Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[RoyalChick]

What about the bootie for a few days, it acted as a leg support before?

So far I don't think she needs it. Her leg isn't right, but she isn't walking on the back of her curled up toes like she was and at times she gets it flat on the floor.
I am really hoping it will resolve itself - the trouble is I am watching too closely so I see one normal movement and I am celebrating and then I see her all weird again and I get depressed. I need to train myself to compare only once a day or something like that.
I feel a bit paralized - do I put in the effort to remodel the Chicken Palace to accommodate a lame Princess? If so, how exactly as I don't know what her end state will be? How do I help her integrate when she doesn't have speed on her side?
Sorry, just off-loading. I am trying to take each day as it comes, but I do think we are now holding back integration and I am not sure how to help with that.

 

[micstrachan]

Now in attempting to gather twofer pictures I was hanging out and getting some good videos of dust bathing, watching the flock, the different Tribes, and Roosters interacting… and it occurred to me that poor Trouble hasn’t had the chance to really get a good dust bath in over a month now. So I went to fetch her and had her in my arms when I spotted a certain goat (Jimmy) trying to eat the plastic cover from the greenhouse poles in the bathtub in the yard (yeah I’m slowly getting the house together, it’s just a little tossed all over my yard, it’s fine) so I rush over, put Trouble down in the yard in front of my trailer and go to move the mischievous Goatling. I was mid move when the jerks spotted her. Turns out she can’t walk but she can run just fine. She sprinted all the way to the garbage cans, hormonal jerk in hot pursuit, being chased by the funny rooster screaming threats of punting at him.

She took shelter between the feed cans, he hopped on, and a second or two later got swatted off of her, none too softly. I carried her over to the far waterer, where we were joined by meatball one and meatball two, before going over to the favourite dust bathing spot. After several minutes of the human rooster clearly settling down to supervise, Sammy and Dean both moved off to other pursuits with their own tribes and I was left in Charge of the bathing and watching Spike, Elios, Baldy, the Jerk guy, and a bunch of hens. The tribe/Flock dynamics are interesting. Trouble got some more enrichment and I took a good while to just sit with the birds on a little branch. The geese and seven goslings came by for a visit. And now I’m just waiting on DH to come back from the store and mail run (four hours later… ) so we can walk the goats.

Sitting with the chickens before Sammy and Dean leave me in charge:

How peaceful and lovely.

 

[RoyalChick]

Aw, Bernadette. Sweet baby. I hope the supplements help. Do you know for sure she us getting her share of feed? Does she get any private feedings. H’d be offering bavy bird formula in this situation. However, I may be curbing that in general due to the fat problem. I need to check the dat content. I would not worry about it for a sick baby.

I am confident she is eating as much as the others and she is a 'master pooper'.
I have a slight worry about food for all of them, which is they have stopped eating out of the feeder. Basically they tip it all on the floor and then spend the whole day digging for it in the shavings.
In one way this is good because Bernadette digs with the rest of them an I have to believe that is good physical therapy for her.
In another way it is worrying as I have literally no idea how much any of them eat. My main reassuring way of judging is that they are all now huge and when I grab Bernadette I can feel the body tone and strength in her - she is a solidly built little chicken I must say!

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Good Morning Everyone

I think you piped in some boks!
The camera must have a two-way speaker/mic system?

 

[RoyalChick]

SHRAView attachment 3094422View attachment 3094424

Who is the chicken in the front in the second picture? So pretty!

 

[BY Bob]

How does she like the hair dryer?

She air dried today. No blow drier.

 

[BY Bob]

Poor Betty! How did she fare?

Quite well considering.

 

[micstrachan]

So far I don't think she needs it. Her leg isn't right, but she isn't walking on the back of her curled up toes like she was and at times she gets it flat on the floor.
I am really hoping it will resolve itself - the trouble is I am watching too closely so I see one normal movement and I am celebrating and then I see her all weird again and I get depressed. I need to train myself to compare only once a day or something like that.
I feel a bit paralized - do I put in the effort to remodel the Chicken Palace to accommodate a lame Princess? If so, how exactly as I don't know what her end state will be? How do I help her integrate when she doesn't have speed on her side?
Sorry, just off-loading. I am trying to take each day as it comes, but I do think we are now holding back integration and I am not sure how to help with that.

When I integrated babies, I had a dog crate and a pet carrier on the lawn for them to escape to, and stood guard so no bullies could follow them in. It actually worked pretty well. Eventually, one of the babies decided it was time to roost with the big girls, and that was it. I integrated over the course of a couple weeks.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Betty went to bed on the nest trying to lay her egg last night and it must have popped out early this morning. They woke me up. I'm hoping they did not wake up any neighbors.

Oh! I thought Betty was only answering!

 

[micstrachan]

I am confident she is eating as much as the others and she is a 'master pooper'.
I have a slight worry about food for all of them, which is they have stopped eating out of the feeder. Basically they tip it all on the floor and then spend the whole day digging for it in the shavings.
In one way this is good because Bernadette digs with the rest of them an I have to believe that is good physical therapy for her.
In another way it is worrying as I have literally no idea how much any of them eat. My main reassuring way of judging is that they are all now huge and when I grab Bernadette I can feel the body tone and strength in her - she is a solidly built little chicken I must say!

Excellent!