Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[rural mouse]

Chicken taxes...

 

[Shadrach]

Informative!
Unfortunately, my tap water is not suitable (well water) it is extremely hard water, so it is distilled (only able to be gotten by the gallon), or sterile saline that are my real options.

Why would a poultry vet site say it is okay if it isn't? Like @BY Bob and others, I have no access to avian vets here. My dog/cat vet has given general advise (like when I had to amputate a leg...she confirmed that my dressings and topical applications were suitable to prevent infection and allow wound to heal...but only because I happened to have a dog annual visit that coincided with this need. She won't address things otherwise.

I have a long answer that will need some very carefull wording which I'm not all that good at.
I'm off to talk to chickens for a few hours but I'll have a go at an explanation later on.

 

[rural mouse]

Storm's full brother is developing some interesting markings. He's around 5 weeks older than she is, with the tribe I got her egg from. Daddy is a blue laced red wyandotte with a high pitched soft crow (weird). He's actually got the splash coloring. Mom is a lightly barred olive egger. Maurice (the brother) was 1 of 3 that hatched. 1st time mom stepped on the 1st baby. The other 2 had head spots (1 larger than the other) leading me to think: boy, and both were blue. The 2nd fell into the horse trough and drowned at 8-10 weeks. Maurice is the last of that trio. He's blue (Like Storm), barred like mom, and has started popping some red, like dad. He's also bigger than the hens (3 blr wyandottes and mom) and taller than dad. Storm has a crest developing, he does not. based upon color, the current guess is mom is half crested legbar and half cuckoo marans. the tri-color on Maurice is fascinating: blue barred feathers with red saddle and hackles, also barred. All the babies have been single combed. Egg color remains to be seen as Storm won't reach that age until late December, and may wait longer.

Last night she roosted on the main bar along with Cheetah, Cuckoo and Nellie. She maintained space between, but they didn't chase her off either. She's also looking taller than Cheetah is (which isn't saying much as he's the smallest of the rest)
Edit: just let them out. Twirp is smaller than Cheetah.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Sunbathing Under Cover

With the hawks out and about, Sansa has located a spot to sunbathe while still under cover. Smart lady.
View attachment 2889722

Great idea! Heads up, after a break with a few days of none, there's another wave of Red-Tails coming south, 41 counted on Friday at the Franklin Mountain Hawkwatch site (25 miles from me).

 

[RoyalChick]

I have a long answer that will need some very carefull wording which I'm not all that good at.
I'm off to talk to chickens for a few hours but I'll have a go at an explanation later on.

At the risk of pouring fuel on a smoldering fire, I don't believe the use of saline is anything to do with birds vs mammals. It is actually basic physiology - related to osmosis (which is the passive movement of water across cell membranes).
Plain water is hypotonic relative to any living cell. Any cell placed in a hypotonic solution will swell as water moves into the cell.
Strongly salty water is hypertonic and any cell placed in that solution will lose water and shrink. It is why if you soak a wound or boil in strongly salty water the swelling will reduce. It also stings like crazy so a better home remedy is to make a hypertonic solution using old bar soap.
If you have ever been given IV fluids in a hospital you have received something called 'Normal Saline' (which is 9% saline). This is sterile salty water that is isotonic to human blood. It is used to resuscitate people not because they need the salt but because if you used plain water then your blood cells would burst.
So, if you are trying to clean an eye - any species - then either plain water or salty water is just fine (as long as it is sterile). Plain water will not help any swelling and some will worry that the cells on the surface of the eye might swell, salty water might reduce swelling in cells on the surface of the eye, but it is probably a marginal impact.
I will shut up now and let everyone argue about vets and salty water - you all just triggered my inner physiology geek.
Apart from my old text books which will take too long to dig up I give you a basic reference from the NIH.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557609/

 

[629522]

The time change has messed me up completely. I got up super early to grab Minnie off the roost and put her in the hospital ward with a hearty breakfast. But by the time I had scrambled the eggs the sun was coming up and everyone was up and about.
Also it has suddenly turned cold - well below freezing this morning. The forecast says it will warm up so I won't switch to the heated waterer just yet.

Same here, well, for us. Very hard to get out of a warm bed lol. What is worse for me is the dark at 5 o'clock part. So I'm going to work on getting extra time sitting with the girls and soaking up sunshine.

 

[bgmathteach]

A Little Something for MJ

A treat for when she wakes up Monday morning.

I always love pictures and videos of them They are so content, active and chatty

 

[629522]

I always love pictures and videos of them They are so content, active and chatty

And beautiful. I love the way they always look like they have places to go and things to do.

 

[bgmathteach]

The number of states who have passed bills petitioning Congress/Department of (Interior? Transportation?) To stay on daylight savings boggles the mind. Mostly northern states, but Tennessee and Florida are on that list too. Correction, they're all over: Louisianna, Arkansas, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, Montana, Maine, Washington, Georgia, Delaware, Utah. Looks like the time change isn't working so well for us either.

Had the kitty staring in the window at me asking for his breakfast, which is late from yesterday's time. Missed the pic.

Ugh. Not stay on it, get rid of it! It was originally done as an electricity savings measure...because we are too out of tune with nature.

 

[featherhead007]

Oh Gezz. What am I going to do with this extra hour of morning? (I won’t be arguing about salinity or sterilization of H2O ) If I have questions about chemistry, I ask the all seeing, all knowing “Beautiful Beetov-Hen” she may not know the answers, (but can always tell me where to go)