Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[micstrachan]

If you want me to be closer to you, get closer to me

At roosting time it appeared Phyllis was further down the other end of the roost.
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I checked right now and it sure seems like Phyllis has moved closer to Sylvie to me. What does everyone else think?

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Skunk!

I went out to close up the complex tonight and I surprised a skunk sitting under the bird feeder by the coop. It did not run away. No fear of me at all. I, however, had much fear of it. We parted company amicably.

Yikes on the skunk. Yes, I think Phyllis moved closer.

 

[featherhead007]

Jaffar has found Arizona safely nested on a clutch of eggs behind the tool shed . He called out, she came running! (Why can’t I do that?)

 

[RoyalChick]

Initial Necropsy Results are Back

It seems to have been a congenital defect. There was an abnormality in her brain/skull.

It does rule out trauma as the cause. The hemorrhage in the skin at the base of the skull is likely from her falling off the roost that night.

Here is the text of the initial report.

The most significant macroscopic findings in this chicken involved a suspect meningoencephalocele with adjacent subcutaneous hemorrhage, subcutaneous masses within the neck, and subjective thickening of the right sacral plexus. A meningoencephalocele is a congenital abnormality that occurs when there is improper formation/fusing of the bones of the calvarium and portions of the meninges and/or neuroparenchyma are external to the remaining bones. In this case, there was hemorrhage within the overlying subcutaneous tissue and at the base of the skull which may suggest trauma. While there was evidence of trauma in the head region, there were no obvious fractures of the bones indicating the brain exposure was a pre-existing condition and not secondary to trauma. In addition to this finding, there were masses within the subcutaneous tissue along the neck and subjective thickening of the right sacral plexus which may suggest this chicken had Marek’s disease.

My poor baby......
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Oh indeed poor baby and for you, Mrs BY Bob and Sylvie I give
Will they do further testing for Marek's? Like a PCR or examination of the nodules? It sounds rather vague in the preliminary report and it would be good to have certainty.

 

[RoyalChick]

Jaffar has found Arizona safely nested on a clutch of eggs behind the tool shed . He called out, she came running! (Why can’t I do that?)

So happy!

 

[featherhead007]

So happy!

I’m quite relieved myself. (These birds are going to make me insane (eventually)

 

[featherhead007]

Culprit Arizona tax:

 

[featherhead007]

My problem, is that I have too many places for the chooks to hide in on this property. Yes, I panic when one of them goes missing. (If my father was alive, I would apologize again for what I put him through, when I was a teenager)

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

Initial Necropsy Results are Back

It seems to have been a congenital defect. There was an abnormality in her brain/skull.

It does rule out trauma as the cause. The hemorrhage in the skin at the base of the skull is likely from her falling off the roost that night.

Here is the text of the initial report.

The most significant macroscopic findings in this chicken involved a suspect meningoencephalocele with adjacent subcutaneous hemorrhage, subcutaneous masses within the neck, and subjective thickening of the right sacral plexus. A meningoencephalocele is a congenital abnormality that occurs when there is improper formation/fusing of the bones of the calvarium and portions of the meninges and/or neuroparenchyma are external to the remaining bones. In this case, there was hemorrhage within the overlying subcutaneous tissue and at the base of the skull which may suggest trauma. While there was evidence of trauma in the head region, there were no obvious fractures of the bones indicating the brain exposure was a pre-existing condition and not secondary to trauma. In addition to this finding, there were masses within the subcutaneous tissue along the neck and subjective thickening of the right sacral plexus which may suggest this chicken had Marek’s disease.

My poor baby......
View attachment 2907775

BY Bob I wonder if this deformity is the technical name for what is referred to as vaulted skulls? I recently learned of it with my silkies as Poppy has a vault. It is very common in silkies but I've since learned that it can happen in most crested breeds. It creates a bigger crest, and Poppy has the biggest crest of my 3. I've tried to research it as best I can since she hatched because I was worried with her being in a mixed flock if she would be more susceptible to injury and was fully prepared to rehome her to a silkie only or bantam flock if need be. The people in the silkie thread assured me that she should be ok in a mixed flock, as many of them have mixed flocks with silkies with vaulted skulls and they do just fine. I've also learned from them that about 90% of vaulted chicks at least for silkies are female. I will admit that can be extremely helpful in a breed that is notoriously hard to sex before 4 to 5 months old without dna testing. I'm not going to lie, if Legethera did have a vault, and she really did not fall all that far my worry about Poppy is going to through the roof again. I'd finally convinced myself that even though she is tiny, she's accepted and was going to do just fine in my flock and I love that little thing. Looking at her baby picture her top hat looks sorta like Poppy's did at hatch. Becuase when they hatch the vault is very obvious if the others do not have it.
Here is poppy with her siblings at a few hours old, you can pick her little head out in the crowd.

2 week old Poppy

Poppy now at 5 1/2 months. She is also incredibly tiny, officially the smallest chicken I have now that frick and frack are 2 months old they are even bigger then her. She eats well and has grown well but she's just petite. I really do not think when she's done growing she'll be as big as her sister Lil Bit is now.

edited to add.
I also should point out that the parents of my silkies came from hatchery stock, I think My Pet Chicken. Higher quality bloodlines and show stock silkies can have even bigger vaults and larger crests.

 

[BY Bob]

I have one of those zinc-lined trough planters that has seen better days. I was thinking about how to fix it up and maybe have a planter for herbs. But a better idea might be to partially fill it with dirt and top up with bedding and let them decide whether to bathe in it or lay in it.
I still have the roof issue but I have some ideas taking shape somewhere in the back of my head. When it is a little less arctic I will go out and measure.

I'm excited to see what you come up with but don't be sad if they don't use it.

 

[BY Bob]

Here’s one more song you can have stuck in your head::: It’s a small world after all, it’s a small world after all, it’s a small world after all, it’s a small, small world!

Chicken tax is now required. I expect it to be good.