Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[micstrachan]

Clever, Adaptable, Phyllis

We all saw Phyllis issues trying to lay her egg in the prime nest. Phyllis has always preferred to lay her eggs in the yard. Well I caught her coming out of this old planter which we have on the deck. Yes, that is an old cookie sheet that somehow found its way over the end of the planter.

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What did I find when I looked inside?

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I removed the eggs and placed a white ceramic one in their place. If she is clever enough to find this spot and gain herself some peace while laying, who am I to take it away from her. As long as I know to check there for her eggs.

Love that Phyllis! Clever girl!

 

[micstrachan]

As soon as I posted chaos ensued.

I have no idea what happened here.

 

[micstrachan]

It has been hot here for several days in a row.

Some of my girls don't want to got to bed (in the coop) on these nights. They perch on top of the run attached to the coop.

I have been picking them up and putting in the run. They then meander into the coop.

I've been leaving the coop door open so they can roost in the run if they.choose. It is secure with 3 latches on the door and a cement base buried to discourage digging. I feel this is not an unsafe option to allow them.

I am not going to let them sleep outside of the coop/run. But I am wondering if the heat is impacting their willingness to go to bed.

Poor babies.

 

[micstrachan]

I had a health scare today. I was feeling “weird” while working on a junk pile from the garage. Then I noticed my heart was working WAY too hard. It was POUNDING and going double time. This has happened before, but resting for a few minutes took care if it. Not this time. It lasted well over half an hour and I was very light headed. Heart was pounding so hard my body would rock just slightly when I was laying down.

I was dehydrated and had an extra espresso shot in my coffee. I am pretty sensitive to caffeine (combo if adrenaline and caffeine makes me visibly tremble).

I crawled down the hall and told my husband how to make me some electrolytes. Eventually my heart calmed down, but I was super exhausted afterward. I need to take better care of myself.

Chicken tax:

 

[micstrachan]

Who else is wondering why this thread is so popular?

It’s because everyone is welcome and we mostly stick to talking about chickens. We know each other’s flocks and care about each other and everyone’s birds.

 

[Blazinga]

Lucky you!!! I couldn’t find any for 100 miles (when I wanted some) They are wonderful birds.

It actually took me a few hours and a lot of grief before I found a Facebook group with poultry purchasing in my area.

 

[BY Bob]

Video requested, please

Let's see, one hand to tap the leg, one hand for Phyllis to step onto and one hand to hold the camera.

I feel like I'm going to be short something necessary....

 

[BY Bob]

Good news! We found some Easter Egger pullets and will be picking them up later this week.

I love EEs, even Aurora! So much fun and who knows what color eggs you will get. I got brown!

 

[BY Bob]

I don’t know. She’s standing around with her eyes closed a lot, sometimes with her tail down. I have learned that chickens can have a low grade infection for a loooong time, and then it can bloom. That’s what happened with Margo. She had this weird, hunched posture, and when i treated her with amoxicillin, she seemed to recover. I wish I had treated with something stronger, as a YEAR later she got a septic infection and necropsy revealed chronic, dorsal egg yolk peritonitis, which makes sense since she had that weird posture.
Last year Lucky had a soft egg break inside her. I’m wondering if this could be an infection blooming from back then. I’m treating her for 10-14 days with doxycycline and for 2-3 days with aspirin. My Avian Vet says it’s almost always cancer or infection that kills them, so I’m treating for infection. I know some people don’t agree with that approach, but I’m not taking any chances with her. Ruby has really taxed my Avian Vet budget, and since we might have to move later this year, I’m trying to save some money.

I take it you have doxycycline on hand. Any other reason to choose that specific antibiotic?

 

[RoyalChick]

It is indeed what @Shadrach described. They are standing when you do it. It really does work.

We need a video or a how-to manual. Honestly Maggie just put her head down between her legs and stared at my hand.