Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Sorry Ivy. It's just being used to more sleek and feral looking hens my vision of beauty may not be inclusive enough.
I shall send myself on a all shapes and sizes are beautiful, politically correcting course straight away.

That is why I think you will love the legbars. They are closer to your ideal chicken shape.

 

[MaryJanet]

Now that is a beautiful CHICKEN!

You are very discerning Bob.

 

[BY Bob]

Anybody waiting for lil and Era?!
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They are adorable. Great chickens!

 

[MaryJanet]

Sorry Ivy. It's just being used to more sleek and feral looking hens my vision of beauty may not be inclusive enough.
I shall send myself on a all shapes and sizes are beautiful, politically correcting course straight away.

I'm sure she'll forgive your inadvertent insult in due course.

 

[RoyalChick]

Roosting protocol at the Chicken Palace
Roosting at the Chicken Palace is a bit like air traffic control at a busy airport. This picture captures it perfectly.
Maggie and Diana are on the main roost. But they have not yet gone to the sleeping end. Until that happens the Roadrunners are in a holding pattern.
Dotty is closest to being able to come in to land - but but she cannot venture onto the main roost until the other two move to the far end. Otherwise she will be mercilessly attacked by Diana, Maggie or both. So she waits patiently for the two older Princesses to settle at the far end before venturing onto the main runway roost.
Minnie is in a holding pattern even further away and has to wait for Dotty to get onto the main roost before she can fly over and join her. Sometimes she flies straight across and sometimes she flies down and then back up and sometimes she even uses the ladder up.
Ever been in a holding pattern over an airport? Then you know how they feel!

 

[Lady Red]

No pics yet bc my work day was insane, but hubby got the automatic door in today! The big coop is really coming along. The girls slept well last night and explored the auto door today.
This weekend he intends to build the attached run (at least in part).

Do not fear! They have all day to play outside in Pecking Garden even without the run.

Goal of the run is to have it more sheltered with a roof so they can still be outside in rain or snow weather.

 

[micstrachan]

Can you explain how you used it?

I know the question wasn’t for me, but… I used it on my dog who ate gum with xylitol. I mixed it with canned food and put gobs of it into her mouth with my bare hand. I was desperate!

 

[micstrachan]

No pics yet bc my work day was insane, but hubby got the automatic door in today! The big coop is really coming along. The girls slept well last night and explored the auto door today.
This weekend he intends to build the attached run (at least in part).

Do not fear! They have all day to play outside in Pecking Garden even without the run.

Goal of the run is to have it more sheltered with a roof so they can still be outside in rain or snow weather.

Great update!

 

[micstrachan]

Roosting protocol at the Chicken Palace
Roosting at the Chicken Palace is a bit like air traffic control at a busy airport. This picture captures it perfectly.
Maggie and Diana are on the main roost. But they have not yet gone to the sleeping end. Until that happens the Roadrunners are in a holding pattern.
Dotty is closest to being able to come in to land - but but she cannot venture onto the main roost until the other two move to the far end. Otherwise she will be mercilessly attacked by Diana, Maggie or both. So she waits patiently for the two older Princesses to settle at the far end before venturing onto the main runway roost.
Minnie is in a holding pattern even further away and has to wait for Dotty to get onto the main roost before she can fly over and join her. Sometimes she flies straight across and sometimes she flies down and then back up and sometimes she even uses the ladder up.
Ever been in a holding pattern over an airport? Then you know how they feel!

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Flash is often in the holding pattern at our coop!

 

[BY Bob]

This is the hen I'm most worried about. She's growing new feathers, I assume from feather pecking before she got here. Her back around her preen gland looks pretty raw. I think she's moulting as well.
One problem I have is that most of my chicken care kit I left in Spain. I'm having to get stuff and some of it is hard to find. Decent mite treatment is difficult to get. I've just ordered Coccidia treatment and a vitamin supplement. Not a hope in hell of getting antibiotics. I've got one course left which I did bring with me.
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Most of the Ex Batts are getting the idea of foraging now. They were all out for a couple of hours yesterday. Some stick close to the coop and run. There is one that heads straight out and makes a B line for either the geese or an escape route.View attachment 2850976
This area which is adjacent to one of the run sides was a mass of stinging nettles. The area you can see the hens foraging is an area I've cleared by pulling the stingers and bindweed out. It's been cut with a strimmer before and of course that just encourages further growth.I'll work my way past the bushes and the little apple tree, right back to the fence in the background.
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I have no idea which breed the grey hen in the picture is. She's the only one and keeps herself a bit apart from the others.
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This is Henry The Second and his partner. They roost where you see them overnight side by side. They are not in the coop although they are under a roof that is attatched to thhe coop.
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Supper time. Haddock and a good quality 17% protein feed. There is no obligation for the feed manufactures here to give a proper analysis of the feed they sell. I'm looking into this because I want to know exactly what it is I'm feeding them.View attachment 2850984

She kind of looks like Hattie. Can I get a side view picture of her? How big does she look? 7 lbs or so?