Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[micstrachan]

That's pretty windy! 🌬

I could hear it howling last night! I went out to close the upper coop door (which is normally covered with a hardware cloth screen) before I went to bed.

 

[BY Bob]

Could have been a muskrat. Maybe they would take a chick or a young small pullet, or bantam pullet or baby rabbit. I doubt they can, or want to, lift more than 2-3lbs but I don't know the facts there. They will stand next to carcasses and eat. But they are not bold or particularly fierce and don't like harassment. Crows and Ravens can chase them off a dead deer (the local Audubon group puts out roadkill in fields for them), a Red-Tail hawk can do it too just with it's ferocity (seen it on video). A Golden Eagle on the other hand will prey on and take down a Bald Eagle. It is bigger, yes, but it has more predator heart to it than Bald Eagles do.

This is very interesting. I particularly like learning about predators like this.

 

[BY Bob]

I could hear it howling last night! I went out to close the upper coop door (which is normally covered with a hardware cloth screen) before I went to bed.

Wow! I hope the fires don't get too much worse because if it. How is the air quality by you?

 

[BY Bob]

BREAKOUT!!!!!!

I briefly mentioned earlier that I was planning to let the Phyllistines into the big run today. They had other plans.

I had a late night last night and was sitting on the deck reading a little and drinking some coffee when I heard peeping that was much louder than it should have been. This concerned me greatly as they must have been in some distress in the coop for it to carry that well to me.

As I walked to The Hut my ears started to lead me away from the coop. Here is where I found them.

So that's a change in plans. Here the automated door, which I swear was set on manual, had opened after I had let Phyllis out and closed it. The ladies had decided to head off into the world.

The big girls had not seen them until Sylvie's spastic flight. I distracted the big girls with some walnuts but there is no distracting Sansa from fresh targets. She actually flushed them back to the complex and they roosted on the big cops steroids for a moment.

I took advantage of that situation to close them into the full complex. I still need to shower, etc. They are now exporting the porch.

I can't leave the complex locked up as Phyllis and Aurora are still laying and will need nest box access but since no one seems in a hurry to do so right now, I am going to leave it as is and get cleaned up.

I am of a mind to let them have the full yard and spend my day babysitting them. I don't feel like doing much else today anyway. This could be fun.

 

[Blazinga]

Ooohhh… fun, fun! How old are they now? Are we sure Katydid is a pullet?

17 weekend for on 18

 

[featherhead007]

I’m afraid to introduce that pumpkin to the chooks. They are having such a good time foraging in the grass. Beethov-Hen is next to me. “Daddy, you got any treats?”

 

[rural mouse]

That's deep snow. I could not handle deep snow like that before Thanksgiving.

That's higher altitude. elk like the heights. It was snowing like crazy that day, but he got his first bull elk. He was so pleased he mostly didn't feel the weather. A week before, the next kid got his 1st elk, a cow, in the same area...not a flake of snow to be seen.

 

[featherhead007]

They are running a chickenalysis on the pumpkin right now!

 

[rural mouse]

Congratulations!

Quick question, Are you sure you don't have a nest somewhere outside the coop?

In the past, they've laid eggs in the doghouse (no eggs), Castor's house (no eggs), under spruce tree on the west side (no eggs), in the car port (found recent shell, no other eggs). they've never laid in the wood pile (checked), or under the Russian olives. now that the leaves are dropping/gone, checking under those regularly (no eggs). None have been poking around the lilacs row and they've not been doing much in the pea tree hedge either. I've been poking around the other bushes and not finding anything either. have several beds with either lava rock or pond pebbles across them..no eggs. if they're laying elsewhere, there's no real overhead cover and the magpies would have found and scattered the eggs. no evidence of that either. haven't seen them going off anywhere either except the horse paddock where there's no cover/protection from the horse hooves. it's possible, but doubtful.

 

[featherhead007]

“You try it, no you try it. I’m not going to try it. Hey, let’s get Coco, she’ll eat anything…. Hey Coco!”