Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

I will have to look them up! I can't wait to see what advice Aurora is dishing out

By the way, I wanted to thank you for the Christmas card you sent - it put a huge smile on my face when I received it the other week! I hope you received the Christmas card that I sent you!

We got it yesterday. That's where Mrs BY Bob saw the wreath. It's just lovely.

 

[BY Bob]

I have a dilemma. The babies are bigger now and feathered. Do you think they would be ok in a coop with heater amongst the others? I have heat panel. Can warm the coop up a little and it stays fairly warm in there. Im just afraid to stick them out there even though I know they will be ok. They are getting too big for the house.

I might wait until after the cold snap. If you do mix them it is important that they be able to escape the big ones. Splitting the coop with dividers which have holes that the littles fit through but the bigs don't is a really good idea.

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

My sister just found out she now has to work both Christmas eve and Christmas Day so she brought over our Christmas gifts early. She now fully embraces the fact that I am the "crazy chicken lady" of the family. She is the "crazy cat lady" so she understands. I do not know how she came up with the egg apron idea. I never told her I wanted one. I've been trying to get grandma to make me one for awhile now and she always is doing projects for other people so I had given up. I tested it out with a Butter egg to see if my biggest eggs would fit, and they do and have plenty of room. I will wear it out with pride tomorrow when I take my tour around the house to gather eggs. She was upset that I already had the purple shirt and offered to take it back. I told her nope I'm keeping it, there is nothing wrong with having multiples of a favorite shirt.

 

[ValarieF]

Get my other back injections today. Yay a day of not walking after 2pm. I'll be laid up in bed. Hubby will be off work to take me home and take care of me until tomorrow morning. And of course he will look after the chooks for me in the afternoon/early evening. I will be gaming.

 

[ValarieF]

haha, they have been out of it here for months!

My TSC always has straw.

 

[ValarieF]

I could

I will be thinking good thoughts then in this case. It’s just too bad she doesn’t trust you and go broody in a proper nest box like regular hens! And I guess your dad has a point, she chose that location for a reason and not much you can do about it, so it seems…

Have you tried to take a nap in the afternoon to see if it helps with evening not feeling well?

Ok well I have my calendar set for 10th of January. Just hope she is ok - I feel that as long as she is sheltered and out of rain and wind she should be fine.

Silky eggs? Hmmmm I may bug you guys for some in the spring I needs me some silkies. We can trade! I will have EE and anconas

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

Ask Aurora
Today's question comes from Jaffar!
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Jaffar Asks,

I’m a good rooster but I need some Wednesday advice from the expert. My hens won’t listen to me, when I call them to come under the porch, where it’s warm.

Coco-Rico! what’s a rooster to do? “



Dear Jaffar,

First let me say, I love your name. Your owner truly expects a lot from you to give you such a name. Great character and having a parrot as a pet, marvelous. I have always wanted a parrot for a pet. Just Imagine….

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But I digress, on to the issue at hand.

Like all roosters you seem to think we hens are dense. Right, it is warmer under the porch. I bet the hens in the tribe have all heard that line before. They come for warmth and then you surprise them with unwanted “affection”. Just like all those times you told them you had food for them and it was a piece of stick. Just to get them closer so you could have your way with them. They are on to you and good for them.

The problem with you roosters is that you are always so whiny. Please girls come over here. Please girls don’t fight. Stop picking on the young ladies. Uck! Gag me.

Let me teach you one thing. If you learn this you will be so much less frustrated than every other rooster on the planet.

YOU ARE NOT IN CHARGE

You are here to serve and protect us hens. Period. If you do what you are asked, come when called, and are always willing to die for our safety then you are doing your job well. Stick to those things. Don’t try and tell us what to do.

If we need a safe place to lay an egg. Find us one. In fact, find us several. We will inspect them until we find one that is satisfactory. You clowns can never get it right the first time.

If we have laid an egg and call out for an escort, you come running and escort us to the rest of tribe. Even if we can see everyone from where we laid the egg. You come running right away. Do NOT make us wait.

If we need you to watch the kids so we can have an afternoon out with the girls or for crying out loud just take a bath in peace without one of them jumping on our back or getting into trouble. You watch the kids. You wanted them after all.

And if you are offering a food to us, offer food. NO, A BLADE OF GRASS OR A LEAF IS NOT SOME SUPER TREAT WORTH CALLING US TO COME EAT! You better have a bug or a big juicy worm or something similar. Trust me, we will just start to ignore you if you don’t have something truly good EVERY TIME. Try to remember the story of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”. If you don’t know it, get your human to tell it to you.

Acceptable phrases for you to say are,

• Yes Mam
• No Mam
• Thank you, Mam
• I’m sorry Mam. I’ll do better next time

One more thing……..

Please stop begging. It is demeaning to watch. And that silly wing thing you try to do. No one is falling for that old line. We will let you know when you can hop on for a quick ride. Don’t you ever jump someone who said no or is unprepared. It is a waste of time as we will just spit your stuff back out anyway. We will let you know when the time is right.

In summary remember this. The top hen leads the tribe. You do as she tells you, treat the hens under her charge with respect, stop trying to tell everyone what to do, and you will have an enjoyable life. Keep trying to tell the hens what to do and you will lead a sad frustrating life. We just don’t care what you think.

We all know you really only want one thing.

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Dear Queen Aurora,

Branch, Bubba and Twig here and we would like to share our side of the story if you may.
First off, we as a whole are not dense, Twig currently is but he is young and learning so overlook him. We are expected to know where the best egg laying spots are, the really good ones so you can hide and hatch your eggs in. We know where to find the best food so you do not have to search. We know what predators to look out for and watch for them so you can go about you day with a sense of security.
Secondly as far as finding food goes, do you know how hard it is to find food for all of you girls? It is especially hard if you have a mother hen and children who need the food even more. Sometimes all we can find is a leaf or a blade of grass. Why do you scoff at this? Do you realize that we roosters ensure that every hen and chick goes to bed with a full crop each night. Have you ever asked us if we are hungry? Have you ever saw us eat the treats that are offered up by our humans? A lot of nights while you are going to sleep with a full crop ours is almost empty due to giving the food to you. Do we complain ever? No we do not, it is "The Life of A Rooster".
Choosing a nest site. We boys know where the good hiding spots are to lay your eggs. Are they good enough, most times not. Is this our fault, no. You girls seem to like to choose the most obvious spot to lay our future children in where the humans can find them. Not only that, you all fight over the same spot. Why do you do this? Do you not know children are a blessing and with most humans you need to hide to hatch them.
There are some hens who take our advice and hide and the flock is blessed with little ones. This adds to our already taxing existence. Chicks are vulnerable to everything, and dart everywhere. We roosters see you poor momma's have your wings full so we try to help. Why do you attack us when we try to come close to our kids? All we want to do is help feed them so you can eat a bite as well. How can we properly watch out for danger if you will not let us get within 10 feet sometimes of the chicks. When you need to have a good dust bath let us get close and lay down. The chicks are more then welcome to play a game of "hop on pop" with us. We may not be able to keep them as warm as you, but they can rest under us as well.
We do all of this daily, never complaining on top of watching out for predators. If danger approaches without being asked we will give our lives for our flock without thinking. Is it wrong that we try to hop on for a quick ride every now and then? Is it wrong to hope that if chicks can be hatched we will have a sense of security that if we must give our lives we will live on?
We have heard stories of this Jabberwockie. It is unfair to judge all roosters from his stories. Firstly he never had the chance to grow up with a father figure to teach him the ropes of how to be a good rooster. He had to learn all on his own. Your head hen Lilly was doing what was right in whipping him. If he had been blessed to have been able to stay in your tribe she would have whipped him in shape in no time. By a year and a half he would have been a totally different boy trust us.
Next time you think about roosters Queen Aurora, remember we have a place in the flock. We do much more then hop on for a ride and beg as you call it. We do all of this so you and other Queens can have the best lives possible. Once again do we complain about all our responsibilities, no. It is "The way of the Rooster."

Sincerely yours
Branch, Bubba and the crazy Twig.

 

[ValarieF]

snow and rain......yay

 

[RoyalChick]

My sister just found out she now has to work both Christmas eve and Christmas Day so she brought over our Christmas gifts early. She now fully embraces the fact that I am the "crazy chicken lady" of the family. She is the "crazy cat lady" so she understands. I do not know how she came up with the egg apron idea. I never told her I wanted one. I've been trying to get grandma to make me one for awhile now and she always is doing projects for other people so I had given up. I tested it out with a Butter egg to see if my biggest eggs would fit, and they do and have plenty of room. I will wear it out with pride tomorrow when I take my tour around the house to gather eggs. She was upset that I already had the purple shirt and offered to take it back. I told her nope I'm keeping it, there is nothing wrong with having multiples of a favorite shirt.
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Love the apron!

 

[bgmathteach]

I have not been able to find any for 2 months. It's crazy.

What brand/type do you use? The small bags of chopped from TSC? Our TSC has been hit or miss on all that type of stuff EXCEPT for the bales of shavings.