Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Marie2020]

It's raining yes and it's sort of chilly loving it

The girls don't want to be out in the rain so they decided too go into the run to have yet more food after a lovely big dinner of courgette chicken mash and layers

 

[featherhead007]

Is she okay?

She’s doing okay. The smoke isn’t bad in that area.

 

[Marie2020]

She’s doing okay. The smoke isn’t bad in that area.

Just you stay safe precious ❤

 

[featherhead007]

Just you stay safe precious ❤

I have to go to the church and help them with the food drive soon today. I need to get away anyways, the chooks are driving me crazy!

 

[Ponypoor]

Yesterday's tribeservations (left home around 10am, cot home just in time to close the coop: move in day at the college for middle son).

-Hector is a good boy idiot. Good boy: Nox is looking for a place to lay (outside the coop) and he was escorting her up and down the hedge with the lilacs and roses (north edge). Idiot: every place he suggested was a BAD idea....several feet out in the sparse grass in the pasture....in the freshly mown lawn on this side of the hedge.... I took out some grapes and he tidbitted for her, but she snatched and ran, so he's got his work cut out for him. He and Pear were the only ones out of the coop when we got home. He was after her again. (He roosts on top of the nest boxes with her and Silver as they never moved when the new roosts were added) After catching her, he tried telling her to lay in the chive patch (pic for reference, not of event)View attachment 3227035Behind Pippa (next to the rock), not under the lilac 3 feet away.

-Kren has an obsession with Belladonna....he (speculating based upon what heard rather than saw) tried to mate with her on roost, causing himself to fall to the floor of the coop, her to then follow, unable to regain her balance. Then he tried again and she ran from the coop to perch just outside (she eventually wound up on the window sill outside) where he tried again. She ran around the coop to the opposite side where he caught her and got knocked off by Hector. When Cheetah is outside watching this, he will do the knocking off, but if Hector comes to try to help, Hector gets chased off. Cheetah stayed inside, squawked/talked much but out of sight, out of mind. Hector is starting to develop the same type of relationship with Kren (and Horus) that Cheetah has with himself: give chase upon sight.

-Grapes are wonderful taming tools. Lark and Indigo are still pretty wild. Handful of grapes, out the patio door to sit on the steps by the French lilac off the deck. Thing got the first one. Others present: Whiskey, Blanche, Nellie, Twirp, Lark, Indigo. Waiting for their grape happened. Lark didn't freak out over proximity to me. Indigo stayed under the lilac but stayed put rather than zipping around the opposite side (grapes got rolled in to her too).

-crazy busy day: college info was not received at our end: emailed to his high school email which he no longer has access to, no dorm assignment in spite of getting it set up June 1. That got fixed, he has a room......his ID card doesn't work and office was closed by the time we figured that out. He has to work today so will be doing the rest of his running around via phone calls as offices close within an hour of him getting off work....at opposite end of town....resident life office has the corrected email so that contact should be simple. Card office....no idea.... books are paid by his scholarship so figuring out how to get them via phone to Financials office tomorrow should be fun, then getting them ordered for classes monday "I'll be sharing about that in tomorrow's 9am seminar" "I'll be at work...." "then email/call me tomorrow if the financial office doesn't get the info" At least we got transportation worked out for tomorrow to get him to work (so far no one knows anything about the city bus system inspite of it having a stop in center of campus and another in front of work because the satellite campus is farther out). At this rate, he's finding EVERY glitch in the system his first semester, so he'll know who/where to fix ANYTHING. Bonus: I finished the quilt for him that I'd started when he was about 6. I'd had to put it away when it was ready to be tied, so got it done on Sunday.View attachment 3227060Didn't know how appropriate the monkeys would be...View attachment 3227062

That’s both amazing and awesome!!! What a day!!!

Love the quilt, and yep good choice of fabric

 

[Ponypoor]

Making a Fool of BY Bob

It started with the Rascals coming out of their run in the morning yesterday. Now the big ladies have joined in.

Ever since Phyllis has gone broody we have had 0 eggs. None. I assumed they were all laying in Phyllis's box and that she had a huge clutch under her. So today I was going remove Phyllis from the nest and swap out all of the eggs for ceramic.

Until

I caught Betty.

Guess where they have been all laying.

Spoiler: Where has Everyone Been Laying

In Hattie House!

View attachment 3227073View attachment 3227074

If Betty has been laying every day, that is 4 days worth of eggs. Considering Phyllis stated setting last Friday, it has been 6 days. Betty should skip two days so that works.

Mrs BY Bob suggested that they might be laying in Hattie House. I dismissed the idea entirely. Made a fool of yet again.

I do need to get Phyllis off the nest today and see what she has got under her.

Too funny!!! I am likely going to find a rotten stash somewhere in the barn one day too!

 

[knoturavggrl]

Observations and a Question:

My 13 babies are 18 days old and today one of them decided that flying up on top of the water jar was a fine way to see past the cardboard blocking the view.

I see where this is going and I have noted the speed at which new discoveries travel through the group.

A top has been added to the pack n play and they are all glaring at me. They don't seem at all pleased that I have foiled their plan to explore the living room and practice flying.

Wow they learn to fly fast!

I have a question for you all. With no mama raising the babies do you take them out for a short period of time to explore so long as its warm enough of course or do you wait to do that until they are more feathered?

 

[Ponypoor]

This is an astute observation.

In my group of varied shapes and sizes I have seen very close pairings or friendships, Sansa and Lilly for example, and loners, Phyllis quite often. (Betty sometimes as well although her and Phyllis do hang out together a lot more these days.)

The general rule here is pairings. They tend to move about in twos.

Right now with Hattie and Phyllis out of the mix, I have a three-some of big girls and a three-some of Rascals. While the Rascals seem to stay together. The bigs will split into a pair and a loner. These days the pair could be any combo. I see all possibilities throughout the day.

This is why I strive to have even numbers.

Same with the horses, they tend to stay in pairs.

With the chickens I also notice pairings change often. But it always a group that will mingle, the three big gals and the silkies - those 6 will mix and mingle, then the three hatchlings and the silkies will mix, but not with the 3 bigs….

And the 2 young pullets will hang around with the big gals and the silkies but not the 3 hatchlings…..

Marty has been finally hanging out with the silkies and Buttercup, who picked on her in the beginning, and now she just loves Mr Pompei and hangs with him. I am assuming because they are the newcomers so they are hanging out together.

 

[fuentemoon]

Had a lovely day at the coast yesterday. Sun and or fog depending on where and when we were.

cormorants:

went to several beaches and a few lookouts.

 

[RoyalChick]

Observations and a Question:

My 13 babies are 18 days old and today one of them decided that flying up on top of the water jar was a fine way to see past the cardboard blocking the view.

I see where this is going and I have noted the speed at which new discoveries travel through the group.

A top has been added to the pack n play and they are all glaring at me. They don't seem at all pleased that I have foiled their plan to explore the living room and practice flying.

Wow they learn to fly fast!

I have a question for you all. With no mama raising the babies do you take them out for a short period of time to explore so long as its warm enough of course or do you wait to do that until they are more feathered?

Yes! They will have loads of fun.
Just a few things to think about:
- Make sure you have thought through how to round them up again when you want to bring them in.
- If you are quarantining from other chickens then make sure they are far enough away.
- Provide some chick grit because they will taste all sorts of yummy things outside!
Oh, and take pictures to share with us so we can all enjoy the cuteness!!