Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Lady Red]

Good morning, friends. I don’t think I have a fresh fluffy butt photo, but here’s a little video of pre-work free range time. Today I brought a friend for Ruby.

A chicken buddy system

 

[Lady Red]

Good steady rain this morning, we sure do need it. It has kept everyone quiet much later than usual.
From the last few days:
Neighborhood watch chicken
View attachment 2714022
A seriously root bound lavender! I had to cut the pot it came in to get it out.
View attachment 2714028

She looks much more serious about her job than my dogs take their similar role!

 

[Lady Red]

They were younger than I expected, but they are supposed to be pullets.View attachment 2714251

Congrats!!

 

[Lady Red]

Here is a fluffy butt photo shoot.
Dotty taking a break from pecking my ankles.
View attachment 2714269View attachment 2714270View attachment 2714271

Even Dotty needs a break from all that pecking

 

[Lady Red]

Since this group seems to be good at it, we could use some healthy/healing thoughts our way. It has been another not great headache week for me (nothing unusual, but ugh,) and Bill has done something to his back. He is in a ton of pain really hoping he just pulled something and lots of rest will make it better. And of course we still have 2 broody hens, though Rosie is good as long as she is locked out of the coop, min she is let in she is back to the box and all puffed up again, even after a full day out. It's been 5.5 weeks already.

Remind me, are you a migraine sufferer?
Wishing Bill into good health and those broody girls to shape up!

 

[Lady Red]

Had some good luck early this morning for an interesting photo.

Tacky and I were saying in on Pingu in the nest box and then we started to spy on each other
I liked the perspective of this shot, plus early morning sun lit her up beautifully

 

[Lady Red]

Hi guys, thanks again for all the support and love! So I’m actually going to ask for some chicken advice, and I’m hoping @Shadrach is available to weigh in on this as well... I’m still trying to catch up. So, Roostie is half blind (from injury to his left eye) and doing fine, free ranging (though his foot is still not completely 100% he’s happy and chickening away, now I have another similar Conundrum.

TLDR version: hen suddenly mostly/completely blind, lives in mobile coop with changing terrain daily, what to do?

I don’t have a clue what happened, but one of the girls in with Hawk is completely blind. She was fine last week, and I haven’t seen any horrific head injuries/scalping, both her eyes are still there. I noticed the day before yesterday that her pupils had almost disappeared and she was acting off and partially sighted while feeding, her eyes seem slightly cloudy. Yesterday she was a little slow but followed everyone out and found the feeder, though she seemed to have troubles eating easily. She was first up to roost last night and picked the top corner, this morning she has been unable to find her way down, on the top roost and trying to locate the next rung down to get out. The tribe was rearranged slightly last fall, but this is quite recent, and everyone has been getting along as far as I’ve been able to observe, though I have been preoccupied this week. She was hatched in late 2019 daughter of Sammy and one of the Hyline rescues, probably Missy.

What do you guys think I should do? The chicken tractors are constantly moving about and the waterer often changes location for levelness, clearly not good for a blind chicken. I’m wondering if I should cull her, or if I can give her some quality of life and what that would look like. I’m thinking I set up a smaller pen and static coop to accommodate her. Free ranging seems out of the question (this was how I previously ran my rehab/rescues, with Sammy my sensitive and attentive Rooster, but I now have mostly free range layers and multiple tribes roaming about, 40-55 individuals). Perhaps another hospital tractor type coop? Should I try to separate out a few companions to go with her? Her original tribe of 4 perhaps? They really wanted to return to Hawk last time I tried to separate them when the integration was going poorly. I’m not really expanding or breeding right now, things here are too unstable, so genetically there’s not much point in keeping them together with him. I could try to return them with their original Rooster and the two Barnvelder ladies I’ve been hoping he will breed with, but since the housing change he’s been behaving less well, I chalk that up to his new girls attitude towards him.

Agree with Bob and Fuentemoon
Just on gut, as I have very little chicken expertise.

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

And two more for the gallery

 

[BY Bob]

They were younger than I expected, but they are supposed to be pullets.View attachment 2714251

EE chicks are so cute.

 

[BY Bob]

Here is a fluffy butt photo shoot.
Dotty taking a break from pecking my ankles.
View attachment 2714269View attachment 2714270View attachment 2714271

She is just lovely.