Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Poor Flash is laying roughly every day and a half, I think.

That's way too many for a legbar. They are not supposed to be prodigious layers.

 

[BY Bob]

Poor Flashy was acting like she didn’t feel well and had a dirty bum. I pulled some poop off with a damp cloth and then hacked away as much as I could with scissors. After a while I remembered that that’s exactly the way Dorothy used to behave before laying soft egg. So I created a little tiny calcium treat… That’s baby bird formula with a full crushed calcium plus D3 tablet. When I went to find flash to give it to her, I found her in the nest box. As soon as I arrived she stepped out of the box and was standing with a penguin stance and straining. Then I could see something come out, but it was behind her so I wasn’t sure what it was. Then she turned around and I watched her leave a second deposit. This is what she laid back to back.

After that she cuddled in my lap for a long time, what she doesn’t normally do. She was quite exhausted. Then she did this.

Finally, she forged around just a tiny bit and went to bed along with everyone else.

She surely wasn't very "Flashy" after laying those. Poor baby. I'm glad you were able to comfort her.

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

It has almost been 24 hours and the difference in Ezzie is night and day. The biggest change has been in her eating habits. She was terrible to get to eat, and when she did start eating it was not with much interest. Minutes after I put the new chicks in they started eating and that triggered something in Ezzie. She is now a chow hound and for the first time her crop has been full to bursting several times. I was afraid that she would be afraid of them when she first met them. When we got home before I brought the box of chicks in I went and peeked at her. She was passed out sleeping. I brought the box in and set it on the floor and they started peeping. She popped right up and excitedly starting peeping back. I took her out of the brooder and introduced her to them one by one. She ran up to them, did a little chest bump and started pecking their toes and beaks. They are still asleep right now, and she is snuggled up right in the middle of the pile of chicks with her head on one of the buffs back. I've had them out a few times and of the new chicks 3 really like me and already hop up in my lap and one got up on my shoulder. The 3 that are the friendliest happen to be the Cinnamons. Mom explained last night why she ignored me and had to have 3 of them. She never had chickens growing up, but when she visited my great-grandmother several times a year growing up she would go out and play with her hens and babies. They are what she had and she's always wanted some like them. Ok I understand that because if I ever come across Dominique chicks even if I do not need more hens I will probably come home with at least 2 chicks as those were my first ever chickens when I was about 3 and the memories from them are a bright spot in my childhood. She also threw a wrench in my plans with these chicks last night. Knowing I would have to get Ezzie siblings I had a arrangement in place to place all but 1 of the chicks when they were about 8 weeks old. My cousin who took the hatching eggs last week told me she would take any of the extra pullets I had when the time came. That was why I did not buy any straight run chicks. Mom said last night instead of just keeping 1 or 2 of them, she's keeping them all. She did the math and assuming the 6 are indeed pullets that would bring the number of hens up to 24 hens. She still thinks Ezzie is a boy so did not include her in that number and that Ezzie will get to go live with my grandpa who has claimed her. When I told her of my plans, she threw a twenty at me and was like, nope, throw those plans out you didn't buy the chicks I did they are now mine. Ok fine, in 2 weeks, I'm moving the brooder in your bedroom.

 

[BY Bob]

The Guardian

I was watching the tribe on camera the other day while on an excruciating conference call that would not end. And I caught this fascinating behavior.

Aurora got up onto Maleficent's old roost in the run and did what I can only describe as "watched over" the tribe. She did not do extensive grooming or anything really other than stand on the roost with an almost rooster like stance. It was really interesting to see.

@Ribh @micstrachan @MaryJanet @LozzyR @Aussie-Chookmum @Shadrach @Marie2020 @ChicoryBlue

 

[BY Bob]

It has almost been 24 hours and the difference in Ezzie is night and day. The biggest change has been in her eating habits. She was terrible to get to eat, and when she did start eating it was not with much interest. Minutes after I put the new chicks in they started eating and that triggered something in Ezzie. She is now a chow hound and for the first time her crop has been full to bursting several times. I was afraid that she would be afraid of them when she first met them. When we got home before I brought the box of chicks in I went and peeked at her. She was passed out sleeping. I brought the box in and set it on the floor and they started peeping. She popped right up and excitedly starting peeping back. I took her out of the brooder and introduced her to them one by one. She ran up to them, did a little chest bump and started pecking their toes and beaks. They are still asleep right now, and she is snuggled up right in the middle of the pile of chicks with her head on one of the buffs back. I've had them out a few times and of the new chicks 3 really like me and already hop up in my lap and one got up on my shoulder. The 3 that are the friendliest happen to be the Cinnamons. Mom explained last night why she ignored me and had to have 3 of them. She never had chickens growing up, but when she visited my great-grandmother several times a year growing up she would go out and play with her hens and babies. They are what she had and she's always wanted some like them. Ok I understand that because if I ever come across Dominique chicks even if I do not need more hens I will probably come home with at least 2 chicks as those were my first ever chickens when I was about 3 and the memories from them are a bright spot in my childhood. She also threw a wrench in my plans with these chicks last night. Knowing I would have to get Ezzie siblings I had a arrangement in place to place all but 1 of the chicks when they were about 8 weeks old. My cousin who took the hatching eggs last week told me she would take any of the extra pullets I had when the time came. That was why I did not buy any straight run chicks. Mom said last night instead of just keeping 1 or 2 of them, she's keeping them all. She did the math and assuming the 6 are indeed pullets that would bring the number of hens up to 24 hens. She still thinks Ezzie is a boy so did not include her in that number and that Ezzie will get to go live with my grandpa who has claimed her. When I told her of my plans, she threw a twenty at me and was like, nope, throw those plans out you didn't buy the chicks I did they are now mine. Ok fine, in 2 weeks, I'm moving the brooder in your bedroom.

Too many chickens is a wonderful problem to have and you have plenty of time to come to a mutually agreeable solution. Just enjoy all the chicks for now.
I'm so happy that Ezzie perked up so quickly!

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

Too many chickens is a wonderful problem to have and you have plenty of time to come to a mutually agreeable solution. Just enjoy all the chicks for now.
I'm so happy that Ezzie perked up so quickly!

I have set a limit on a number that I will not go above as far as adults go. 30 is my personal limit total. I also have reached my limit on Roosters, I have 3 that get along, live in harmony and no crowing competitions, will not add another one to the mix. I have one senior hen who is starting to show her age and that is Momma hen. I do not know her exact age, but she is at least coming up on 7 this spring, the last 4 she has had the foot handicap. She is slowing down on me, she still does her chicken things, has a good weight on her but I'm starting to see a slow decline. Spring is coming, and if the decline does not stop or get worse I have a hard decision to make soon. I truly believe that if she had not lost her foot, this tough old girl would live to her teens.

 

[GregnLety]

Misting the rain today but we are working on the silkie coop because the roof is already up.

 

[MaryJanet]

The Guardian

I was watching the tribe on camera the other day while on an excruciating conference call that would not end. And I caught this fascinating behavior.

Aurora got up onto Maleficent's old roost in the run and did what I can only describe as "watched over" the tribe. She did not do extensive grooming or anything really other than stand on the roost with an almost rooster like stance. It was really interesting to see.

@Ribh @micstrachan @MaryJanet @LozzyR @Aussie-Chookmum @Shadrach @Marie2020 @ChicoryBlue

What a great start to a video! It seemed as though Aurora was relieving Hattie, is that your understanding too?

 

[MaryJanet]

That is even more hysterical.

I fear she may get even with Ivy for that embarrassment.

She may well be dreaming up a revenge this very moment.

Made me squat. The cheek of her. I'll show her. Jump on me, will she? Not again she won'ts. I bite her. Or maybe poops her. Or flick dirts her. Or eats her treats. Or chasey. Or put bugs in hair. mmmm bugs.

 

[Kris5902]

Out of ignorance I purchased 4 cinnamon queen hens a few years ago. Out of those 4 only one remains. They were very prone to respiratory issues. The remaining hen is living a good life and is the dominant hen of her flock. Her daughter who is half EE is the boss hen of her flock but was very sick as a pullet. I have attached a picture of Gorda the half CQ. She spent so much time inside as a pullet that now she still likes coming in the kitchen for a snack. View attachment 3005769

She taught her flock that if they come to the kitchen door and make noise the big, tall guy will give them treats. Lol

Lol Sammy is like that with his girls too, and I have watched mama hens teach their chicks this. It is alarming how well trained to the phrase “outside chickens!” My hens are. I live in an RV, they live in and RV… really what’s the difference? I take in rescues, accidentally ended up with 9 extra red production type girls, and have the the Four half leghorns that are in the breeding program, too. I’m crossing out to more robust longer lives heritage breeds and it seems to be working well balance wise. No massive eggs yet, and about 4/week in season.

Hawk’s babies are all part production hen on their mama’s side, and do fairly well. Much like the intensive genetic work that’s gone into breeding the meat birds, the offspring’s traits aren’t true to their parent. I like to use the labradoodle example.

A lab and a poodle = labradoodle: a relatively consistent and reliable hybrid with stable known traits, this is a F1 hybrid. You start crossing labradoodles back to a parent breed and you get something more resembling that parent breed, but in outcrossing to different genetics, you get more wild results because although the F1 Hybrid is consistent in its characteristics, the genetics it passes on are actually very random from whichever parent, so breeding two Labradoodles gets you dogs that are anywhere between a poodle and a Labrador, not more labradoodles. Generally you need to selectively line breed and backcross to parents to stabilize the traits you want to a F4 before a hybrid is anywhere near reliable for breeding purposes. I used to work in growing indoor “tomatoes” here in BC, where that is legal, and this light background brought my natural interests in reptiles to the ball python genetic morph breeding world, which is quite sophisticated in breeding for different patterns. I’m now taking this experience into trying to bring my flock to a good stable productive point without the exploitative negatives of only caring about the production levels and feed conversion rates that has brought us the production layers and CX/meat Hybrids.

Even more interesting, aside from Chunk, all the (few) hens produced from my Curvy girl crew (various ranger type Meat hybrid holdbacks I’m trying to breed into my flock) the growth rate is
quite a bit slower, and they have way less overall size, but a Lot of their parents conformation in body type (square, broad, etc) just much smaller and at a Slower growth rate.