Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

Pony Sunday

I told the girls to go stand under a tree - it’s just roasting where they are standing at the back barn door, and the bugs are crazy!

Truly, Reenie, Sally and Lulu

Sally and Lulu - team work makes the dream work, tho I think Sally is reaping the rewards of Lulus long tail swatting flies more than Sally’s stubby Appaloosa tail is doing for Lulu!

Not to mention this HUGE hornets nest which I have not been able to do anything about as it’s up too high for me to spray and remove… to entertain myself I throw rocks at it and watch them swarm out hahaha

But this nest that the evil little yellow jacket brats have taken up residence in the crack in the cement block wall is an easy fix. Tonight I will spray it and pile some gravel over to contain them.

 

[lightm]

What a lovely flock and a superb introduction. So sorry to hear you had to rehome your sweet Roo, I hope you get updates on him and he is a happy boy. It is great that you have a few chicks by him before you had to rehome him.

I also love that you (and hubby) were able to spend so much time with them as chicks, so they are real 'people chickens' now.

Like you, I was amazed at how smart and personable chickens are once I got some. I hope these girls continue to bring you joy for a long time!! (P.S. I see chicken math is already working it's magic with you)

Can I ask about your fence? I was thinking of using something similar (black wrought-iron/aluminum fence) along a small strip of trees & shrubs near the road, to 'encourage' them to stay away from the road. Do you know the name of the fencing (brand/style) and how tall is it? That would be perfect for my application, and what I am finding locally doesn't have that added piece at the bottom, so they could squeeze through what I am finding here. Thank you in advance!

Thank you. He wasn't a sweet roo though . Hubby would literally cage (run) fight him (lock all other chickens outside of run...). He will be fine for a week and decided he needs to kill hubby again. We just love him because he's our child. We told his new owner that he's kinda aggressive.The new owner does not mind as he does not plan on spending cuddly time with his chickens and he just wants a rooster to protect and expand his flock. Foggy now has 3 acres to free roam.

They are really people chickens.

We got the fence at local Lowes. They are about 4 feet high. As you see, some chickens have no problem going over it. I also know that adult chickens can not squee through bars even without the bottom addition. I am pretty sure this is what we have: https://www.lowes.com/pd/No-Dig-Act...Point-Decorative-Metal-Fence-Panel/1000864882

You can also buy the two-door gate that goes with it. They are very easy to install. I don't think they are very cheap, but I like them very much.

 

[Ponypoor]

My barn swallows also remain broody

This morning I found this teeny tiny egg shell on the barn floor!!!! Just look at the size difference between it and old Penelope’s egg she laid yesterday! Can you imagine how tiny that baby is? !! And it’s parents feed it and nurture it?!! Truly amazing!

 

[micstrachan]

I had never heard of that breed before. Similar (but different) to the Maine Coon, it seems.

Tax:
Anyone ever seen an egg with an umbilical cord before???? [Yes, it was a very soft shelled egg]
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Yes, I think I have. I’ve seen s few strznge things, including a shelled egg INSIDE another membrane.

Lovely post! My husband talks about their eye contacts too like Tina is really the sweetie that would look at him. He would also tell me which chicken has the prettiest face and then claim he's right because he has the same taste as our rooster. Then he tells his favorite hen (Light) that "you are always going to be my favorite chicken" when Light gets jealous...

Thanks! Too cute that your husband feels some if the same things I do about these precious ones!

 

[Ponypoor]

Hmmmm Penelope’s eggs are getting smaller, or my silkie’s eggs are getting bigger! Have to say my silkies are better layers than the others! ….when they aren’t broody hahaha!
They lay an egg every day pretty much, of course then they go broody and don’t lay for about 6 weeks which is ok, I like that they take a break.

 

[Marie2020]

I have to take issue with this sentence.
Ladylike chickens such as Phyllis and Lulu definitely do not 'perspire'.
Chickens like Maggie and Aurora just don't sweat.


Sorry - in a silly mood for some reason.

Oh, they don't sweat buckets then. So they are real ladies

 

[ChicoryBlue]

I have a sad update, Nickels passed a hour ago. It is so hard raising newborn kittens. We have successfully done it in the past, but we have also lost some as well. The poor little guy had everything stacked against him though. When he was found he was already covered in maggots and my brother's girlfriend did not think the momma let him nurse at all to get the colostrum. I feel really bad for my brother, he and mom were taking shifts with him. When it was evident he was passing my brother sat there holding him with tears rolling down his face as he passed. My brother is the type of person who does not cry around anyone.

Your brother and mother gave little Nickels a gift of warmth, comfort and care during his time with you all and through his passing. That was a great service to him.

 

[micstrachan]

I love this thread. It is very therapeutic and entertaining for me. This month has been so hard on me but FBA thread gave me smiles and kept me going. Thank you Bob! You are so good at moderating/organizing/writing I feel like any employer is lucky to have you.

Why do I have chickens: I had the ideas of getting chickens simply for food security in January of 2020 when Covid started to be bad in China. I love eggs and I've always wanted to produce my food as much as possible. At that time we lived in New Mexico and had a good chance of moving so we didn't do it. We did move to Wilmington NC in August 2020 and expect to be here for the foreseeable future. I made sure chickens are allowed in our new house.

Our first flock: March 10th, 2021, about 3 months after we closed on our new house, we got 8 chicks at the local feed store. I wanted 6 but my chicken-owning friend told me that chicks die easily so get 8 (yes she is an enabler). Being the ignorant human being I was, of course I picked good egg layers. We have 4 golden buffs (probably same as golden comets) + 2 RIR (production red) + 2 Rhode Island Blue (RIB/production blue). In raising babies, we completely fell in love with them, my husband more so. He played with all of them for hours every day.
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I particularly love this picture when all 8 of them roosted on top of the cardboard box. SO CUTE.
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They are all doing well to this day. Here they are:
1. Foggy the rooster (RIB). Of course we will end up with a rooster. You can see him being huge and spilled out of my husband's hand in the first two pictures above... He was super sweet as a chick and teenager. He turned into a jerk pretty quick. I am a wimp so he attacked me anytime I was close by. He remained cuddly with my husband for a long time but eventually he had to kick Foggy's butt weekly.

Mid April of this year, we got a visit from city inspector telling us we need to get rid of our rooster due to complaints. We live within city limits and are not allowed to have roosters. To me such regulation is government overreach. We only really have one neighbor that would hear the crow and we made sure they are fine with it. Even with this neighbor, we know that given the distance from coop to their house, they'd barely hear it inside the house. In any case, Foggy was rehomed within a couple days.
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2. Ginger (Golden comets). Ginger is the alpha hen, an escape artist. We thought we named her well after we watched "Chicken Run". She is usually not sweet, but she totally lets you know when she wants to be picked up. She does everything with a purpose. Man she is so smart.
She is the only one that can jump on this metal spiky fence, then she flew over the green fence to reach to my garden... She remembered this trick after doing this once accidentally.
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Here she is out and about:
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3. Tina (RIR). Tina is the 2nd fittest after Ginger. To be honest, I am not sure on the exact pecking order after Ginger because it appears to be circular as A>B>C>A. She is probably number 2. Tina is very sweet and would kick off other chickens on the lap. She is a little devil.
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4 Honey (Golden comets). Honey is our sweetest hen and her pecking order is second to the last. She jumps on your lap and would stay on your lap forever if you don't kick her off.
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5 Wendy (RIR). Wendy is our heaviest hen. She walks funny because she is big. I constantly call her Maggie in my head thanks to RC. She is sweet too but she is really particular on how to lay on you (cause she is fat). She is pretty bossy to Poopy and Honey .
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6 Light (Golden comet). She is my husband's THE GREATEST HEN EVER. I've written about her on this thread a little bit. https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...es-stories-of-our-flock.1286630/post-25550036
She is really gentle and cute. She is at the bottom of pecking order, but she would pick on Wendy. It's very weird. Due to her house chicken experience, she now comes to the house for breakfast every morning.
Here she is sitting right by the meal worm bin looking all innocent!! She surely knows about food security. (Yes there was a time that I forgot to close the lid and she got in.........)
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7 Poopy (Golden comet). Poopy gave us our first egg. She started laying before she was 4 months old!!! Oh the evil production line. She is sweet too but has to be picked up.
Here is her pretty pullet face at 4 months old.
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8 Inky (RIB). Inky is the only chicken that is not sweet. In fact, she is really skittish. She is also the fluffiest chicken. Her feather is sooo pretty. She is the only one molted during their first year. She is also the only one that has ever gone broody (three times already). In fact, she is still sitting in the coop and today is day 29. Good thing that she really takes good care of herself.

Inky giving me the evil look.
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Inky getting my elderberry leaves.View attachment 3206247



This year's addition. Excuse me that I have to write a 2nd post to finish this The quick summary is that we added 4 chicks this year, all fathered by Foggy.

Wonderful introduction! Welcome! It’s great to meet you and your flock.

 

[Marie2020]

Pony Sunday

I told the girls to go stand under a tree - it’s just roasting where they are standing at the back barn door, and the bugs are crazy!

Truly, Reenie, Sally and Lulu
View attachment 3206452

Sally and Lulu - team work makes the dream work, tho I think Sally is reaping the rewards of Lulus long tail swatting flies more than Sally’s stubby Appaloosa tail is doing for Lulu!
View attachment 3206453

Not to mention this HUGE hornets nest which I have not been able to do anything about as it’s up too high for me to spray and remove… to entertain myself I throw rocks at it and watch them swarm out hahaha
View attachment 3206455

But this nest that the evil little yellow jacket brats have taken up residence in the crack in the cement block wall is an easy fix. Tonight I will spray it and pile some gravel over to contain them.
View attachment 3206454

Chuck buckets of peppmint oil and liquid soap over the blighters then plant some catmint there

 

[micstrachan]

I have her back outside and managed by some trickery to have her fellow Hooligans out with her while the Roadrunners are inside the Chicken Palace. Sheer fluke I pulled that off.
She is sitting with her buddies. They persuaded her to peck at some cherries but her heart isn’t in it. She only eats corn it seems!

Sorry Bella is still having trouble, RC. Have you offered meat? I once had a very sick hen who would also eat corn. As you know, my chickens find baby bird formula an absolute treat. However, if I’ve had one that just wouldn’t eat, live mealworms or even super worms got them going. Yes, they are fatty, but since Bella is underweight, it might be worth a try.