Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[featherhead007]

That would normally be Branch, but he is still a little lost himself. Once I finish the laundry, even under protest he is coming inside for some tv time. I think he needs his emotional support person more right now.

No doubt!

 

[Marie2020]

We had a hailstorm , it's stopped now

 

[Marie2020]

There seems to be a lot of moulting going on @RoyalChick
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/alarming-number-of-chickens-losing-feathers.1510850/

 

[Kris5902]

My husband always says that if the girls knew what goes on in this house (chicken, eggs) they would be horrified.

Nope, given a little seasoning and heat and they will often happily eat their distant and not so distant relations… they have more trouble playing the chase me game with turkey legs… and their undeveloped babies? “You mean that thing that just popped out my vent wasn’t a snack? Then what do you do with them? Huh?”

 

[Kris5902]

This is probably an indelicate question and you needn't answer it Kris, but how did the mink get in?
I am picturing the caravan coop in my mind and it seems like a metal and fiberglass fortress to me. I'm guessing, from what you said here and earlier, that Gus' weight damaged the door step somehow?

Spot on. There was enough weight on a late 60’s caravan door stoop to just push it over the edge… like so many other things, I just hadn’t gotten to fixing it, and the little soft spot and gap in the flooring right at the entrance allowed gnawing and it got bigger without my noticing it. The little monster widened the gap to about a 2” hole, and got in in the early morning. Absolute carnage.

Spoiler: Awful Mink story

I noticed it was too quiet when I approached to open the door, and upon opening started cursing like you wouldn’t believe. Initially no one would come out, I had to pull out most of the fallen, before I could even step inside. I herded the survivors out from the back roosts and tossed some Feed Out by my trailer and set to cleaning out the rest. As I was pulling a youngling out from behind the dog crate broody box there was a scurrying noise and I spotted it. It was still in there. I covered the door hole with a nest box, fetched my raccoon trap and a smaller mink trap and a garden claw/weed hook thingie with a long handle.

It took almost an hour to trap it. It was terrifying, hissing and jumping at me in attempts to escape. The roosts made cornering it very difficult. The little bugger was strong, like you wouldn’t believe strong. It almost forced its way out of the raccoon trap, and I had to hold the flap closed. It bit my finger through the The trap, despite the hand guard, because of the way I had to hold the trap to keep it in. I set it out and weighted the trap door closed with a rock, then covered it with a stove rack and then plywood to keep it dry, because it was pouring rain to boot. It actually got out past the flap door of the trap but was trapped by the rack. Then I had to wait for the .22, again. I will be buying a .22 and possibly a .303 once the house is done and I have a place for a gun safe. And I will be getting my PAL (possession and acquisition license) because guns are harder to own here. But those two days and waiting on it really drove in the “you need to have this tool, even if you don’t really like them” lesson.

I upgraded my phone and it didn’t like the 3000+ photos I hadn’t backed up on the data transfer, or I would repost that picture… lol such a cute bull! After the mink attack I heard a predator kerfuffle a couple nights later outside and set a trap to be prudent; two days later I caught this! I don’t have neighbours, the farm proper is about 2km away… and he was not happy! I believe that this might be why I haven’t had as many rodent issues with my feed in the barn, and it reassured me that the last year or so I kept swearing I heard a cat outside and everyone thought I was nuts, I wasn’t!

Sad story tax:

 

[Kris5902]

You're better off here with is crazy chicken people! And you can whine any time you like to me, as long as I can whine back about the cold (PM me any time).

Ok this crazy chicken person needs to get to work... Catch ya later!

The amount of money you would have to pay me to live anywhere else in this county… the weather? Just Nope! And I don’t know how Bob and all his neighbours cope… or the Aussies, for that matter I Wuss out over 30 Celsius and around 30 Fahrenheit too!

 

[Kris5902]

Progressive Web App

Here is the link to the progressive web app that is not the same as the one in the Google play store. It fixes a lot of bugs and I use it almost exclusively on my samsung tablet. It is an ANDROID app. Not for use on the iPhone.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/progressive-web-app.1444638/

Us poor Apple people…

 

[bgmathteach]

That would normally be Branch, but he is still a little lost himself. Once I finish the laundry, even under protest he is coming inside for some tv time. I think he needs his emotional support person more right now.

I know this is asking a lot, but could you also bring in Chiquita? I'm sure she is a bit lost having just made a friend in a new place (and losing her).. .and now, if Branch goes in, she will have no one. A threesome isn't so bad (at least not in this case)
Hugs & Love all around!

 

[rural mouse]

Any results yet?

Dunno. Pony hasn't reported back yet.

 

[rural mouse]

Seems like you could use an emotional support rooster “like Jaffar” ! I apologize, but I can’t loan him out to anyone, anymore. (He’s busy supporting me)

That's what Branch is....