Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

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micstrachan said:
I actually thought I read somewhere stinging nettle is beneficial for chickens? I could easily be remembering wrong, and it might have been a stupid source. 🤣
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This lot don't like them and neither did the tribes. I doubt that the nettles sting through feathers but I know they will on the face of chickens. How badly such stings effect them I have no idea. Anyway, I want to be able to get into these areas without getting stung so the nettles are going.
 
ChicoryBlue said:
Thank you for this advice, Shad! Her crop has not been really full but yes has something in it. She is foraging among the roots and rocks under some trees and brush cover that she never used to go in, it's good cover and fresh ground.
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It would be usefull to have greater knowledge of just what it is these moulting hens search for during their moult.
There have been numerous post from chicken keepers worrying about their moulting hens not eating "properly" some not eating at all apparently.
There can be little doubt that for the hens in these posts and I would guess for many more that are not identified or not reported that the majority of commercial feeds are not supplying what the hens believe they need.
Given commercial feeds are designed around minimum cost with only the most basic requirements for life and given chickens are omnivors and not vegans this is hardly surprising.
 
BY Bob said:
Yes, I realize that it is their nature for sure. Frankly this behavior has gone on with every new members of the flock. It is why Maleficent chose to just roost outside in the run as well.

I will say it has been non-stop since I let her set. Whatever the intentions, letting Phyllis set is requiring that I do something else. It was not nearly consistently this bad prior to it. This would happen occasionally. Maybe once a month I would find her outside the coop. Now it is every night.

As I see it, I have two choices. Try to split the tribes or rehome her. Obviously I am choosing the former but I cannot be certain that it will work. I am doing it with an abundance of apprehension that it will work and that I will get it all correct.

I am hoping for good advice from everyone to help me to see if I am missing something. I will post a basic plan in the next few days and I hope that everyone will help me to look for what I might be missing.
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I've had so much grief over this issue.
In one of my early posts on this site I laid out a few basics for happy chicken keeping. In that list was "don't mix breeds". Needless to say I was dodging the bricks for quite a while.
The first problem is lots of people will tell you they have mixed breed flocks and their world is full of shiney happy chickens; mostly hens it seems here.
The first step perhaps is to make quite clear that "can" and "shouldn't" mean different things.
Next one has to go through the rather long and tiresome process of outlining when one can and when one shouldn't. I don't have the patience for it on the general threads. People want what people want and no advice with regard to the welfare of the chickens is welcome, nor is considerable experience of my own and many other keepers who also follow the basic tenet.
My experience and the experience of many others, including people with mixed breed flocks is given the choice, roughly, breeds will stick together. There is even a little saying to go with it: Birds of a feather stick together.
Not many people want to read this. What they want is oh sure, everything will be fine. You do what you want to do. It's your right etc etc etc......
Imo your best option nowis to at least house your Polish hens seperately from the others. But, there is no guarantee that Phyllis will get on with the newcomers. There is a better chance I think of Phyllis getting on with them than there is of your original hens accepting them. I could be wrong.
Should you decide to rehome Phyllis then you will probably end up with the same problem with the new pPolish chicks at some point.

Even with the mixed flock of Ex Batts and rescues I'm doing what I can with now, the divisions are obvious if one looks hard enough.
 
Shadrach said:
It would be usefull to have greater knowledge of just what it is these moulting hens search for during their moult.
There have been numerous post from chicken keepers worrying about their moulting hens not eating "properly" some not eating at all apparently.
There can be little doubt that for the hens in these posts and I would guess for many more that are not identified or not reported that the majority of commercial feeds are not supplying what the hens believe they need.
Given commercial feeds are designed around minimum cost with only the most basic requirements for life and given chickens are omnivors and not vegans this is hardly surprising.
Click to expand...
I have not done consistent observation on when I have switched them to feather fixer feed. I will try and watch Hattie better this week to see if she is eating the commercial feed like normal. I will also compare nutritional differences and post.
 
Shadrach said:
I've had so much grief over this issue.
In one of my early posts on this site I laid out a few basics for happy chicken keeping. In that list was "don't mix breeds". Needless to say I was dodging the bricks for quite a while.
The first problem is lots of people will tell you they have mixed breed flocks and their world is full of shiney happy chickens; mostly hens it seems here.
The first step perhaps is to make quite clear that "can" and "shouldn't" mean different things.
Next one has to go through the rather long and tiresome process of outlining when one can and when one shouldn't. I don't have the patience for it on the general threads. People want what people want and no advice with regard to the welfare of the chickens is welcome, nor is considerable experience of my own and many other keepers who also follow the basic tenet.
My experience and the experience of many others, including people with mixed breed flocks is given the choice, roughly, breeds will stick together. There is even a little saying to go with it: Birds of a feather stick together.
Not many people want to read this. What they want is oh sure, everything will be fine. You do what you want to do. It's your right etc etc etc......
Imo your best option nowis to at least house your Polish hens seperately from the others. But, there is no guarantee that Phyllis will get on with the newcomers. There is a better chance I think of Phyllis getting on with them than there is of your original hens accepting them. I could be wrong.
Should you decide to rehome Phyllis then you will probably end up with the same problem with the new pPolish chicks at some point.

Even with the mixed flock of Ex Batts and rescues I'm doing what I can with now, the divisions are obvious if one looks hard enough.
Click to expand...
Weren’t your Catalan tribes different breeds? You even had bantams if I am remembering right. How did that work? Did they all segregate?
 

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