Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[featherhead007]

 

[RoyalChick]

I’ve been biting my tongue for so long now on Bob’s recent disasters.

It seems to me that many of those who have commented have completely lost touch with reality.

I understand that many want to be supportive, but the for everybody to learn from this unfortunate situation a realistic assessment has to be better than the drama fuelled almost hysteria that I’ve read in some of the posts.

I feel terrible for Bob. The whole business has been one tragedy after another and Bob has done his utmost to try and turn the situation around. I’ve been in similar situation myself a number of times and in retrospect it became obvious that the one option I did not want to take, and did not take, was the right option all along.

I consider Bob to be a friend and as such I feel I have a duty to tell him the truth, unpalatable thought it may be. There is also the opportunity for us all to learn something here and while people emotions and wants are valid, burying the truth under a deluge of knee jerk emotion is not going to help anyone.

I’ll take the risk of being highly unpopular, but please, look at the evidence before you engage the emotions.

Bob had a small group of mixed breed hens that despite the usual conflicts managed to get along well enough to lead what seemed to be to be a reasonably contented life. Bob judging from the tone of his posts and the pictures he posted was also content.

Then Mrs By Bob got a bad case of the I wants and disregarding his better judgement Bob got Phyllis, a single hen of a breed which some already know are genetically damaged through breeding for looks rather than health and longevity.

Not only is Phyllis a damaged breed, but many people who know something about breeds and keeping mixed flocks will tell you, don’t mix certain breeds. There is some information on which breeds are likely to fare better kept together, but mixing Polish chickens with “standard” breeds is not recommended. It’s not that it cannot be done but the odds are stacked against it from the start.

This is just one of the reasons that many of the chicken keepers with generations of experience that I have spoken to say do not mix breeds. It’s not something that the backyard hobby keeper wants to hear, but a great deal of experience has gone into this advice.

Phyllis was rejected by Bob’s original group from day one. Unfortunately, with the help and encouragement of some on this forum Phyllis became a bit of an icon. This just made it even harder for Bob to do what he should have done as soon as he realised that Phyllis was not going to fit and consequently was likely to lead a rather lonely and isolated life subject to the bulling we have all seen inn the videos and reports of in Bob’s post.

What Bob should have done was re-home Phyllis in a flock of her breed.

I mentioned at the time that trying to introduce Phyllis was likely to end in disaster and while it gives me no pleasure to be proven right, it has been one long train crash of a disaster.

Bob’s attempts to recover from the initial mistake are documented throughout the thread; the eggs, the sitting plans, the new coop and finally the two Polish chicks Legertha and Sylvie.

Note that Phyllis is still an outcast despite all Bob’s efforts.

We seem to have created a society where no blame or accountability can be attached to any organisation/group or individual for their actions, yet on this site I read a lot about people taking responsibility for the creatures they have acquired.

If you read back through this thread there are a number of posts that Bob has made that indicate that Mrs Bob cannot be relied upon to do what is necessary to make sure the chickens are fed, cared for and made secure at night.

There is also the post where Bob writes that he told Mrs Bob not to let Legertha and Sylvie out of the coop. She did despite what Bob said. One can surmise that the genetic problem would have made itself apparent in time anyway but that isn’t really the point. One can equally surmise that if she hadn’t let them out Legertha would still be alive and Sylvie would still have a sister.

I also find it a rather perturbing that contributors to this thread have consoled and complimented Bob on the assumption that Legertha, and by inference Sylvie, have had a wonderful life.

They had no mother present to teach them and keep them safe while they were chicks. They spent their early life in a cardboard box, the rest of the world concealed from them. For them Bob and perhaps Mrs Bob were the only contact with other creatures and had no way of knowing that they were chickens. No wonder they peeped relentlessly. Those peeps ime experience of chicks are calls for their mother/or maybe any other creature they could relate to. I’ve found numerous “lost” chicks that got separated from their mothers by just those calls. I wrote a very sad story about an incubator orphan called Cheepy who made those calls incessantly.

When they did eventually see the outside world it was from a cage where adult hens would come by and attempt to fence fight through the wire or peck at them.

Once moved into their new coop Phyllis made it quite clear that they were unwelcome and all the chicks had was each other. Sylvie doesn’t even have that now. She will probably have seen her sister lying dead.

Not by any stretch of the imagination can I see any of these three having had a great life.

Look at the videos. Look at Bob’s face. The stress and the worry is blatantly obvious and all the time people are applying pressure with their go Phyllis posts and their suggestions of what he can do with the chicks. Phyllis and the chicks is all Bob posts about now but he has other hens, what about them?

Please, if you are Bob’s friend consider how difficult the pressure you are all putting on him to succeed with this endeavour makes it for him to come to the right decisions. Tell him the truth based on the evidence and make it easier for him do do what’s best for him and the chickens; all of them.

My understanding of what Bob is trying to do is indeed 'rehome' Phyllis to a Polish only tribe at his house. That seems to me a reasonable response to the situation he and Phyllis found themselves.
I am not sure what the benefit is in trying to apportion blame to the situation in the first place. How much should we put on the creators of the Polish breed in the first place? Incidentally, I believe they were Dutchmen in the 15th or possibly 16th century.
There is no guarantee that Phyllis would do better in a Polish tribe cared for by someone else rather than a Polish tribe cared for by Bob. And from what we have seen she is actually doing fine now she roosts away from the big hens. Of course her Polish tribe is fragile, only one other member who is still young and vulnerable, but I wouldn't write it off just yet.

 

[RoyalChick]

I starting to think this was a bad day for Maggie and she vented on poor Dotty. Aurora has those days. So does Sansa. Lilly no longer does but she used to everyone once in a while.

I looked back at the camera recordings from yesterday and there were two interesting things. One was an incident where Maggie did peer into the nest box while Dotty was in there and appeared to take a few stabs at her but nothing like what we saw the day before and she didn't try to drag Dotty out.
The second was a short dominance encounter outside the nest boxes which you can see in the video below somewhere around the 28 second mark.
I need to keep watching but I think it quite likely that Dotty is challenging Maggie's position as enforcer and this is Maggie's response. I haven't seen more than a little - but Dotty is a pushy little hen and sometimes even challenges Diana (who has become top hen since Elizabeth died).
No egg from Dotty, sadly an egg with no shell from Diana.

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

I’ve been biting my tongue for so long now on Bob’s recent disasters.

It seems to me that many of those who have commented have completely lost touch with reality.

I understand that many want to be supportive, but the for everybody to learn from this unfortunate situation a realistic assessment has to be better than the drama fuelled almost hysteria that I’ve read in some of the posts.

I feel terrible for Bob. The whole business has been one tragedy after another and Bob has done his utmost to try and turn the situation around. I’ve been in similar situation myself a number of times and in retrospect it became obvious that the one option I did not want to take, and did not take, was the right option all along.

I consider Bob to be a friend and as such I feel I have a duty to tell him the truth, unpalatable thought it may be. There is also the opportunity for us all to learn something here and while people emotions and wants are valid, burying the truth under a deluge of knee jerk emotion is not going to help anyone.

I’ll take the risk of being highly unpopular, but please, look at the evidence before you engage the emotions.

Bob had a small group of mixed breed hens that despite the usual conflicts managed to get along well enough to lead what seemed to be to be a reasonably contented life. Bob judging from the tone of his posts and the pictures he posted was also content.

Then Mrs By Bob got a bad case of the I wants and disregarding his better judgement Bob got Phyllis, a single hen of a breed which some already know are genetically damaged through breeding for looks rather than health and longevity.

Not only is Phyllis a damaged breed, but many people who know something about breeds and keeping mixed flocks will tell you, don’t mix certain breeds. There is some information on which breeds are likely to fare better kept together, but mixing Polish chickens with “standard” breeds is not recommended. It’s not that it cannot be done but the odds are stacked against it from the start.

This is just one of the reasons that many of the chicken keepers with generations of experience that I have spoken to say do not mix breeds. It’s not something that the backyard hobby keeper wants to hear, but a great deal of experience has gone into this advice.

Phyllis was rejected by Bob’s original group from day one. Unfortunately, with the help and encouragement of some on this forum Phyllis became a bit of an icon. This just made it even harder for Bob to do what he should have done as soon as he realised that Phyllis was not going to fit and consequently was likely to lead a rather lonely and isolated life subject to the bulling we have all seen inn the videos and reports of in Bob’s post.

What Bob should have done was re-home Phyllis in a flock of her breed.

I mentioned at the time that trying to introduce Phyllis was likely to end in disaster and while it gives me no pleasure to be proven right, it has been one long train crash of a disaster.

Bob’s attempts to recover from the initial mistake are documented throughout the thread; the eggs, the sitting plans, the new coop and finally the two Polish chicks Legertha and Sylvie.

Note that Phyllis is still an outcast despite all Bob’s efforts.

We seem to have created a society where no blame or accountability can be attached to any organisation/group or individual for their actions, yet on this site I read a lot about people taking responsibility for the creatures they have acquired.

If you read back through this thread there are a number of posts that Bob has made that indicate that Mrs Bob cannot be relied upon to do what is necessary to make sure the chickens are fed, cared for and made secure at night.

There is also the post where Bob writes that he told Mrs Bob not to let Legertha and Sylvie out of the coop. She did despite what Bob said. One can surmise that the genetic problem would have made itself apparent in time anyway but that isn’t really the point. One can equally surmise that if she hadn’t let them out Legertha would still be alive and Sylvie would still have a sister.

I also find it a rather perturbing that contributors to this thread have consoled and complimented Bob on the assumption that Legertha, and by inference Sylvie, have had a wonderful life.

They had no mother present to teach them and keep them safe while they were chicks. They spent their early life in a cardboard box, the rest of the world concealed from them. For them Bob and perhaps Mrs Bob were the only contact with other creatures and had no way of knowing that they were chickens. No wonder they peeped relentlessly. Those peeps ime experience of chicks are calls for their mother/or maybe any other creature they could relate to. I’ve found numerous “lost” chicks that got separated from their mothers by just those calls. I wrote a very sad story about an incubator orphan called Cheepy who made those calls incessantly.

When they did eventually see the outside world it was from a cage where adult hens would come by and attempt to fence fight through the wire or peck at them.

Once moved into their new coop Phyllis made it quite clear that they were unwelcome and all the chicks had was each other. Sylvie doesn’t even have that now. She will probably have seen her sister lying dead.

Not by any stretch of the imagination can I see any of these three having had a great life.

Look at the videos. Look at Bob’s face. The stress and the worry is blatantly obvious and all the time people are applying pressure with their go Phyllis posts and their suggestions of what he can do with the chicks. Phyllis and the chicks is all Bob posts about now but he has other hens, what about them?

Please, if you are Bob’s friend consider how difficult the pressure you are all putting on him to succeed with this endeavour makes it for him to come to the right decisions. Tell him the truth based on the evidence and make it easier for him do do what’s best for him and the chickens; all of them.

This was a interesting read and I can see many of the points you made. I'm wondering and this is entirely too late but for someone maybe in the future thinking of wanting to add a different breed to their flock that in all likelihood would cause problems similar to Bob's if allowing a broody to hatch out and raise chicks be a better route? Let's pretend that Bob's flock was back to only Lily, Hattie, and Aurora. Let's also pretend that one of the girls went broody, and in order to add Mrs Bob's desired breed he had found and purchased some polish eggs for her to hatch. Would those chicks after they were done being raised by momma possibly have been better accepted into the flock or do you think the original girls would have singled them out after weaning for being so different?

 

[rural mouse]

Nest protest

Random other morning pics

Running down the steps

He started crowing and they all ran for the coop. almost 40F, minimal breeze, where do they hang these days? The coop.

 

[featherhead007]

Arizona update: there is no update, she didn’t come out of hiding (but it’s still early and chilly out this morning) I hope she’s okay.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Here’s my oddly marked Rock (Ester, on the right) along with a more “normal” looking Barred Rock (Bridge, on the left). It was more dramatic last year. I’ll look for a pic.View attachment 2908615

Ester is definitely darker than Bridge.

 

[Marie2020]

@Shadrach

Same as RC.

Plus, just to add all three of my chickens are different breeds except for my new girls who are now fitting perfectly.
It looks like they switch too their duties daily, princess on the look out one day Agatha the next and today I noticed it's flexi with the cat.
I find that so cute.

I can't speak for other breeds and I know from experience that us humans are no where near perfect when caring for chickens...
I've recently met breeders and rescuer's and I now wouldn't bath a chicken I've learned better but the breeders still do.

We are not perfect as I've already stated and going on opening up wounds is not helpful or kind. I'm a strong believer in saying as it is but only to a limit!.

To be perfectly Frank with you I think Bob has had enough emotional blows as it is, don't you.

 

[rural mouse]

5 min later... hang out changed.

Nest available, so now wants this one (sounds almost like a crow)

So does Nellie (Twirp ignored Thing but screeched like a cat at Nellie)

Meanwhile the matrons watch, rest, ignore, rise above the fracas

So far, only egg is from Pear and was in the 1st box protests occurred over.

This is better than television!

 

[Blazinga]

This was a interesting read and I can see many of the points you made. I'm wondering and this is entirely too late but for someone maybe in the future thinking of wanting to add a different breed to their flock that in all likelihood would cause problems similar to Bob's if allowing a broody to hatch out and raise chicks be a better route? Let's pretend that Bob's flock was back to only Lily, Hattie, and Aurora. Let's also pretend that one of the girls went broody, and in order to add Mrs Bob's desired breed he had found and purchased some polish eggs for her to hatch. Would those chicks after they were done being raised by momma possibly have been better accepted into the flock or do you think the original girls would have singled them out after weaning for being so different?

This is what I'm planning on doing when adding a secondary breed to my flock. I'm not sure on the compatibility of Easter eggers and Appenzellers, but there will only be two breeds with at least two members in each breed.