Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[micstrachan]

Yes, I have been able to keep the hens alive through a heatwave that reached 46 Celsius.

That’s brutal. It was roughly that same temp when Rusty died. The rest made it through.

 

[RoyalChick]

Yuk. I haven't seen any if them aim for a slug. . Thank goodness

It really is a ‘now you see it now you don’t’ situation. No pecking just gone. Very satisfying!

 

[micstrachan]

It is terrible especially when one considers that 108 degrees is just over 42 centigrade which is only one degree above a chickens core body temperature.
If one lives in a region that reaches such temperatures, then if your chickens are dying from the heat I would suggest that not enough care has been taken to ensure they have suitable adequate shade.
It's no good blaming the weather; it's the fault of the keeper.

Just saying.

Well, yes. If Alex's all survived and the others didn’t… clearly there’s a difference in conditions.

My Roxy really struggled on the third day of heat recently, even though the temperature was dropping. I hadn’t implemented all the little extras since it wasn’t so hot, but did not take into account it was the third day in a row. Thankfully, I caught it in time and helped her through.

Whenever these things happen (sick birds, heat, whatever), I think, “What happens with birds with less attentive humans? They just die?”

Apparently… YES. So sad.

 

[micstrachan]

Agreed. The description of the coop that @featherhead007 gave sounds a lot like a solar oven. That's pretty short sighted to begin with.

There is a lot one can do to help alleviate the heat, like providing frozen fruit like Marie does, cold water paddle pools and putting the sprinkler on or having a misting system like MJ. It just takes a bit of empathy and time.

That chicken care taker didn't take any "care" at all.

Agree. I bend over backwards for my birds… icing water, providing cold fruit, running mister fans, running fans in the coop, creating puddles, etc. Until Ruby started drinking from the bowls and waterers, I’d follow her around pouring little puddles here and there so she’d drink.

I’m in love with rechargeable fans for my chickens.

 

[RoyalChick]

I really like them. No sun gets in, so there's very little slime build up. If you wanted to, you could easily rig it up to hang from a rafter.

I have looked for some like them. I found some on Etsy but they were from the UK and very expensive even without shipping.
I will keep looking.

 

[micstrachan]

The caretaker of his birds was careless! I have seen his setup . Looked like a big BBQ coop and run. He’s one of those, who says “they are only chickens “

Sadly, I was at a friend’s house recently and wanted to see her chickens. It was very depressing. Why keep chickens if you don’t really care about them?

 

[micstrachan]

Good morning everyone. I'm so sorry to hear of some of your troubles with your hens, especially since they are so young. I really feel for the production breeds and those that own them. I do not have production breeds but still some of my girls will give me 5 to 6 eggs a week. Henrietta lays about 8 eggs before she takes her break. Old momma hen, when she is not broody and laying lays 6 days in a row before skipping and she is close to 7 at least. Only 1 of my girls has produced a soft shelled egg, and that was Butter, and it was her 2nd ever egg. I've been thinking, my chickens have access to layer feed, for the most part they ignore it, prefer grass, bugs, whatever they find in the manure pile and for some of them snakes and minnows from the creek. What I do different them most is if I have a broody hen, I do not break her, she either hides, or I intentionally let her set. I know being broody can be hard on the hen, but if I know where she is I see to it that she has fresh water available and food. On average after the chicks hatch *not counting momma hen* they care for them 5 to 6 weeks before they are done. That is a 8 or 9 week break their body gets naturally from egg laying. I wonder if where most of us chicken keepers for many reasons break up that broody we are doing more harm then good to her body. I know many of us can't have roosters, or are at our limits so we have no choice but to break them. I feel though that the broody break, plus the normal break they take through winter and molting helps the hens in the long run in preventing reproduction problems. Now I may be completely wrong on this, but its just my train of thought.

Yes, I think there is something to this.

 

[RoyalChick]

Thanks, good to know you think so too, that being out there keeps them foraging longer. There must be a "signal" hen whom everybody keeps an eye on. It seems to be Peanut here so far, even though Hazel actually goes in first. I will keep an eye on that. It would be interesting to find out if your hens do pay attention to the same one or two each evening!

Good point. I will watch out and try to see if there is a signal he.

 

[micstrachan]

By crushing to powder in a mortar, then mixing with some Greek yogurt I make (have had to make it more often now that I'm not the only one eating it!) then mixing until thick with their old all-flock crumbles because pellets don't make a moldable mash. I let it sit a bit to thicken, then form little balls out of it. Small marble size. I had just let them peck at the little mash pile, but this tends to ensure they're eating it all, none is left behind and not much gets flung about. Today I made up all the balls before I served it to them, because sometimes they're like piranhas and gobble them up as fast as I can make them. I enjoy handing them out, watching how everyone has a different style, and the bowl is available so no one has to wait for me if they don't want to. For instance Butters likes to take a ball and put it down to see it or something, then pick it up and hitch it back into her beak. She will be the victim of a steal unless there are more for the others. Today Peanut grabbed each ball from me or the bowl and walked away to eat it in private before coming back for more. Sometimes she eats it in pieces and sometimes whole. Popcorn just stood right next to the dish and ate from my hand and from the bowl, hitching them back as fast as she could, until she had enough. Same with Hazel, who doesn't usually eat that much, but every few days she chows down.

I bought a little mortar and pestle for this exact thing (crushing calcium tablets). Good work!

 

[featherhead007]

Sadly, I was at a friend’s house recently and wanted to see her chickens. It was very depressing. Why keep chickens if you don’t really care about them?

Sorry but some people are oblivious to the needs of animals (like leaving a dog in a hot car to die)