Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Blazinga]

The Buckeye chicks took to the vertical nipple waterer immediately when I showed it to them. It worked really well, kept the water clean and the brooder dry, and there's no danger of drowning (but that you can overcome with a regular waterer anyway). I put a plate with a paper towel on it right underneath for any drips, so that was easy to keep clean of poop right there and the bottom of the brooder/litter dry.

Do the chicks have a warm but shady spot there to go to at night, and a place to be cooler if they want?

The brooder is pretty big so they can move further away from the lamp if they want to cool down.

 

[featherhead007]

I just watched little Xzit chase off a stray cat (twice her size) I guess my yard belongs to the chickens, not stray cats. It was funny to see. Xzit is a smart little girl! And definitely one of my lap chickens. Nine out of twelve are lap chickens (Jaffar included)

 

[CrazyChookChookLady]

What are your thoughts on drip drinkers? We've been wondering if they would be cleaner to use.

I like them for my large birds. My bantams never really got the hang of them.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

That makes sense. They have known each other quite some time. If mine are any indication they have a spot and go there first.

I think so, they seem to be "on the regular" much more now. So last evening I was with them as they foraged right up to about 8:30 when they wanted to go in to the little run and roost. Maybe free-ranging & being with them that late was the cause of the following? They would have gone to roost sooner, and it speeded up their evening routine? There was a bit of a kerfluffle -- (kerFLUFFle!)

Hazel had been moaning to roost since probably 8:10pm. It's similar to the sound she makes when she's waiting for a nest box. But everyone was having a great time eating dandelion leaves and grass, including Hazel, and Popcorn also found, beat up, and ate a really big frog, swallowing it head first, whole. Looked like she had to work to get it settled in her crop it was so big. I was amazed/horrified and very sorry for the frog. Anyway, nobody really paid attention to Hazel's moans.

It was only when Peanut made a long kind of fluty trill and walked toward the nearby coop that Hazel immediately followed her and the others did too. But Hazel always wants to be first up and ran past Peanut and up to the top of the ladder. Peanut jump-flew up to the side perch and let Hazel go in, then shuffled over and got on the threshold looking in, and just stayed there. As if Hazel hadn't settled yet - not gotten to her spot maybe? But this was where my suspicions about previous times got raised, because I often found Peanut sitting in the threshold, facing in or out. Maybe she still has inclinations to take the night air? And when there is a lock-out, it's usually been Popcorn and Butters, or just Butters, on the perch.

Popcorn and Butters were waiting on Peanut. But within 30 seconds Popcorn climbed the ladder, and immediately tried to burrow under and push Peanut, with Peanut making protest squeals while getting lifted up and pushed in. Butters jump-flew up to the perch during this and moved right over and in after those two. A little bit of shuffling, and then pretty quiet right away.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Don't yours eat slugs? Mine love them so when I find them elsewhere I bring them into the coop as a treat.

Gotta agree mine are eating slugs and snails, they love them, Master Predator Popcorn was the first to go for them and the others have caught on. If I didn't want them to eat them it would be a losing proposition given my location. They are everywhere.

 

[BY Bob]

Fire up the Way-Back Machine

I am so grateful that Mr. Peabody has been able to fully restore the way-back machine. We are going to do a quick video journey!

Mr. Peabody, set the way-back machine for June 20, 2017

chumma chumma chumma, hufft hufft, falump, chumma chumma chumma, hufft hufft, falump, chumma chumma chumma, hufft hufft, falump

For all of you with a white hen that likes to be camouflaged, The Greatest Hen ever decided to dust bathe in blackest dirt she could find that day. She sure did enjoy herself.

Here is what she looked like afterwards.

OK Mr. Peabody, enough Dirty Birds. How about some freshly hatched ones. Let's set the way-back for June 20, 2020.

chumma chumma chumma, hufft hufft, falump, chumma chumma chumma, hufft hufft, falump, chumma chumma chumma, hufft hufft, falump

Here is some lovely video. Just so we all remember Sydney as a Mum.

OK Mr. Peabody, it was a short trip back but fun nonetheless. Please return us to the present.

chumma chumma chumma, hufft hufft, falump, chumma chumma chumma, hufft hufft, falump, chumma chumma chumma, hufft hufft, falump

I think the way-back is working just fine. We should look at some more trips in the near future.

 

[adwil21]

Fire up the Way-Back Machine

I am so grateful that Mr. Peabody has been able to fully restore the way-back machine. We are going to do a quick video journey!

Mr. Peabody, set the way-back machine for June 20, 2017

chumma chumma chumma, hufft hufft, falump, chumma chumma chumma, hufft hufft, falump, chumma chumma chumma, hufft hufft, falump

For all of you with a white hen that likes to be camouflaged, The Greatest Hen ever decided to dust bathe in blackest dirt she could find that day. She sure did enjoy herself.

Here is what she looked like afterwards.
View attachment 2731391

OK Mr. Peabody, enough Dirty Birds. How about some freshly hatched ones. Let's set the way-back for June 20, 2020.

chumma chumma chumma, hufft hufft, falump, chumma chumma chumma, hufft hufft, falump, chumma chumma chumma, hufft hufft, falump

Here is some lovely video. Just so we all remember Sydney as a Mum.

OK Mr. Peabody, it was a short trip back but fun nonetheless. Please return us to the present.

chumma chumma chumma, hufft hufft, falump, chumma chumma chumma, hufft hufft, falump, chumma chumma chumma, hufft hufft, falump

I think the way-back is working just fine. We should look at some more trips in the near future.

My whit...ish hen Dixie did that one day and it scared the heck outta me before I realized what it was. I thought for sure she was covered in some sort of mites at first. hahahaha

 

[adwil21]

The brooder is pretty big so they can move further away from the lamp if they want to cool down.

I got a neat little drinker for the brooder this time from rent a coop. It has cups that stay half full so there is no mess with a waterer this time around. They only had the 2 gallon at the time I ordered though, which was a little big. It worked but bigger than I would have wanted or needed.

 

[featherhead007]

I just watched little Xzit chase off a stray cat (twice her size) I guess my yard belongs to the chickens, not stray cats. It was funny to see. Xzit is a smart little girl! And definitely one of my lap chickens. Nine out of twelve are lap chickens (Jaffar included)

Correction, Emily just jumped up on my lap too! She's very heavy, but I had a piece of hotdog, from last night. Cheaper than the steak I usually feed my Chooks.

 

[RoyalChick]

I think so, they seem to be "on the regular" much more now. So last evening I was with them as they foraged right up to about 8:30 when they wanted to go in to the little run and roost. Maybe free-ranging & being with them that late was the cause of the following? They would have gone to roost sooner, and it speeded up their evening routine? There was a bit of a kerfluffle -- (kerFLUFFle!)

Hazel had been moaning to roost since probably 8:10pm. It's similar to the sound she makes when she's waiting for a nest box. But everyone was having a great time eating dandelion leaves and grass, including Hazel, and Popcorn also found, beat up, and ate a really big frog, swallowing it head first, whole. Looked like she had to work to get it settled in her crop it was so big. I was amazed/horrified and very sorry for the frog. Anyway, nobody really paid attention to Hazel's moans.

It was only when Peanut made a long kind of fluty trill and walked toward the nearby coop that Hazel immediately followed her and the others did too. But Hazel always wants to be first up and ran past Peanut and up to the top of the ladder. Peanut jump-flew up to the side perch and let Hazel go in, then shuffled over and got on the threshold looking in, and just stayed there. As if Hazel hadn't settled yet - not gotten to her spot maybe? But this was where my suspicions about previous times got raised, because I often found Peanut sitting in the threshold, facing in or out. Maybe she still has inclinations to take the night air? And when there is a lock-out, it's usually been Popcorn and Butters, or just Butters, on the perch.

Popcorn and Butters were waiting on Peanut. But within 30 seconds Popcorn climbed the ladder, and immediately tried to burrow under and push Peanut, with Peanut making protest squeals while getting lifted up and pushed in. Butters jump-flew up to the perch during this and moved right over and in after those two. A little bit of shuffling, and then pretty quiet right away.

We have had some nice evenings here recently and I have taken to sitting outside in the chicken garden at the end of the day.
My presence outside definitely causes them to go to bed later - they are all outside foraging away. Then suddenly they all run to bed. I honestly cannot tell what the signal is - nobody calls out that I can hear just suddenly 1-2 of them run in for bed and everyone immediately follows.