Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[LozzyR]

I'm sorry. Everyone take a day off so Lozzy can catch up.

Will that work Lozzy?

Yes please!

 

[Grandmas Coop]

That is correct. The sentinel or hen that saw the predator will growl very low and very quietly, periodically until the threat is no more. It reminds the tribe that all is not clear.

My rooster use to do that when the hens wouldn't settle down at night, he would low growl at them and then there would be, silence

 

[featherhead007]

I'm sorry. Everyone take a day off so Lozzy can catch up.

Will that work Lozzy?

Okay.

 

[Sun dancing chicken]

I really don't like broody chickens here is a pic of mine...

Here is just a cold chicken

 

[Fawnpuppet]

While I'm ranting.
How often in all the advice one reads about broodies do you read about the trance a broody goes into? This is such an important point. How on earth do people think a broody manages to sit for 21 days or more semi hovering above her clutch of eggs. Have a go. See how long you can do it for. It's virtually impossible in a fully conscious state. A broody hen goes into a trance like state to achieve this. There would seem to be some mechanism that allows them to partially lock their legs (maybe other parts of their anatomy) but still keep other parts mobile and active enough to turn and arrange their eggs.
If you lift a broody hen off her eggs without any prior interference and place her on the ground she will just stay there in that locked position. Her head will move and if you present her with food, she will eat from that position. But, she is not fully awake for want of a better description. To wake her up she needs to stand. And more often than not once stood she will suddenly jump in the air, flapping her wings and scream. Most people who have observed a broody hen will have seen this. This is the hen fully awake and in battle order.
For a hen to remain healthy she needs to do this every day. They will not feed properly, or bath or even poop properly unless they are awake. I've read lots of posts from the 'educated' here and this stuff just doesn't get mentioned.
It is the same with nest boxes. The usual mantra is dark, quiet, secluded away from other chickens and a box.
I don't put hens in my house nest box in order to take pictures for everyones amusement, out of all the choices they have here (just about every type of nesting site one can imagine) they choose to nest here. Why is that? It has none of the mantra prerequisites. It's busy noisy, open, has no roof.......
I've read, 'oh well Shadrach's chickens are different'. They're not. Thye're just ordinary chickens. What's more other chicken keepers that live here will report much the same as I do on many of the topics I've written about. These chicken cannot all be different!
What is different is the way chickens are viewed and kept. The simple truth is the current USA backyard chicken keeping model from chick acquisition to keeping arrangements is destroying the species natural abilities.

I know that personally, I am very willing to learn what is more natural for them when they go broody so I can try to accommodate that as close as I can in their current environment. The thing is that I have no experience or information to draw from. Thats why I appreciate rants and advice so I can learn what is more natural.

What I do is based on inexperience and ignorance, not because I want to, but because I don't know any better. I want to learn and grow so I can be a better steward of those I've decided to care for.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that there are people willing to learn and do better but they just need the right information and have it be accessible.

(I know this is from forever ago, but I'm catching up. Page 1088 of 7500+, but I will get there!)

 

[RoyalChick]

Has she picked a favorite?

Yes. Starter/Grower is a favorite but she did chow down on Feather Fixer as well.

 

[MaryJanet]

I know that personally, I am very willing to learn what is more natural for them when they go broody so I can try to accommodate that as close as I can in their current environment. The thing is that I have no experience or information to draw from. Thats why I appreciate rants and advice so I can learn what is more natural.

What I do is based on inexperience and ignorance, not because I want to, but because I don't know any better. I want to learn and grow so I can be a better steward of those I've decided to care for.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that there are people willing to learn and do better but they just need the right information and have it be accessible.

(I know this is from forever ago, but I'm catching up. Page 1088 of 7500+, but I will get there!)

This is my attitude too. I must keep learning.

 

[RoyalChick]

I love this! I have conversations with Minnie in chicken speak. I’ll try to remember to video it and you please do the same!.

Don’t you feel though that they rather look down on you as a conversationalist?
I feel like I have the vocabulary of a very young child and not a smart one either!
It may be why Maggie yells at me. She thinks maybe I will understand better if she shouts.

 

[featherhead007]

Don’t you feel though that they rather look down on you as a conversationalist?
I feel like I have the vocabulary of a very young child and not a smart one either!
It may be why Maggie yells at me. She thinks maybe I will understand better if she shouts.

I feel the same way. I must sound like an idiot to my chooks.

 

[featherhead007]

I feel the same way. I must sound like an idiot to my chooks.

It’s frustrating, not being able to understand the complexity of the chicken language