Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[LhickenChicken]

As long as they stay contained until we can put them in the freezer, good. As long as they can't hurt anyone else, good. As long as they aren't killing each other, good. If someone pops up wanting a roo before we put them in the freezer, good. I'll figure out a way to catch them in there when I need too.

um @rural mouse did you know you could have an all-rooster flock?

 

[Ponypoor]

All I was doing was closing up the door to her crate. I was not even looking at her chicks and the bat does this. I did not see it coming and thankfully she missed my eye. Momma Hen 1, me 0.
View attachment 3498233

What is it with eyes this Spring!

Wow that's just crazy, sorry to 'see' that happen - but glad she didn't connect with your eyeball itself!

OK rule from now on is to wear proper PPE around chickens: safety goggles mandatory, and non-slip foot wear optional (that poop sure is slippery!).

 

[rural mouse]

um @rural mouse did you know you could have an all-rooster flock?

Not if I want eggs. Now, if I was strictly after eye candy and grasshopper control, then maybe. However, we currently have a coop built into a steepish hillside, no run, and let the birds range free all day. Wouldn't be fair to the roos to be taunted by the hens strolling by.

 

[Ponypoor]

I like your explanation
My strength is being literal. (I have wanted to be with my Nana. Next time she tells me about chickens on the dishes is gross, I will remind her where eggs come from. Sorry if I seem to be mean about my Nana. She seems to always find something absurd to worry about. Worried about me having diabetes (no, we live in a desert, therefore, I will drink a lot), then some other absurd things, including the dishes, and then giving me a silent, whispered lecture on not kicking my sister. I had plenty of evidence that it never happened, but I have decided not to bother correcting her since she will say I called her a liar.
While I'm at ranting, my siblings have been trash talking the fact that I love my chooks, saying that they will wait until I go somewhere to kill my beloved Abigail. I figured I should just leave them alone and have some fun my own way)
Tax for dumb rant:
View attachment 3498434

Can't choose your siblings ha!

They are just yanking your chain getting you all hot and bothered.

My sister once, cut the hair off my favourite doll, I retaliated by pushing her off the slide. teeheehee

I really do owe a lot of tax, and will pay up when I get my phone back.

 

[Ponypoor]

She’s doing ok I think. I’m sure she is a little lonely. We haven’t gotten her a companion yet. I’m really having trouble choosing between another llama or two, or a pair of mini-donkeys. The llamas would probabaly be lower maintenance, but hard to find decent ones that aren’t either young/untrained or really old.


Is it set a little too high? Can you angle it more? They might be hanging out on top because when they lay down to sleep underneath they can’t reach it.

Tax, just in case
View attachment 3498494

Get both - the donkeys and another Llama

I know - such and enabler haha! OK I am only be half ways serious. How's the leg BTW?

The tweens, it seems, are all over the place with regards to that brooder plate, on top, under it, half on half off.... they are quite the characters, I came into my office to catch up on FBA and they ran inside with me - hopped up into their bin had some grub, then hopped up onto my desk said 'hi' they took off again - crazy kids!

 

[Ponypoor]

View attachment 3498488
@Ponypoor or anyone else who may be able to help with this:
This is Agathae. She is 3 pounds. Her breed standard is 5 1/2 pounds. She is from September last year, so eight months old. She has been laying from around March. Now I need to know: Is she underweight? Abigail should be 7 pounds but is only five, so I am wondering if the flock is not getting what they need. If underweight, how to get her to normal weight? Will she ever get to normal weight or is she just off her rocker?
And if she is underweight, could it be causing her to lay shelless eggs? It's got to be either underweight, stressed, not enough calcium, being a young pulled, excessive begging for mealworms, being in a rush, or just being a fan of not putting a shell on her eggs.
Would bleinding yogurt and eggshell togheter be a good way to get the calcium into her?
Here is tonight's Agathae egg:
View attachment 3498497

Well all the above could be reasons - if she just laid the one I wouldn't worry too muc.h.

Marty wasn't feeling well yesterday and after some uncomfortable straining she passed a soft shelled egg which broke, and then it was a free for all for everyone to eat!

I know someone else asked what your feeding but I will throw in my 2 cents worth: I feed a layer ration as their main feed, they get a bit of scratch grain for a treat, and my mum gives them left overs (too much I feel but no one seems to be overweight), they also are out and about eating whatever they can find outside.

 

[RoyalChick]

Pigletine had an adventure.
She aimed for the roost but overshot and landed first on the wood strip holding up the flat panel heater.
She soon corrected and marched up and down the main roost like she owns the place. Then she flew to the ground right in front of Bernadette. I don’t have a photo of that as both hands were deployed distracting Bernie with sunflower seeds.
When Piglet flies she looks like a hummingbird. She is so tiny and her winds flap really, really fast!

 

[notabitail]

Can't choose your siblings ha!

They are just yanking your chain getting you all hot and bothered.

My sister once, cut the hair off my favourite doll, I retaliated by pushing her off the slide. teeheehee

I really do owe a lot of tax, and will pay up when I get my phone back.

What happened to your phone? Did the chickens take it away?
My siblings love getting me mad. I will have to share The Great Egg Prank with all of you. I got them mad this time around.

 

[Ponypoor]

Lady Hen-Rietta stayed the night with me, and she was fed and ate a little breakfast this morning. She is such a sweet lady, but she told me she needed to go back home to the coop. Leghorns will show true love and are serious about affection. If they don’t want to lap sit, they won’t. (My lady does and shows me)

So is she feeling better? I need to read onwards to find out!

lol lil silkies are so cute

yes but darn irritatingly worrisome! I want my gals out and about but I have to babysit these ones so much.

That did not take long. Responsibility is tough.

Yup - I remember all those years having foals, the sleepless nights worrying about the mares foaling, then the foals themselves...

I remember all the worry about are they ok, are they eating enough, are they drinking enough, pooping.... ?? what if they get injured...

Yes having chicks has reminded me why I was happy to stop raising foals! I worry too much it seems.

But sure are darn tootin cute

 

[notabitail]

Sure can! I’ve been keeping them for about a year now, and I’ve kept my population levels fairly steady... mostly through neglect. I forget they are there sometimes and a week or two will go by before I get them a fresh veggie water source. Please as always excuse the mess... I screwed the top of the organizer into some 2x4’s to suspend them below the skirt of the coffee table edge. So the table now weighs whole a lot more, but it was what I had to hand when I was setting it up and suddenly realized I needed to drop the organizers down to be able to open the top drawers.View attachment 2392868View attachment 2392857
I was using a screened bottom in a drawer (missing) but have given up on that and am now just letting the beetles live in the exact same set up as the worms. I need to find one of the regular drawers to replace it. I know it’s somewhere outside, as I have a third organizer I don’t have room for in the trailer and just use the Spare drawers for sifting.
View attachment 2392861View attachment 2392863
I moved the egg carton top over to take the picture of the worms... they are congregating there on a slice of zucchini.

Finally! Someone had said this was buried somewhere. I found it.