Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[micstrachan]

@micstrachan Li'l Mill is a Speckled Sussex. Perhaps she will share a photo.

Of course I would love to share photos of Little Mill! I’m having trouble finding my favorite photo of her right now, but here are some others.

 

[featherhead007]

Jaffar has finally made it up to the big time!
He came over to me and hopped up on my lap (no treats or anything) and just sat with me and I petted him and his waddles!

 

[featherhead007]

Of course I would love to share photos of Little Mill! I’m having trouble finding my favorite photo of her right now, but here are some others.
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The beautiful lil Mill.

 

[BY Bob]

When I extend my run and build an additional coop, I will move him and give him some young pullets of his own. He is a good boy (he sounded the alarm regarding the hawk a couple of months ago when I was in the other side of our 'yard'). I feel bad for him, he looks quite dejected at times

You will be doing him a great service. In the meantime you never know when tragedy might strike. Things could also resolve themselves.

 

[BY Bob]

(If the girls bottoms are pretty exposed, then dabbing some anti-peck on them to darken the bright pink of flesh may also help to keep it from escalating. Sorry, I don't remember the name of the product, but there is an anti-peck spray/daub on treatment just for this purpose. - maybe someone else can chime in with the name of the product?

Blu-Kote is one.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/dr-naylor-blu-kote-aerosol-5-oz

 

[BY Bob]

I don't remember what your set-up is like, but I did have a feather plucking problem my first winter with pullets. Bistro was the culprit. She has the smallest body mass and is the best flyer and didn't like to go outside in the cold. She would just sit by the door to the coop, idly plucking the one bird with a beard and then moved on to neck/chest feathers. Luckily spring soon arrived and she was busy with her normal chicken business, so this behaviour stopped.

The next winter, I gave the ladies access to the storage side of the coop and made another run, this one covered and incorporated a covered area into the original large run. This gave Bistro snow free areas to explore even in winter and she has never restarted this bad habit again.

So, the short answer is try to evaluate their living conditions. Could this just be a high energy hen who needs more room? Do they have enough enrichment in their lives? You mentioned protein, could a weekly treat of some sardines help? Just some ideas. Let us know what happens next!

My reformed feather plucker:

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[Ponypoor]

In the winter the angle of the sun should be such that solid panels would actually not block the sun from the run. Metal might be a good choice.

Yes the sun angle is very low and wouldn't be an issue. And the portions that I want to cover wouldn't be excessive due to the trees being in the way (although I can work around them easily if I really wanted to). I doubt my gang would spend a huge amt of time outside in the winter when it's bitterly cold.

The deciding factor is going to be cost - metal vs PVC panels. The 2x12 beams I can't swap out for anything else so that cost remains a constant; but the pvc vs metal would be my decision.

And of course it's such a huge area that covering in the sides will be a challenge also! Plastic (would need to be at least 6mil poly) would need to be suitable for extreme cold, as it gets really brittle below -20C.

If I were filthy rich I would put pvc panels on rollers to roll across in the bad weather and open in the good weather hahahaha!

 

[BY Bob]

It is killing me not to be there!
Just four days short of eleven months old and Bernadette is exploring the nest boxes.
I can’t see all the way in with my cameras but I think she is building a castle as she has been in there 45 mins moving bedding into her chosen spot (before changing her mind and moving to another spot).
I can’t bear it that my trip looks like it will cause me to miss being there for her first egg.
Of course this might be a practice run - Babs spent four days doing this before she laid - so who knows.
The lady caring for chickens and cats knows to take a photo, but I am a bit hurt Bernie didn’t wait for me to get home (and her full 11 month point).
Here she is in construction mode.
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You know she waited for you to leave, right? She has always had some kind of resentment towards you. I don't think it has waned at all.

Sorry. I call them as I see them.

 

[featherhead007]

Jaffar has finally made it up to the big time!
He came over to me and hopped up on my lap (no treats or anything) and just sat with me and I petted him and his waddles!

Jaffar must be aware of my emotional state today. I have just returned from a friend’s funeral. He’s such a good rooster!

 

[Ponypoor]

Phyllis is not broody now. That was from the past.

Oh good haha! I thought I had missed something! (I have time then to get eggs to you teeheehee )