Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[ChicoryBlue]

I confess to some nervousness about what Dotty will teach Birdie. The whole pecking thing gets less cute as they get bigger!

Peanut has gotten a bit rough in her poking and tugging and pecked bare skin (my wrist) the other day, leaving two purple marks I still see. I flick-poked her head and neck and made urgent mad unhappy sounds, to let her know that is not acceptable! She seemed to avoid the bare skin after that, but we shall see.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Ah yes. Just kidding. None of mine are lap chickens but they seem to all think I am good company as well as handy around the house.

The Buckeyes are not lap chickens but they trust me around them. I can move among them, they are always eating snow off my boots, checking out my clothes, etc. They will let me pick them up, and look at them closely, whatever I need or want to do, but they are a bit nervous about it. I think it feels funny to them to have my hand under them and they tell me so, and they make more noise when I lift and they get airborne. I'm sure that must feel weird. They keep up a little talk as they stand on my knee with my hand gently holding them there and I ruffle around with my other hand, but they tolerate it. When I put them down or I let them jump down, they quickly come back.

 

[lightm]

I was very despondent last night. I'm not sure quite what prompted me to do it; maybe having a phone easily to hand. I rang my friend Mohammed. I think I've mentioned, he keeps Game Fowl.
I told him as much as I could about Fat Birds problem. He suggested massage. He said back in thhe day when his father had fighting cocks, sometimes a cock would get upended and land on his lower back. This dislocated caudal vertebrae
and sometimes damaged the nerves that send balance signals from the 'tail' nerves to the brain. We think, Gloria and I, that Fat Bird either banged her back just above this region, or now I think in retrospect that it is more likely that a tool handle such as a rake or broom got knocked over and hit her. All Tribe 1 was spending a lot of time in the care port at the time and stuff is always falling over.
Mohammed explained what I should feel for and a bit about how to massage gently pushing the joints upwards.
I gave it a try early this morning.
You would not believe the difference it made.
Fat Bird has been with her tribe all day. Her balance while not great is much improved. Considering yesterday she sat in just about the same place all day and hardly ate anything the change in her general demeanour is remarkable.
Let me show you.
This is the North earth retaining wall next to my house. There was no way Fat Bird would have attempted to come down this way yesterday; she would have split from the tribe and come down the South wall which has steps.
View attachment 2597817View attachment 2597819View attachment 2597822
Here she's having a bit of a sunbath and grooming. She hasn't been grooming much for quite a few days.
View attachment 2597823
Much better overall posture here and although you can't see it her feet are much better positioned.
View attachment 2597824
This is the one that had me worried. This slope is steep and if I have to go down it at this point I use a rope tied to the fence. The whole tribe had been down there and I saw the rest come over the top without Fat Bird and looked over the top of the fence expecting to see her stuck and sat down. She's eating on her way up. She made it all the way no problem.
View attachment 2597825View attachment 2597826

Mohammed says that the bones are unlikely to properly align again and if a nerve is damaged it's doubtful that it will properly repair. However, he believes that provided some relief is possible a chicken will in time learn to compensate for the lack of nerve response.
His view is that much like humans after an accident that damages the nervous system and may make walking almost impossible, if some relief can be provided they will learn to adapt. If on the other hand it is always too difficult then they stop trying.
Fat Bird still stumbled a bit today but I didn't see her fall over and she was normally active all day from what I could see. She went to roost with her tribe this evening. She was already on the perch when I went to look for her expecting she wanted carrying to the coop.
None of the above will sort out her internal problems but while she's coping with those I want to see her active, with her tribe and eating at least some commercial feed.
We all have to die, but I don't want her suffering needlessly on route.
I'm going to give her a half dose of Metacam in the evenings. Being in pain during the day for me at least is bearable. Being in pain when I'm trying to sleep, which is our natural escape, pisses me off and in time just brings me down.

Wow, this is incredible.

 

[featherhead007]

I hope all is well or will be ok

Thanks.

 

[featherhead007]

I’m going to have to add a fence in the yard. With a new gate. I’m tired of chasing the chooks away from the main gate (near the highway.) they might lose a little land to bug hunt on, but it’s better than losing birds.

 

[RoyalChick]

Soooo, for the first time in his young life Branch just flogged the back of my boots. In all honesty, instead of being angry with him I'm proud of him. I brought it all on myself. When I went out to bring the chicks in for the night I came with a bun to give them a treat before bed. I found Branch talking to the chicks through the door and acting like he wanted inside with them. I decided I would let him in to see how he would react to them. I tore up the bun and scattered it around the coop and let Branch come in. He immediately started tearing up the bread into smaller pieces and calling the chicks to him. They came running and he started picking up bits of bread and letting them take it from his beak. After the bread was gone he sat down still talking to them and one of the orps hopped up onto his back and sat there for a minute. The whole time I'm praising him telling him what a good boy he was. I hope to recreate this tomorrow and I will have the camera with me when I do. Anyway, it is getting dark so I start trying to catch the hooligans who are not ready to come inside. I grabbed one of the EEs and it let out a shriek like I was killing it and Branch immediately attacked. I have never saw him so mad. I let go of the chick and it ran and hid behind him while Branch is standing guard growling at me. I was not thinking and should have put Branch back outside of the coop before trying to round up the chicks. I picked him up and put him out and then spent a good 5 minutes chasing the uncooperative chicks around the coop before I had them all. The whole time Branch was doing his best to get back inside to get me again. This protectiveness has given me a plan though. This next week the chicks are going to spend the day outside, with supervised visits with Branch. Next week I will allow supervised time outside the coop, and I hope Branch is still watching over them. I think Branch will be my best bet to teach them the ropes to free ranging and will keep the bigger hens from picking on them.

What a great roo!

 

[RoyalChick]

This might help - have you tried not approaching them from above? If they can't fall out, have the brooder up on something so you aren't looming over them when you're around. Or at least sit down alongside the brooder if it's on the floor. Put your hand in and down along a side far away from them, and rest your arm on the brooder floor. Leave it there for a long time, not moving, for them to approach and eventually explore. Let them jump and crawl (and poop) on it. Start moving your hand only a little bit - like slowly moving fingers - after a while. Eventually do things food-oriented with it - tap on the food to draw them to it, tap on the water dish. Hold a bit of chick starter in between your fingers, showing it to them. Hope that helps. You are NOT somehow unlikeable in the chicken world, I can't believe that!

Brooder is on a table so I am always at eye level. I rarely open the top - only if I need to really adjust something. Bernadette perched on my fingers today, but the others freak out as soon as I start unzipping the entrance.

 

[rural mouse]

Soooo, for the first time in his young life Branch just flogged the back of my boots. In all honesty, instead of being angry with him I'm proud of him. I brought it all on myself. When I went out to bring the chicks in for the night I came with a bun to give them a treat before bed. I found Branch talking to the chicks through the door and acting like he wanted inside with them. I decided I would let him in to see how he would react to them. I tore up the bun and scattered it around the coop and let Branch come in. He immediately started tearing up the bread into smaller pieces and calling the chicks to him. They came running and he started picking up bits of bread and letting them take it from his beak. After the bread was gone he sat down still talking to them and one of the orps hopped up onto his back and sat there for a minute. The whole time I'm praising him telling him what a good boy he was. I hope to recreate this tomorrow and I will have the camera with me when I do. Anyway, it is getting dark so I start trying to catch the hooligans who are not ready to come inside. I grabbed one of the EEs and it let out a shriek like I was killing it and Branch immediately attacked. I have never saw him so mad. I let go of the chick and it ran and hid behind him while Branch is standing guard growling at me. I was not thinking and should have put Branch back outside of the coop before trying to round up the chicks. I picked him up and put him out and then spent a good 5 minutes chasing the uncooperative chicks around the coop before I had them all. The whole time Branch was doing his best to get back inside to get me again. This protectiveness has given me a plan though. This next week the chicks are going to spend the day outside, with supervised visits with Branch. Next week I will allow supervised time outside the coop, and I hope Branch is still watching over them. I think Branch will be my best bet to teach them the ropes to free ranging and will keep the bigger hens from picking on them.

You have a great daddy with him!

 

[featherhead007]

I’m going to have to add a fence in the yard. With a new gate. I’m tired of chasing the chooks away from the main gate (near the highway.) they might lose a little land to bug hunt on, but it’s better than losing birds.

“Tell my daddy, we don’t want any fence!”

 

[BY Bob]

I'm sure I saw a worm and you are not having it
View attachment 3043688

Excellent!