a boy. And the 14 almost 5 week olds left from my final incubator hatch, sitting out there with them yesterday, I counted at least 6 boys. I'm pleading with Clover that her babies are girls, but 3 of the little rascals are already walking around upright and tall.

 

[BY Bob]

I currently have 2 holding me captive.

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So lucky. Such love.

 

[BY Bob]

What was your perception, or expectation? (I'm interested)

I was picturing something higher with more open space, fewer cross breaks. There are tons of roosts to use there.

 

[BY Bob]

Soap opera is what you're looking for.

'AS THE EGG TURNS'

I have 14 that do this daily. The racket they make and jockeying for position is insane some days.

I like that, As the Egg Turns.