Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[MaryJanet]

Attack Thwarted

I just stopped the Cooper's Hawk. The girls were out gathered around me like this.
View attachment 2943403

The Hawk was coming in from the left, above the shed.

View attachment 2943405
I saw it and took two steps forward to put myself between it and the ladies. It aborted and flew off to the right.

It is NOT gone.

Not a song bird to be found today.

Terrifying! But at least it's not visiting as frequently.

 

[micstrachan]

SHRA!

Remembering Queenie
I am on my PC, I only have a few pictures on it, and this is one. But kind of fortuitous. It was in December last year when I got Queenie from the wood & storage closed-in shed abutting the house that she was roosting and hiding in. She had successfully hidden from the strangers (instructed by the departed chicken-keeper) that had come and split up the free-ranging tribe, taking chickens on two separate days, the week or so before, a flock of ~9 chickens and a rooster, all Buff Orpingtons. I think she chose the storage & wood shed because it was all enclosed but had a small hole in the wall that was like a little pop door; the human kept the actual door locked. It was safer for her as a single hen than the broken-down old barn across the street where her tribe had roosted but which was very open to owls, hawks, coyotes and other predators. Not much to eat except a bit of bird seed thrown out for the wild birds by the house occupant who didn't want chickens. Queenie was foraging in the snow and I think getting water from the small stream nearby. Soon it would freeze over and be snow-covered. Being so alone out there, and then having two weeks inside with me, when introduced to the Buckeyes she went crazy as soon as she saw them. She made it her mission to join them, volunteering to be bottom of the pecking order. Here's a picture I took about then (photo is dated Dec 19, 2020). You've seen it before. I remember I asked everyone about the spot at the top of her beak. It was a small scab and came off by itself some time later.

RIP Lil' Queenie
View attachment 2942328

Aww, sweet Queenie.

 

[micstrachan]

Attack Thwarted

I just stopped the Cooper's Hawk. The girls were out gathered around me like this.
View attachment 2943403

The Hawk was coming in from the left, above the shed.

View attachment 2943405
I saw it and took two steps forward to put myself between it and the ladies. It aborted and flew off to the right.

It is NOT gone.

Not a song bird to be found today.

@Shadrach @MaryJanet @Ribh

Ugh. Sorry, Bob, but I’m glad you were there to protect.

 

[BY Bob]

Ugh. Sorry, Bob, but I’m glad you were there to protect.

Hattie never saw it. I had to coax her out of the complex to start free ranging. She did not want to come out. In fact everyone was heads down grazing. I assume this was because I was there. There was no sentinel.

 

[RoyalChick]

I'm not telling people how they should feel. I'm trying to explain why those sorry for your loss messages are just something people say. They don't actually mean anything. It's one of those sayings like "have a nice day". The vast majority of people who say "have a nice day" couldn't give a monkeys what sort of day you have. It's part of the be nice culture.
Not all cultures are like this. This ime is an American thing and I'm not American.


Well there you go. One short sentence, two possesive references and the only real loss is the chicken who lost its life.

Oh come on Shad! You describe that you miss chickens who died (and which you didn’t own), and I have seen pictures of your burial of some of those chickens with tokens that a dead chicken will clearly not need.
So you deal with death of a chicken friend in your own way and not in the same way as you deal with a casual happening like a beetle you accidentally step on or a plant you forget to water.
I deal with it differently, also in my own way. And I do also mourn plants I forget to water.
All I think Bob is saying is that it is good to respect how each of us deal with the death of a chicken friend. What we say is simply that we are signaling support for that person to grieve in their own way without being jeered at.

 

[RoyalChick]

I'm going to try once more because I feel I am not communicating my point well. Perhaps there is actually a difference in language here that is beyond my ability to bridge.

When I tell someone I am sorry for their loss, it is because I am sorry for THEIR loss. Whether they have lost a chicken or their best human friend or their parent. I believe them to be grieving and due consolation. They possess their loss. I am sorry that they are experiencing that loss. I wish grief upon no one and yet we all suffer it from time to time and I feel that I should do all I can to help anyone experiencing it.

If I could communicate with the chicken, I might also tell it that I was sorry that this has happened to them, unless of course, they told me they were glad of it.

Perfectly put. And at the risk of being told I am being completely obnoxious, I would not say anything to the chicken because I believe once dead the chicken is dead.
I do feel empathy for the person as well as any of their chicken friends who are experiencing grief.
I will shut up now.

 

[micstrachan]

Hi everyone. Sorry I’ve barely been on and have only posted about Ester. Lots going on.

My son was just diagnosed with strep throat. Ester is still unwell and has been self isolating, so I brought her in to warm up. She’s literally just standing there. She is backed up, swollen, not pooping or eating. I did see her drink when she came out this morning.

I gave her an aspirin for the ascites and swelling, and started her on amoxicillin. I wanted to give her some pedialyte with aloe detox, but her crop isn’t moving, so I held off. Instead, I gave her some coconut oil in hopes it helps loosen whatever is backing her up. There is a disgusting stench coming from her when I handle her, I think from her crop. Poor thing… like she’s rotting from the inside out.

Unfortunately, I don’t know if the ascites is causing the blockage or is secondary to it.

I don’t usually like to remove sick birds from the flock, but she’s been hanging out by herself, anyway. I may keep her in tonight for warmth and so I can know for sure that she isn’t pooping. If I can get her crop moving, I’d also like to get some aloe detox in her for the ascites, as well.

I’m not sure what else to do at this point. I may check in the morning if an avian vet can see her. It would be helpful to know what color the fluid in her coelum is, and maybe they could do some imaging. If she’s blocked by cancer, salpingitis, or something that can’t be cleared, like her gizzard, I may have her put down.

 

[RoyalChick]

Attack Thwarted

I just stopped the Cooper's Hawk. The girls were out gathered around me like this.
View attachment 2943403

The Hawk was coming in from the left, above the shed.

View attachment 2943405
I saw it and took two steps forward to put myself between it and the ladies. It aborted and flew off to the right.

It is NOT gone.

Not a song bird to be found today.

@Shadrach @MaryJanet @Ribh

Oh no! Did you get any shot off?

 

[RoyalChick]

Terrifying! But at least it's not visiting as frequently.

And we have a good warning which is the absence of song birds.

 

[BY Bob]

Oh no! Did you get any shot off?

I did not. It veered away before I could target it.