Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Look at These Bums!

II's Friday!

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

We need more leghorns around here. We are just about out of them. I'm glad you are adding one. Could I get a picture? Please.

There are two new leghorns here! I am calling them Lucy and Ethel.

 

[bgmathteach]

What kind of comb so they have?

I can't tell yet. I can only rule out walnut and/or the forked polish comb...but I know they aren't Polish because no top knot. In a couple more days I should be able to see the 'serrations' of a single comb...but they are only 2 days old atm.

The Appenzeller is another maybe: crest doesn't seem to have the knob fluff to start with, but pops it early.

Good to know. I've never owned a tufted breed,,,wasn't sure when you start to see them. I thought @RoyalChick 's Minnnie & Dottie showed them early, but no longer remember if right away or a couple of weeks in.

Could I get a picture? Please.

Sorry, @BY Bob , it wasn't intentional. I was trying to stay away from high production breeds (read my next post on why). However I will take more pics. when I get home from work this afternoon, & post them.

 

[RoyalChick]

Good to know. I've never owned a tufted breed,,,wasn't sure when you start to see them. I thought @RoyalChick 's Minnnie & Dottie showed them early, but no longer remember if right away or a couple of weeks in.

Minnie and Dotty started showing early signs of a crest at week 3 - very subtle. And Lulu is now just over 3 weeks old and has started a most peculiar crest - more like an antenna than a hat!
I will get pictures later and show comparison with Minnie and Dotty's little caps at the same date.

 

[bgmathteach]

So, I don't know if any of you are aware of this...but I went from around 35-40ish chickens to around 70-75ish this past year (permanent ones, after processing extra boys and some of the older girls..plus 9 ducks). Well part of the reason for this 'explosion' was that TSC was A) selling chicks for 50 cents each REGULARLY last year, and B) I practically live there...and when some were getting too old & flying - setting off the alarm at night - the assistant manager said 'I"ll sell them to you for 10 cents each if you take all of them.' And he didn't count well. Of those, I sold a few to someone who works with hubby (at cost) once they were 10 weeks old, as she wanted to get into chickens for her grandkids...who now live with her (and there parents)

Okay...so I never wanted hybrids after all the talk here....nor leghorns due to all the production related issues. I now, however, have a number of ?Isa Browns?. Two days ago, one had a prolapse. She is only 8 mos. old, and is already frequently laying super huge double yolkers a couple of times a week I 'fixed' the prolapse. Well, Last night was my late night at work, so hubby let the chooks out to free range when he got home, topped them up with feed & h2o. I go to check on them and she is A) Prolapsed badly. B) The outside edge of prolapse is dried out & has feces caked on it, and is sticking out about twice as far as the other day. Sure enough, there is another HUGE egg in teh nest box she uses. I tried cleaning everything off, but the tissue doesn't look good...and she clearly was having trouble pooping...she had to force it out around the prolapse. I did the bet I could last night, but I don't see this as ever getting betterSo, I decided to cull her. I will do it tonight when I get home...so I have good light to work...and won't waste her body. Blessed and cursed...she was the friendliest of the ISAs..Blessed because she was very patient when I tried to help her, cursed because it only makes it harder to make that decision. I was on the fence about it last night...but, this morning, I realized it was the best thing to do for her.

@BY Bob : This is why I wouldn't intentionally get a leghorn. It is hard enough for me to process chickens that I KNOW I am going to process...but to have to put one down that is so young and I was planning on keeping...that is the pits.

 

[bgmathteach]

this thread makes me miss my girls. Its spring and everybody is geting chicks... we moved to a stinkin' HOA.

Bantams......in the house/balcony?????

 

[rural mouse]

I can't tell yet. I can only rule out walnut and/or the forked polish comb...but I know they aren't Polish because no top knot. In a couple more days I should be able to see the 'serrations' of a single comb...but they are only 2 days old atm.


Good to know. I've never owned a tufted breed,,,wasn't sure when you start to see them. I thought @RoyalChick 's Minnnie & Dottie showed them early, but no longer remember if right away or a couple of weeks in.


Sorry, @BY Bob , it wasn't intentional. I was trying to stay away from high production breeds (read my next post on why). However I will take more pics. when I get home from work this afternoon, & post them.

The Houdan and Appenzeller both have V combs. Not sure how that would translate into the Cookie hybrid (probably depends upon what they're crossed with). Ancona and the Exchequer both have straight combs. Hamburg have rose combs. My Storm has a crest (tiny) that didn't pop up until the 12 week moult. Theoretically, both PITA and Blanche should have crests, but they've never developed them. They're also supposed to lay blue eggs, but lay white instead. Rose/Pea combs tend to look like a flat wedge across the upper part of the beak and dividing the head fluff. No ridge at all. Even at 2 days old, there is a visual difference. The rose comb can pink up at 3 weeks on both pullet and cockerel. Wattles on cockerel grow early, comb size grows early too (like right after the wattles start appearing). Rose comb pullets tend to look like they had a close encounter with a pink lipstick down their forehead until the 12 week plus mark (sometimes they get the wattle line with the comb pink, those grow in sync with the comb).

 

[rural mouse]

So, I don't know if any of you are aware of this...but I went from around 35-40ish chickens to around 70-75ish this past year (permanent ones, after processing extra boys and some of the older girls..plus 9 ducks). Well part of the reason for this 'explosion' was that TSC was A) selling chicks for 50 cents each REGULARLY last year, and B) I practically live there...and when some were getting too old & flying - setting off the alarm at night - the assistant manager said 'I"ll sell them to you for 10 cents each if you take all of them.' And he didn't count well. Of those, I sold a few to someone who works with hubby (at cost) once they were 10 weeks old, as she wanted to get into chickens for her grandkids...who now live with her (and there parents)

Okay...so I never wanted hybrids after all the talk here....nor leghorns due to all the production related issues. I now, however, have a number of ?Isa Browns?. Two days ago, one had a prolapse. She is only 8 mos. old, and is already frequently laying super huge double yolkers a couple of times a week I 'fixed' the prolapse. Well, Last night was my late night at work, so hubby let the chooks out to free range when he got home, topped them up with feed & h2o. I go to check on them and she is A) Prolapsed badly. B) The outside edge of prolapse is dried out & has feces caked on it, and is sticking out about twice as far as the other day. Sure enough, there is another HUGE egg in teh nest box she uses. I tried cleaning everything off, but the tissue doesn't look good...and she clearly was having trouble pooping...she had to force it out around the prolapse. I did the bet I could last night, but I don't see this as ever getting betterSo, I decided to cull her. I will do it tonight when I get home...so I have good light to work...and won't waste her body. Blessed and cursed...she was the friendliest of the ISAs..Blessed because she was very patient when I tried to help her, cursed because it only makes it harder to make that decision. I was on the fence about it last night...but, this morning, I realized it was the best thing to do for her.

@BY Bob : This is why I wouldn't intentionally get a leghorn. It is hard enough for me to process chickens that I KNOW I am going to process...but to have to put one down that is so young and I was planning on keeping...that is the pits.

Had a similar situation with one of the Partridge Rocks at about the same age. The friendliest of the lot. Only time have experience a prolapse, and hope to never have it again.

 

[RoyalChick]

So, I don't know if any of you are aware of this...but I went from around 35-40ish chickens to around 70-75ish this past year (permanent ones, after processing extra boys and some of the older girls..plus 9 ducks). Well part of the reason for this 'explosion' was that TSC was A) selling chicks for 50 cents each REGULARLY last year, and B) I practically live there...and when some were getting too old & flying - setting off the alarm at night - the assistant manager said 'I"ll sell them to you for 10 cents each if you take all of them.' And he didn't count well. Of those, I sold a few to someone who works with hubby (at cost) once they were 10 weeks old, as she wanted to get into chickens for her grandkids...who now live with her (and there parents)

Okay...so I never wanted hybrids after all the talk here....nor leghorns due to all the production related issues. I now, however, have a number of ?Isa Browns?. Two days ago, one had a prolapse. She is only 8 mos. old, and is already frequently laying super huge double yolkers a couple of times a week I 'fixed' the prolapse. Well, Last night was my late night at work, so hubby let the chooks out to free range when he got home, topped them up with feed & h2o. I go to check on them and she is A) Prolapsed badly. B) The outside edge of prolapse is dried out & has feces caked on it, and is sticking out about twice as far as the other day. Sure enough, there is another HUGE egg in teh nest box she uses. I tried cleaning everything off, but the tissue doesn't look good...and she clearly was having trouble pooping...she had to force it out around the prolapse. I did the bet I could last night, but I don't see this as ever getting betterSo, I decided to cull her. I will do it tonight when I get home...so I have good light to work...and won't waste her body. Blessed and cursed...she was the friendliest of the ISAs..Blessed because she was very patient when I tried to help her, cursed because it only makes it harder to make that decision. I was on the fence about it last night...but, this morning, I realized it was the best thing to do for her.

@BY Bob : This is why I wouldn't intentionally get a leghorn. It is hard enough for me to process chickens that I KNOW I am going to process...but to have to put one down that is so young and I was planning on keeping...that is the pits.

So hard.

 

[RoyalChick]

Minnie and Dotty started showing early signs of a crest at week 3 - very subtle. And Lulu is now just over 3 weeks old and has started a most peculiar crest - more like an antenna than a hat!
I will get pictures later and show comparison with Minnie and Dotty's little caps at the same date.

So here goes.
Dotty or possibly Minnie at three and a half weeks. You can see the start of an elegant little hat developing.

And here is Lulu at the same age deploying her antenna to communicate with other alien chicks on faraway planets.