Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Right now, she is not having difficulty breathing thankfully. I watched her yesterday as we spent the day out mowing and I took over stall duty. I did not have to do stalls, but I needed a break of hard physical labor to get rid of frustration and so whether they needed it or not they got gutted. While I was out there Daisy stayed fairly close. She had a better apatite and was underfoot trying to search for any goodies the horses had dropped. She felt like digging in the manure pile as well and had several dust bathing sessions. I did catch her i think 3 times standing in a position with her tail hanging down that suggested she was uncomfortable but it did not last long. My vet has property he bought a mile up the road that he is logging and getting ready to put cattle on so he is all the time up in our holler. I made a point to watch for him yesterday afternoon and stopped him on his way out to have him feel the mass. He did and while he said he is no chicken expert in his opinion it is not a abscess but a tumor. We discussed the antibiotics I had on hand and does not think they will have any affect. I can give her baby aspirin for pain if I feel it is needed. He pretty much confirmed what I suspect and will do. Keep a eye on her, the minute she takes a downward turn end her suffering. I may have her another day or week or maybe longer but I doubt much longer. When the time comes she is being buried in a spot of honor under our River Birch tree beside my old golden retriever and 2 previous house bunnies.

I am so very sorry. I'm glad you are giving her what quality time she has.

Hello to all followers of this huge wonderful thread and to @BY Bob who kindly invited me to participate.
I have something to confess...I've been silently lurking here for a while. I feel kind of guilty as if I had been spying . I'm probably not going to post very often as this thread is already very dense, and I already ramble far too much on Shadrach ex-batts thread, but I did want to introduce myself and my chickens. I will feel more at ease to like or comment on some of your posts.

I am a french city gal that moved in summer 2019 to the country, in my partner's family old house in the prealps. In January 2020, we got six three months old ex-battery hens as livestock. They quickly became our new friends. Meet Blanche, Nougat, Caramel, Cannelle, Brune and Vanille.
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Last December a farmer gave us a couple of bantams : a teenage awkward cockerel and a feral girl. Théo turned into a pretty bullying young rooster bigger than a bantam, Chipie stayed feral. Integration was a disaster but no one died and now they are more or less part of the flock.
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I must add that we got two sibling barn kittens, Hibou and Tila, in November 2020 to solve a mice problem.
A year went by and they had become my partner's spoilt children.
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Our next addition will be two ponies but we still have a bit of work to get our settings ready before that.
I've been way too long but at least I won't feel so creepy now when I read about all of you . Have a nice Friday and week-end everyone.

I'm so glad you chose come out of the shadows. Your chickens are beautiful and your cats adorable. And your views aren't half bad either.

Welcome to the group. I am so glad you have officially joined.

 

[RoyalChick]

You are such a kind person to check in. I’m slowly getting better and have even had a little energy to do some tree work! Last night after work, I dropped a few hundred pounds of tree branches. The live oak branches are so heavy, I take them down in pieces so I don’t get hurt or wreck something. My powered pole saw isn’t long enough to reach the upper branches, so I also got a manual pole saw. Two Red Shouldered Hawks came screaming over the yard, so I jumped down to alert and protect tge chickens. This is how it looked when I dropped everything.
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Felling oak branches is not considered 'taking it easy'. Just saying.
Seriously, look after yourself!

 

[BY Bob]

The difficult part to wrap my mind around is that she only just turned 2 in February. She is not a high production breed and she gets a tumor. I am going to try to focus that she has lived those 2 years happy, never cooped up and got to eat snakes and fish and whatever else she chose to her hearts content. She never chose to be a momma, she has always had more important things to do. She does have 2 granddaughters and a great-granddaughter in Lilly to leave behind thanks to other broody girls and the incubator. I will miss her terribly as of the 2 original marans hens she has been my steadfast friendliest hen.

It might help to consider the lifespan of a chicken. If you consider 7 years old to be an elderly chicken say equivalent to a 70 year old human then she was in her 20s. Sadly I know of several people who have had cancer in their 20s.

I think you are right to focus on the excellent life she had with you. I have had too much experience lately but the knowledge that they enjoyed their life here gives me great comfort.

 

[BY Bob]

Fluffy Butt Friday

To start we have a couple of fluffys to showcase

Truly...
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And Missy (looking at squirrels)
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Hey you don't walk away, were you going??? Oh I know the nest box...
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Yep definitely broody... Curly
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Misty my fine feathered friend
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Buttercup thinks she also would like to be broody
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And finish off with my pretty Plum tree - hoping for lots of plums
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Happy Friday everyone!

Wonderful photos! I hope you get lots of plums too!

 

[BY Bob]

You are such a kind person to check in. I’m slowly getting better and have even had a little energy to do some tree work! Last night after work, I dropped a few hundred pounds of tree branches. The live oak branches are so heavy, I take them down in pieces so I don’t get hurt or wreck something. My powered pole saw isn’t long enough to reach the upper branches, so I also got a manual pole saw. Two Red Shouldered Hawks came screaming over the yard, so I jumped down to alert and protect tge chickens. This is how it looked when I dropped everything.
View attachment 3105606

You be careful that high up on a ladder!

 

[ManueB]

I'm so glad you chose come out of the shadows. Your chickens are beautiful and your cats adorable. And your views aren't half bad either.

Welcome to the group. I am so glad you have officially joined.

Thank you for your welcome. I love seeing all the photos on the thread also and reading about all your different experiences keeping chickens and other animals. I learn a lot.

So glad you joined your animals are adorable and your place is fantastic. Don't feel shy about posting - we are all very chatty and love to share pictures of our chickens and our cats!
But, as it is Friday it would be lovely if you could honor the tradition of this thread and post a picture of (at least) one of your chickens' fluffy butts - picture #2 cojld perhaps count as it has one hen showing a half-fluff to the camera!

I had to take a photo as I have to admit I didn't find any candid picture of butts in my phone's storage .

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

Hello to all followers of this huge wonderful thread and to @BY Bob who kindly invited me to participate.
I have something to confess...I've been silently lurking here for a while. I feel kind of guilty as if I had been spying . I'm probably not going to post very often as this thread is already very dense, and I already ramble far too much on Shadrach ex-batts thread, but I did want to introduce myself and my chickens. I will feel more at ease to like or comment on some of your posts.

I am a french city gal that moved in summer 2019 to the country, in my partner's family old house in the prealps. In January 2020, we got six three months old ex-battery hens as livestock. They quickly became our new friends. Meet Blanche, Nougat, Caramel, Cannelle, Brune and Vanille.
View attachment 3105524

View attachment 3105523
Last December a farmer gave us a couple of bantams : a teenage awkward cockerel and a feral girl. Théo turned into a pretty bullying young rooster bigger than a bantam, Chipie stayed feral. Integration was a disaster but no one died and now they are more or less part of the flock.
View attachment 3105530
View attachment 3105529

View attachment 3105531
I must add that we got two sibling barn kittens, Hibou and Tila, in November 2020 to solve a mice problem.
A year went by and they had become my partner's spoilt children.
View attachment 3105540

View attachment 3105537
Our next addition will be two ponies but we still have a bit of work to get our settings ready before that.
I've been way too long but at least I won't feel so creepy now when I read about all of you . Have a nice Friday and week-end everyone.

Glad to meet you! Your chickens are beautiful and your cats are so adorable.
Can’t wait to see your future ponies!

 

[RoyalChick]

Thank you for your welcome. I love seeing all the photos on the thread also and reading about all your different experiences keeping chickens and other animals. I learn a lot.

I had to take a photo as I have to admit I didn't find any candid picture of butts in my phone's storage .
View attachment 3105688

Perfect!

 

[Ponypoor]

Right now, she is not having difficulty breathing thankfully. I watched her yesterday as we spent the day out mowing and I took over stall duty. I did not have to do stalls, but I needed a break of hard physical labor to get rid of frustration and so whether they needed it or not they got gutted. While I was out there Daisy stayed fairly close. She had a better apatite and was underfoot trying to search for any goodies the horses had dropped. She felt like digging in the manure pile as well and had several dust bathing sessions. I did catch her i think 3 times standing in a position with her tail hanging down that suggested she was uncomfortable but it did not last long. My vet has property he bought a mile up the road that he is logging and getting ready to put cattle on so he is all the time up in our holler. I made a point to watch for him yesterday afternoon and stopped him on his way out to have him feel the mass. He did and while he said he is no chicken expert in his opinion it is not a abscess but a tumor. We discussed the antibiotics I had on hand and does not think they will have any affect. I can give her baby aspirin for pain if I feel it is needed. He pretty much confirmed what I suspect and will do. Keep a eye on her, the minute she takes a downward turn end her suffering. I may have her another day or week or maybe longer but I doubt much longer. When the time comes she is being buried in a spot of honor under our River Birch tree beside my old golden retriever and 2 previous house bunnies.

Oh no

I know you will make sure she has a good with of the rest of her days. You are a wonderful chicken mama. I have much respect for you

If ever you need to vent or chat slip me a PM...

 

[Ponypoor]

Hello to all followers of this huge wonderful thread and to @BY Bob who kindly invited me to participate.
I have something to confess...I've been silently lurking here for a while. I feel kind of guilty as if I had been spying . I'm probably not going to post very often as this thread is already very dense, and I already ramble far too much on Shadrach ex-batts thread, but I did want to introduce myself and my chickens. I will feel more at ease to like or comment on some of your posts.

I am a french city gal that moved in summer 2019 to the country, in my partner's family old house in the prealps. In January 2020, we got six three months old ex-battery hens as livestock. They quickly became our new friends. Meet Blanche, Nougat, Caramel, Cannelle, Brune and Vanille.
View attachment 3105524

View attachment 3105523
Last December a farmer gave us a couple of bantams : a teenage awkward cockerel and a feral girl. Théo turned into a pretty bullying young rooster bigger than a bantam, Chipie stayed feral. Integration was a disaster but no one died and now they are more or less part of the flock.
View attachment 3105530
View attachment 3105529

View attachment 3105531
I must add that we got two sibling barn kittens, Hibou and Tila, in November 2020 to solve a mice problem.
A year went by and they had become my partner's spoilt children.
View attachment 3105540

View attachment 3105537
Our next addition will be two ponies but we still have a bit of work to get our settings ready before that.
I've been way too long but at least I won't feel so creepy now when I read about all of you . Have a nice Friday and week-end everyone.

They are all beautiful! Your Roo is lovely.

Welcome we are a chatty bunch.....

Some of us here have horses and ponies (photos are post on Sundays), Kris has goats , lots of cats (we post photos of our cats on Saturday and also on Ribh's thread), and I am hoping a certain someone will post Alligator pics

I look forward to seeing more of you fine feathered and furred friends!