Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

M

Me too.

I'm glad that you do as you are partly responsible for this adventure.

 

[MaryJanet]

Is that also a shot at me!?

No!! It was merely an idle thought!

If I was so low as to take a shot, I'd tell you it was a shot.

 

[rural mouse]

Another pullet egg today. stepped on. Difficult to tell if was white or light brown (found when getting dark). Pear is already prepping for winter. So far she's the only one who buries her head in her feathers.

 

[MaryJanet]

What am I going to do with Phyllis

First let me say that I appreciate all of the advice from everyone. It really did help me and I am grateful to you all for being willing to provide your thoughts. I considered a lot of things. From the two extremes lock her up with them to leave everyone alone to a lot of "half measures".

I have been accused of vacillating. In a way that was absolutely true because I had reached the end of what I had mapped out when I started this journey. It is easy to forget that the original plan called for Phyllis to raise the chicks herself. That part was not in the cards this time.

Perhaps the best way to assume they bonded would be to force them to live together in the coop and run for months. If you had seen her this morning when the door to the main coop opened before the hut you would know that I could not do that to her. She was frantic to be out with the others.

Should I rely on the Birds of a Feather process and let them be at it and choose for themselves. Who knows what might happen? It would be all up to the birds.

The Plan
What I have decided on is that I am going to give things a small push and then leave it up to them. Phyllis is already being forced out or just choosing not to roost in the main coop around half the time right now anyway. In those instances I have been putting her in with the littles for Phyllis's safety with the added benefit of them spending time together. I am now going to add moving her from the main coop on the nights where she roosts there. So every night for the next few weeks, Phyllis will be sleeping in the hut. As a means of making it a nice place in which to wake up, I will be providing meal worms on the floor of the hut, every time I place Phyllis onto the roost. Perhaps this breakfast of chicken champions will convince her it is a pretty nice place to sleep.

This is as far as I am willing to go to try and make her transition from the main coop. This solution is compromise that my heart and head will allow. In the end Phyllis will still get to choose her place and her friends. Hopefully she will hang with the new ladies eventually and live a less pecky life.

Please feel free to go on the record and tell me I am making a mistake. It does not bother me. I am wrong a lot in life. You are however very unlikely to change my mind. Unless something untoward happens, I can't see myself deviating from the plan outlined above.

Excellent plan.

 

[featherhead007]

Can I bring my Jaffar inside tonight? My poor guy looks like he’s uncomfortable

 

[bgmathteach]

As a start, I've made a poll. Please contribute your experiences. Lets try and get even a small sample documented.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...off-their-usual-feed-when-they-moult.1498056/

I've responded...but have a question.

Most of my young'uns (1.5 yrs.) hard molt, most of my older ones, in the past, much slower. This year, however, almost everyone is hard molting - including my girls that are 4.5 years old...and off feed somewhat during the worst of it. Has anyone else experienced this (older hens hard molting)? I am wondering if it has to do with our weather. Still haven't had any frost, never mind a killing/hard frost - not even below 42 degrees at night yet! Extremely unusual. (usually have our first light frost by mid Sept.) I am thinking that no cold delayed molt some..and shorter days triggered it. (i.e. without both triggers , molt delayed, and then came on hard when their body suddenly said 'oh, s***, time to molt, lets get on with it")??

 

[BY Bob]

No!! It was merely an idle thought!

If I was so low as to take a shot, I'd tell you it was a shot.

I know that.

 

[MaryJanet]

Visit from a Hawk

While I was outside with all 8 of the hens free ranging yesterday we had a hawk stop by for a visit. I was standing on the deck with the grown up six, having just given them some pasta to chow down on. When Lilly who had not quite made it to the deck zipped into the butterfly bush. She moved so quickly that I knew something was up. I immediately looked to the sky and a hawk swooped in from over the shed and roosted in the birch tree. Here is where the hawk roosted and where the littles were located when it did.View attachment 2871618

At the time none of the other 7 hens knew the hawk was there. Lilly did not make a sound. Hattie was at my feet so I shushed under the table on the deck and threw more pasta there to get everyone under the table.

Then I took off after the hawk. I needed to make certain it was gone before it saw the littles. I did not even get around the pool and it vacated the area leaving as it had come.
I then called Lilly over and lectured her for not alerting everyone else. I don't believe that those on deck ever knew a hawk was present. It is certain that the littles had no idea as they were happily peeping away.

Terrifying.

Is there any way the hawk didn't hear the little ones?

 

[BY Bob]

Another pullet egg today. stepped on. Difficult to tell if was white or light brown (found when getting dark). Pear is already prepping for winter. So far she's the only one who buries her head in her feathers.

Was it in the grass, coop floor, etc.? I'm trying to picture how you stepped on it. That had to be very disappointing.

 

[BY Bob]

Can I bring my Jaffar inside tonight? My poor guy looks like he’s uncomfortable

I try not to touch molting chickens. But that's me.