Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Thank you. My hubby made it for me (the brooder itself). It is 4X3 feet, and expands to 4X6' this group is larger than I usually do at once...so I'm a bit nervous for when they get to around 4wks old....bigger, but not fully feathered enough to go outside in a coop & run without heat, especially this time of year.


Your's and others' comments are very reassuring. Thank you

Although, now I wonder what I'm doing wrong that I have cases of bumblefoot......

Height of your roosts seems to be one cause. How high do you have them?

 

[bgmathteach]

I did a little digging on the bumblefoot topic and have found nothing related to roosting as a chick. Found plenty related to chicks wanting to roost, or at least perch, as early as day two.
Mostly predisposition to it is environmental. Gravel, splinters etc.

My whole property is gravel... well except for the small sand spot they have claimed as their dust bath!

 

[bgmathteach]

Height of your roosts seems to be one cause. How high do you have them?

They vary. In the coops 10 to 16 " off floor for all but my more movable pens/coops. Those can be up to 30" off ground (and yes, still bedding on floor/ground)

In the runs, most are 2-3 feet high, one set is 44" high as it is it is on top of my broody/injured/separation pend. That is approx. 3" high...and the roosts are about 8" above the 'roof' of that pen - in teh run. The roof has a few inches of sand on it, but most 'fly-hop down. The primary coops are elevated about 3+ feet off ground, but they use a ramp to get up/down....they really CAN'T fly the way it is set up.

However, there is a huge pine tree in the run. The more able flyers do fly up into the tree, and the only way down is to fly down. The lowest branch is about 5" off the ground - the rest they roost in are up to 7' high. I hate to cut those branches as they provide good shade and some cover from hawks.

 

[Lexicon]

Be still my heart. I love full bodied chickens. What a lovely BO!!

Clara will be so pleased to hear this compliment !!

 

[bgmathteach]

Do your chicks have bumblefoot?

No, I have only had it in adults....usually older girls. Most are my heavier girls, or a boy. Once in a while in one of my lighter girls. This makes it sound like a lot...I'm referring to all the cases I've ever had over the years....

 

[Ponypoor]

Sorry, I get those pictures sent to me by friends and family. I’m sure they are available on the internet somewhere.

Thanks Will check online, bet Amazon has

 

[Ponypoor]

I'm so sorry you and Mrs BYBob had this happen

Along with @bgmathteach suggestion of conditioning her, have you tried doing this like hairdressers do? Ask Phyllis' namesake! Hairdressers always use devices to section the hair and keep everything they aren't dealing with out of the way when they do even slightly complicated/layered cuts. This way you will be able to see her eyes, find the bases of the feathers and move higher up the shafts, and cut where you intend. Get soft cloth covered bands.
Like this, only you could do two or three tie-ups so you can at least see what you're dealing with. It's only a temporary "do"
View attachment 3256895

Oh that’s cute! And yes eggsactly what I mean by using ponytail holders Might run this wil the silkies too .

Mr Pompei could use this also once his feathers grow out from the new pin feathers he is growing during his molt

 

[Ponypoor]

This is true, but thankfully we don't get long spells of -45C.

In December the sun rises after 11:00 am, but is so low in the sky that it never clears the trees on our forested property, so we don't get actual rays of sunshine until much later in the spring.

It sounds bad, but it is not. A crisp night sky filled with stars, Northern Lights, no crowds, lots of lovely snow to play in, it is really a great place to live.

Winter tax:
View attachment 3256973

I don’t mind Alberta in the winter, very lovely with everything green, silver and white - but no summer. I prefer here where summers are more tropical with hot hazy humid - and the many shades of green in the hundreds of different trees both deciduous and coniferous - out there it’s just Poplar and spruce mixed in with stands of Hemlock.

In the Fall out there it’s green and gold, the poplars and hemlock turn golden yellow, and lose leaves in aboit a week. Here the colours are amazing! Red, gold, ink, yellow, orange , tan, brown… on the many differ trees

It rarely gets below -38c here winter is around -26c at night and -20c during the day , because I live in a snow belt we get copious amounts of snow off the Great Lakes, in Alberta where o work the amt of snow depends on location, mountains get a horrendous amt of snow where as the south. And plains get very little, but it COLD!!!

Having said that I see people with chickens and ducks who keep them without heat in sheds, they go outside during the day as they wish…. I sure they get frostbite on their combs but they seem to be thriving

 

[Ponypoor]

Yes, I live in northern Canada. Our climate is quite different. While many of the BYC group deal with very hot temperatures in the summer, that's not a concern for us. We do have quite harsh winter temperatures with very short daylight hours but we are used to it, so it is fine.
Weather tax:
View attachment 3256887

What a beauty I would submit to POW she is so llovely love that colour and she seems so content there

 

[Ponypoor]

This is true, but thankfully we don't get long spells of -45C.

In December the sun rises after 11:00 am, but is so low in the sky that it never clears the trees on our forested property, so we don't get actual rays of sunshine until much later in the spring.

It sounds bad, but it is not. A crisp night sky filled with stars, Northern Lights, no crowds, lots of lovely snow to play in, it is really a great place to live.

Winter tax:
View attachment 3256973

Another beauty what a ham posing like that