Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[RoyalChick]

That is truly the most beautiful thing I have seen all day… like fast car taxes, so shiny… now I am not bmgenerally a fan of those low profile tires… but I have to say on her they look quite good (post has been heavily edited to remain family friendly, and I think Kristen deserves a gold star for that! because she has spent too much time dating gear heads and guys that now have custom shops and build hot rods and was
Raised with sailor grandpa’s!)

I was so not expecting that from you!

 

[RoyalChick]

Bed times at my house are very different: within ten minutes of sunset everyone is roosting for the night.

I find the kids like to stay up late. Typical teenagers maybe?

 

[RoyalChick]

Yup, pretty much the same here, well, except for the duckies. Add another 1/2 hour on for them!. My oldest girls (3-5 y.o.s - ones I haven't processed for one reason or another - basically because I couldn't!) start heading in first (at around 7:30 pm here atm), then my 'route 66 tribe', but that is because their 'coop' is in deep shade and gets dark earlier than the others....they are only 1 year olds.) Then my broody mommas head in with the youngsters; then my 1.5 -2 y. o. girls...then my ducks start *thinking* about going to bed. About a third of the duckies (always including my older girls that are 4 or 5) wander into the coop, then turn around and wander back out. For the next 30 - 60 min some will wander in....turn around saying 'hmm, nope, still some light left, we can party some more!" while the others are still milling around in the run. Always, though, what a ruckus with the ducks! Quack, quack quack, especially when the two groups get separated (i.e. some are in the coop, some out). And trying to herd them into the coop solo is usually quite unsuccessful and literally gets me running in circles! ( around the red coop...no, no, lets hide around the pine tree this time...ooops, mommy, we slithered by the door again and played ring around the broodie coop this time, te, he, he!)

I/we/they start around 7:30 on a non-dark/rainy day, and I finished locking the last coop door at 10:11pm tonight! And that is with using treats to 'call them' into the coop/run complex at the start (they were free ranging this afternoon - as usual when I am home)

At least I CAN use some of this time to clean out a coop (in one of the latter roosting groups), or fill a wheelbarrow with 'spent bedding' from the run as I gradually work on the spring ( , yes, I am still working on the 'spring' clean-out of the run. I work from one section or end to the other...over a period of time....though usually not this late finishing it! ) I do use the deep litter method, but the parts that aren't covered with a roof get too wet and compacted to fully decompose properly...I'll work on getting a pathway in so that doesn't happen so much, but my first order of business is to extend the pen and get a new 10'X3' (approx. 3m X 1m) coop built and create a true duck area in the extension, with an elevated livestock watering tub w/ 'plumbing' in it & crushed stone around/under it. (will make the tub easily drain, as ducks make a mess of their water, will keep the surrounding area well drained so no mud pits nor fly/insect magnets...again, ducks make a mess of/with their water!)

Then new coop will be a true up/down duplex...ducks down, chickens up to give me more coop space in the extended run near the house. This past winter, I used the mobile tractor for a coop...(aka 'the route 66 hut'), which was a pain given the distance from the house, and the need to shovel/snow blow a separate area for them to scratch around it during the winter.

Then, next order of business is to REALLY get on my hubby to roof the 2nd half of the 'safe run' ( was supposed to be done 4 years ago - half was done in the spring when we moved here, the other half was supposed to be done before winter...but life gets in the way!) As that has to be shoveled and it is a pita...plus need more 'covered area' for chickies to play when it is stormy out.

Would LOVE for all of this to be done this year...but that is a pipe dream. Goal: extend at least part of run where new duckie hut/duplex and elevated area for 'drainable duck bath' will go, get that (elevated ares w/drainable bath) in, new duckie duplex built, and a 10'X12' area that encloses both of the above built with in the run..and have that solid roofed. Unfortunately summer is 1/2 over already. fortunately, my summer course ends tomorrow (technically Friday, but I always extend things out through the weekend in my accelerated math courses, as NO ONE ever truly believes me these day when I tell them at the beginning of the summer term how much time they need to plan on per week for this course!), So just a few more days of lots of extra work, then down to just my advising job, so I'll have more time to work on Chicken/duck things!

Okay..I owe lots of taxes. Up front deposit on taxes due:

Hey, Mom is in the 'treat/feed' barn...you going to play your sweet charm this time for treats, or is it my turn?View attachment 3180556

Hey, we heard you say 'treats' where are they??? We are at the door to the 'treat storage facility', but aren't seeing anything forthcoming!
View attachment 3180558

Yeah, mom..I see you in there...you are holding out on us!
View attachment 3180559

Meanwhile, mom is just trying to get the Wheelbarrow out the barn door, but there always seems to be something (someone!) in the way!

Yup, pretty much the same here, well, except for the duckies. Add another 1/2 hour on for them!. My oldest girls (3-5 y.o.s - ones I haven't processed for one reason or another - basically because I couldn't!) start heading in first (at around 7:30 pm here atm), then my 'route 66 tribe', but that is because their 'coop' is in deep shade and gets dark earlier than the others....they are only 1 year olds.) Then my broody mommas head in with the youngsters; then my 1.5 -2 y. o. girls...then my ducks start *thinking* about going to bed. About a third of the duckies (always including my older girls that are 4 or 5) wander into the coop, then turn around and wander back out. For the next 30 - 60 min some will wander in....turn around saying 'hmm, nope, still some light left, we can party some more!" while the others are still milling around in the run. Always, though, what a ruckus with the ducks! Quack, quack quack, especially when the two groups get separated (i.e. some are in the coop, some out). And trying to herd them into the coop solo is usually quite unsuccessful and literally gets me running in circles! ( around the red coop...no, no, lets hide around the pine tree this time...ooops, mommy, we slithered by the door again and played ring around the broodie coop this time, te, he, he!)

I/we/they start around 7:30 on a non-dark/rainy day, and I finished locking the last coop door at 10:11pm tonight! And that is with using treats to 'call them' into the coop/run complex at the start (they were free ranging this afternoon - as usual when I am home)

At least I CAN use some of this time to clean out a coop (in one of the latter roosting groups), or fill a wheelbarrow with 'spent bedding' from the run as I gradually work on the spring ( , yes, I am still working on the 'spring' clean-out of the run. I work from one section or end to the other...over a period of time....though usually not this late finishing it! ) I do use the deep litter method, but the parts that aren't covered with a roof get too wet and compacted to fully decompose properly...I'll work on getting a pathway in so that doesn't happen so much, but my first order of business is to extend the pen and get a new 10'X3' (approx. 3m X 1m) coop built and create a true duck area in the extension, with an elevated livestock watering tub w/ 'plumbing' in it & crushed stone around/under it. (will make the tub easily drain, as ducks make a mess of their water, will keep the surrounding area well drained so no mud pits nor fly/insect magnets...again, ducks make a mess of/with their water!)

Then new coop will be a true up/down duplex...ducks down, chickens up to give me more coop space in the extended run near the house. This past winter, I used the mobile tractor for a coop...(aka 'the route 66 hut'), which was a pain given the distance from the house, and the need to shovel/snow blow a separate area for them to scratch around it during the winter.

Then, next order of business is to REALLY get on my hubby to roof the 2nd half of the 'safe run' ( was supposed to be done 4 years ago - half was done in the spring when we moved here, the other half was supposed to be done before winter...but life gets in the way!) As that has to be shoveled and it is a pita...plus need more 'covered area' for chickies to play when it is stormy out.

Would LOVE for all of this to be done this year...but that is a pipe dream. Goal: extend at least part of run where new duckie hut/duplex and elevated area for 'drainable duck bath' will go, get that (elevated ares w/drainable bath) in, new duckie duplex built, and a 10'X12' area that encloses both of the above built with in the run..and have that solid roofed. Unfortunately summer is 1/2 over already. fortunately, my summer course ends tomorrow (technically Friday, but I always extend things out through the weekend in my accelerated math courses, as NO ONE ever truly believes me these day when I tell them at the beginning of the summer term how much time they need to plan on per week for this course!), So just a few more days of lots of extra work, then down to just my advising job, so I'll have more time to work on Chicken/duck things!

Okay..I owe lots of taxes. Up front deposit on taxes due:

Hey, Mom is in the 'treat/feed' barn...you going to play your sweet charm this time for treats, or is it my turn?View attachment 3180556

Hey, we heard you say 'treats' where are they??? We are at the door to the 'treat storage facility', but aren't seeing anything forthcoming!
View attachment 3180558

Yeah, mom..I see you in there...you are holding out on us!
View attachment 3180559

Meanwhile, mom is just trying to get the Wheelbarrow out the barn door, but there always seems to be something (someone!) in the way!

You sure have a lot on!
I love hearing about it all.

 

[RoyalChick]

I didn't try to make her sick she started throwing up and choking. I thought I lost her but she came around and kept being violently sick so I had too lean her forward or she would have choked to death

She threw up what I didn't know she had eaten about 5 times

I think the grit caused it, it was a good thing and if she can gain strength now I'm winning

View attachment 3180552

I think the grit View attachment 3180550

Poor girl.

 

[rural mouse]

What is the top hen in the first photo? She has very unique 'spots' in her feathering. Very pretty, but also unusual.

Those 'spots' are aspen leaf shadows. The pullet is Belladonna, gilt by the sun shining through the leaves. She's the darkest of the 3 dark brahmas (and the smallest)

 

[Marie2020]

Well she is still breathing and stood up the crop is a lot emptier and I've just gave her coconut oil and a tiny bit of grit . She just coughed

 

[Marie2020]

Yes I know. It was Shad who ages ago explained that you needed to be firm, and then I thought about what the massage is doing - it isn't a muscle relaxation aid, or a way of increasing blood circulation, it is really physically breaking up the blockage and pushing the crop contents through to the next stage of the GI tract. That gave me courage.
The concern I always have is not pushing stuff too high up so there is a risk of aspiration.

That's where I may have gone wrong. I'm so sad but at the same time relieved she got so much rubbish out . When I massage she's not being sick now. But worried she has a little cough about 3 times so far

She is looking much more alert

 

[RoyalChick]

That's where I may have gone wrong. I'm so sad but at the same time relieved she got so much rubbish out . When I massage she's not being sick now. But worried she has a little cough about 3 times so far

She is looking much more alert

I hope it works out for her. Maybe now all the liquid is gone you can really work on breaking up the blockage by massage.
I know how stressful all this is.

 

[ManueB]

In breaking news, finely diced tomatoes and watermelon are even more acceptable to Bella than cucumbers. I think she ate more today than she has in the last 3 days. It still isn’t enough to sustain a growing chicken but it is better than nothing.
She is visibly weak and I am sure has lost more weight but her crop is now full of cucumber seeds and there must be some nutrients in those (I hope).
I feel like I can also battle dehydration with watermelon and cucumber.
I may be being over anthropomorphic, but don’t those all feel like foods you would like if you had a sore throat?

View attachment 3180118

When Vanille was really ill cucumber was all she would eat, in fact it's what lead me to post for the first time on BYC .
She's been unwell for the last three days after passing two soft shell eggs in a row, and with the heat. She has eaten nothing yesterday but today we gave the girls a zucchini that had overgrown and she's been pecking at it like crazy.

We've talked about how they choose to feed before when they are sick with Minnie. It's still pretty much a mystery to me if it's just individual taste preference or if they do have some instinct to get things that are right for them.
When humans are sick a bit of both happen.. sometimes you don't feel like eating and your body needs to fast for a while, or to only have broth. And sometimes you actually do need to eat to get better.

 

[ManueB]

That's where I may have gone wrong. I'm so sad but at the same time relieved she got so much rubbish out . When I massage she's not being sick now. But worried she has a little cough about 3 times so far

She is looking much more alert

I hope she gets better.