Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[rural mouse]

Tax Video?

Who's that handsome black breasted silver roo struggling so desperately to get the girls?

 

[rural mouse]

No snow! so wonderful to see them out and about doing chicken things - love it!

Cow-birds are small - the size of a sparrow pretty much (half the size of a Grackle), and they have brown heads on the males and black bodies, the females are a dowdy brown colour. We have a lot of cowbirds here and they are a pest - they lay their eggs in other birds nests, then the chicks hatch and push the other chicks/eggs out of the nest. This way they don't compete with other birds for food. They are pretty much decimating our song bird population in many places.

They will raise their own, but they are opportunistic at laying in other's nests.

Birdie Tax

It was mayhem tonight in the Hen House with everyone wanting up on those two nest boxes! Brats!View attachment 3416584

Ah! Other way around from the grackles: black head, brownish body. That may be why the unofficial name gets used!

 

[Ponypoor]

Well, I think this evening I am going to hopefully switch to plan Bunny. I have left gooses eggs alone, left her alone and it has not clicked and she is still only semi broody. As of last night there were 8 eggs in her nest. Bunny is full on broody. I do have a problem, she has chosen the main top of the hay. That unfortunately does not work for me pretty girl. I am going to go out there later and fix up a spot where I want her to sit and move Gooses eggs to it. Bunny currently has no eggs to sit on. I hope she will see those eggs and accept them and the new spot. Cross your fingers everyone. I have never tried to switch up a nest spot before, but, if Bunny wants chicks, she will have to accept it.

I did with Henny Penny - I moved her where I wanted her and plunked her eggs under her - she didn't even move hahaha.

Last year I moved Dorothy about 4 times to different nest boxes when she was broody and just wouldn't stop being broody! 5 weeks! I must have moved her almost every week to a different nest box and finally to the small animal crate where I just finally left her, after a couple weeks in there she finally gave up being broody. She didn't even have any golf balls - just the odd time someone gave her an egg

I bet that if you gave her eggs in a quiet spot she would likely just hunker down on those eggs and hatch them!

 

[Ponypoor]

You’re all forgiven for your nataionality… as long as you don’t try to pass off that red tail Hawk scream as an Eagle! but yes, there’s not too many of us international peeps here. I was shocked to find when I came back that you had adopted another Canadian, too. And a Newfie at that!

There's another??? who? Oh me hahahah duh!

Miss out when I am away more than a few hrs!

Silly gal tax

 

[Chicken poppy]

I’m very curious, has anyone here tried incubating fairy eggs?
I know they are uncommon to get, and its even rarer to end up with one with a yolk. But i heard one story of it getting veining. Has anyone had experience with this? Just out of curiosity.

 

[Ponypoor]

My heritage is mostly German and Irish, with some French, Scottish, and Native American thrown in for fun. Like my chickens (and most humans in the USA) I'm a mutt.

I like my mutt chickens - they lay a variety of egg colours, and are likely very hardy! We shall see how hardy the new chicks are that I am getting in April - I am already worried about the Brahmas being too hot

I gave up on the portable AC unit idea - I didn't want a noisy machine running all the time, but then I think what's the difference if it's a fan running full blast - oh the dilemma....

OK who out there has Brahmas where they get HOT HUMID weather and how do you keep them cool, esp at night - night is when I worry. The barn is nice and cool usually.

 

[Ponypoor]

Hubby made 3 more nesting boxes cause they are fighting over 2 nesting boxes
View attachment 3416390

You can have 14 of them - they are still going to fight over those two nest boxes trust me! I have 7 nest boxes and they lay in 2 of them - the Sillkies are laying in a bottom ground floor one (they can reach the 2 bottom ones AND the 2 above - but they don't), and the rest are using the one Buttercup always uses.... sheesh!!!

 

[Ponypoor]

going to post Peep exhaling like a squeak toy, it’s a video so gotta put it to youtube first.

I’ll try doing it tonight, meanwhile. View attachment 3416547Baby tax! Dixie is a very good mom so i’m glad i bred her. Hopefully the broody-protectiveness carrys down to her babies.

Oh Thank you thank you thank you ! They are sooooo adorable! Is that left one the wee one you are worried about? How is she doing?

 

[BY Bob]

I did with Henny Penny - I moved her where I wanted her and plunked her eggs under her - she didn't even move hahaha.

Last year I moved Dorothy about 4 times to different nest boxes when she was broody and just wouldn't stop being broody! 5 weeks! I must have moved her almost every week to a different nest box and finally to the small animal crate where I just finally left her, after a couple weeks in there she finally gave up being broody. She didn't even have any golf balls - just the odd time someone gave her an egg

I bet that if you gave her eggs in a quiet spot she would likely just hunker down on those eggs and hatch them!

I tried moving Sydney and she went crazy trying to get back to her nest. It was awful. I had to let her go back to the original spot.

 

[RoyalChick]

There's another??? who? Oh me hahahah duh!

Miss out when I am away more than a few hrs!

Silly gal tax
View attachment 3416601

Who is that? I love her looks and her fluffy beard!