Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[ChicoryBlue]

That is what I used...seemed to work fine. Was a bit expensive, but when you consider how much it makes diluted properly, I felt it was quite reasonable.

Yes but I didn’t see other brands that were cheaper including shipping to me. Everything is cheaper if you can personally get to the store. It does make a big quantity mixed however.

I admit I also did some panic buying, freaking out about the mites, so after some research I got some preventive things with citric acid in them, wet and dry: I bought the Saturday Lime, and I bought bottles of Poultry Shield here and there until I eventually found Walmart has it most reasonably priced (relative term!), so now I have five bottles. But these sound like good preventatives and will keep.

 

[Ponypoor]

First snow...View attachment 3314251For those who don't get much snow, the sidewalk has a skiff on it.View attachment 3314253The deer found the yard too
View attachment 3314253And this is a dusting.

For the most part the birds aren't bothered by this. Horus didn't want to stand in it, so his flight to exit the coop involved brief touches to relaunch in a curving arc around the outside.

While there may not have been much physical reactions (Twirp came out and promptly hopped up on bricks and Horus and Kren headed into the carport for the crock pot water there), there was LOUD crowing and much grumbling.

Yup I know that grumbling: “what is this? That wasn’t there last night when we went to bed! Human make it go away!”

Thankfully haven’t had to deal with it yet

 

[BY Bob]

Floor is Out

i designed the coop so the floor would be removable and then i screwed the floor down BEHIND the window. I had to cut it out and now i need to fix something for the floor to rest comfortably and safely before i can put it back in. What a fool i am sometimes!

 

[Ponypoor]

Yes but I didn’t see other brands that were cheaper including shipping to me. Everything is cheaper if you can personally get to the store. It does make a big quantity mixed however.

I admit I also did some panic buying, freaking out about the mites, so after some research I got some preventive things with citric acid in them, wet and dry: I bought the Saturday Lime, and I bought bottles of Poultry Shield here and there until I eventually found Walmart has it most reasonably priced (relative term!), so now I have five bottles. But these sound like good preventatives and will keep.

Yes I agree that would be good for preventing any further. Guess I will need to check my roosts tonight now that you have me thinking.

 

[Ponypoor]

Floor is Out

i designed the coop so the floor would be removable and then i screwed the floor down BEHIND the window. I had to cut it out and now i need to fix something for the floor to rest comfortably and safely before i can put it back in. What a fool i am sometimes!

View attachment 3314370View attachment 3314371

Maybe sister up some 2x4 at the window? Or run some 2x4 width wise on either side of the window (front of hut to back) and then throw a 2x4 section in at the window as a ledge for the floor to sit upon.

 

[RoyalChick]

Floor is Out

i designed the coop so the floor would be removable and then i screwed the floor down BEHIND the window. I had to cut it out and now i need to fix something for the floor to rest comfortably and safely before i can put it back in. What a fool i am sometimes!

View attachment 3314370View attachment 3314371

Oh boy I didn’t realize the floor had to come out too. I thought it was just a roof rot issue.

 

[RoyalChick]

Maybe sister up some 2x4 at the window? Or run some 2x4 width wise on either side of the window (front of hut to back) and then throw a 2x4 section in at the window as a ledge for the floor to sit upon.

Good thinking. Might not even need another 2x4 at the window if there are 2x4s going across on either side.

 

[Chicken poppy]

Hahaha ours eat everything but broccoli!

They need to eat their greens or they won’t grow up big and strong!

 

[ChicoryBlue]

There is a specific distance you need to be from water lines (both to prevent driving through them! and to prevent currant from running along the line!), you can get a specific proper grounding rod at most feed/hardware stores.

I think next year I will run a hot line under the bottom board and between it and the swcond board to prevent fox and coyotes from getting into the paddock - won’t stop aerial predators, will have to give that one some thought for the paddock. Maybe some covered hide -out places in the paddock they can run to easily. They really enjoy digging through the horse doodoo and have a blast catching crickets.

Maybe you could set up a temporary screened canopy on top of several poop piles? Against aerial predators, assuming it is securely fenced against ground predators.

Just to warn you with my experience- anything that keeps the chickens in, a hawk can make use of. Like one tried to pin Butters against the fence, that’s how s/he got Queenie several days earlier. Landed on Butters, sort of, because Butters saw it only at the last second and moved, so Butters squirmed out of the grip, and the hawk hop-flew after her, driving her into the fence, and sort of tried to get talons on her again but she was flapping and squirming around and then the hawk saw me.

There had been plenty of things to run under on the left and right, including the chair the hawk eventually flew up to and perched on to reassess as I came at it, but the hawk approached Butters from a direction that the frightened chicken wanted to just run straight away from and thus into the fence. Butters wasn’t thinking like a cat - go left or right and dodge and feint, she was thinking only “away”. The hawk was intent and really didn’t want to leave, even with me running at it. If Butters had run under something I think the hawk would have gone after her trying to grab her from under there. Your rooster, if he can give a warning in time, will allow them to run under something. But what about this kind of determined hawk? Not preaching here, just an experience to consider.

 

[ManueB]

Tarp is Off

Roof is completely rotted. I'm lucky nothing from the dying tree fell on it.
View attachment 3314240View attachment 3314241

Thanks for taking the time to make progress pictures and also showing the inside. This is very instructive.
May I ask if this was plywood treated to be outside like marine plywood or just the standard stuff, and how long was it since you put it in place ? ( Sorry if you mentioned this before, my memory is getting old).

I was planning to take some picture of the donkeys in the mountains today for pony Sunday but it turns out the hunters were right in their park with their dogs... So I just have some landscapes and no donkeys .

This is where the donkeys should have been. Zooming in you can see the electric fencing.

This is our village sheep's cabin in the mountains, it's 6700 feet high . Every village here has one, sheep owners group together to pay a shepherd to keep the sheeps in the mountains in summer. I don't know if it works the same in your countries ?

And this is Shakira-Piou-piou to end on a chicken note. She may have short legs and a small head but she has a temper. Her feather are beginning to be ruffled from getting mated ten times a day by huge Gastounet.