Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[MaryJanet]

Indeed! Most clever to realize that the big open field the surfaced in was waay less safe than the long grass and the Chicken Palace.
Nearly done with this phase and then I need a good rain shower so I can check everything is draining well and can decide how much further away to pipe the water. I am at the end of this pipe and not yet at the surface so will likely have to add a pipe - meanwhile I will put a critter barrier on the end to stop anyone crawling up it.

Edited to add: Yipee - rain tomorrow during the day so I can go out and inspect how well the water flows and whether I need to extend my pipe a little or a lot.

Great work mate! I like the idea of the pipe and critter barrier.

 

[Scrambles83]

A Monday Chick Fix for Everyone

Both their hairdos are coming in beautifully! Such cuties

 

[ChicoryBlue]

I’m in the parking lot at the Avian Vet. I’m having Ruby drained today. Her belly is so swollen, she’s having trouble keeping her feet underneath her. However, she is still eating on her own, so I’m gonna keep supporting her. I plan to tube fluids over the weekend, as sometimes she takes the draining kind of hard.

I hope to read ahead that she's done fine at the vets and is able to do chickeny things well again! It's your call, but I agree with your line of thinking about her and am glad you're able to help her this way.

 

[LozzyR]

I usually just call her my eagle

Charlie’s a good name for a bird.

 

[Shadrach]

I'm creative...crafter...and I can't stand Macs

Tax
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Is that big macs, raincoats, or apple macs?

 

[LozzyR]

A Monday Chick Fix for Everyone

They are so gorgeous!

 

[Shadrach]

I'm working my way through them slowly trying to work out what is moult, what is feather pecking and what is the result of their earlier life. They're a pretty scruffy lot.
I've given all the Ex Batts some vitamins and everyone got fish for supper.
I haven't found any with lice yet. I guess I've checked 7 now including Henry The Second.
I got soaked this afternoon weeding the nettles from inside their run and from under the tree just outside it. Pulled out bits of plastic, broken wooden fencing pales, wite netting, string, plastic pipe, nails and discovered a small apple tree in the weeds.

 

[featherhead007]

I'm working my way through them slowly trying to work out what is moult, what is feather pecking and what is the result of their earlier life. They're a pretty scruffy lot.
I've given all the Ex Batts some vitamins and everyone got fish for supper.
I haven't found any with lice yet. I guess I've checked 7 now including Henry The Second.
I got soaked this afternoon weeding the nettles from inside their run and from under the tree just outside it. Pulled out bits of plastic, broken wooden fencing pales, wite netting, string, plastic pipe, nails and discovered a small apple tree in the weeds.

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Shad, you love it, and you know it! (I know that I do) things with wings are my life!

 

[featherhead007]

Tomorrow morning I’m taking out Marie for a little hop over Bakersfield. Now that the dust has settled and smoke cleaning. I do have to replace the fuel anyways. Cleaning out the injectors would be good for her I’m thinking. I won’t be flying around the fire area (still off limits to private aircraft) fires are not out yet

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Advice for Hazel?

I'm not horribly concerned as she's doing chickeny things with more energy, foraging well and she's fiercely pecking others away now, chasing Popcorn around, away from whatever she's digging, to take her place. She had been much less confrontational before during the heaviest part of the molt. Now I've seen her get a couple of worms and she's digging with gusto. She eats dandelion greens, sardines (need to get more), but won't eat sunflower seeds or walnuts too readily. She did eat some yogurt & crumbles mash balls yesterday and one or two today. I have not really seen her eat pellets when I've been with them. I have baby bird feed on order for the future. She just doesn't get in there and mix it up with everyone for food like she used to. She hangs back. Anything else special for her, or shall I just watch her and there's no need to try to get her to eat as this will take it's natural course?

This is her first real molt, hasn't eaten a lot, is still resting more than anyone else, and today I determined who's been having watery poops because I saw her jet one out today. And the wall of the coop had some poop on it, that's unusual). I thought if that keeps up I'll try my first fecal float (that's been a project going along and progressing, I had to get some of my mom's estate boxes gone though and cleared away to make room).

Anyway she is drinking well so I think -hope-she's keeping up. Yesterday I felt quite a keel, seemed to me she was skinnier than I remembered, and so I compared to the other three. I don't have the proper scale to know exactly what she weighs, should be a human scale but digital?

Anyway by comparison Popcorn and Peanut have a keel you can feel but there's much more meat on either side of it. Butters, who makes a beeline for the feeder in the morning, tops up a few times in the evening, and eats a few pellets whenever she can, has a keel line but it's there with the most plumpness on either side of any of them. She's also always been the largest-boned bird since she was a chick, she's a relatively big girl. Traditionally Butters is biggest, then Popcorn, Hazel, and then Peanut. But I'd say Peanut is bigger, firmer than Hazel right now.

Any thoughts?