Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[TX Chick Noob]

Cute picture, such lovely girls!

I wish him a safe recovery and hope you feel alright again soon. My ankle seems mostly recovered but it wasn’t near as bad as your break. It took almost 8 months for it to feel completely right again and I still struggle with trusting it to be okay.

Thanks. I am really struggling with it right now, and I know it is because I am overusing it. I managed to elevate it a little more often today but need to ice it more too.

My understanding is that hens do not change their egg shell color. I suppose Glynda just ran out of spray paint for hers.

Can we assume that she is doing that? I think I read somewhere that the egg colour gets lighter over the course of the season.

I know that eggs with a brown coating (that includes green eggs) get lighter over the course of their laying season, until they take a break to “recharge the paint booth”. But blue is a different process and is the full thickness of the shell. So even if they got an extra coat of calcium that shouldn’t affect the inside color with the membrane removed. I would definitely check with the breeder, and maybe do a little more research on blue eggs starting to fade out. Hopefully it is a temporary glitch from the upheaval in your flock the past few months.

Turns out I need a license to own quail. Not sure how onerous that process is.

I was going to mention that I had heard some states require a license to own/breed some species of quail. It definitely sounds counterproductive to efforts to repopulate areas that have seen them become much more scarce.

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This is Gaby. Why does she barely have any feathers under her?

Going broody maybe?

Agreed, looks like what Coco did to her breast when she went broody. But keep an eye on her in case it is something else.

Thirsty Thursday

 

[TX Chick Noob]

Sitting at the surgery center, waiting on them to finish my husband’s rotator cuff surgery. I will either be on more often for the next few weeks, or hardly in at all, depending on taking care of him. Not looking forward to it, especially not when I am still hobbling around.

Just realized I don’t think I ever posted that his surgery went well. But it was a pretty major repair, and he is very uncomfortable. I have a feeling it will be several weeks before he isn’t in almost constant pain, even with medication and icing it.

Tax

 

[Ponypoor]

the tax man knocketh at my door,
empty pockets, I'm so poor,
a feather and a beak, I shall offer
nothing more to put in the coffer.

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Miss Curious




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I'm to sexy for my hens,




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Ebony and Ivory




@Ponypoor , you will thank me later

Ya thanks, it’s 03:00 and here I am humming ebony and ivory ya thanks

 

[Ponypoor]

Just realized I don’t think I ever posted that his surgery went well. But it was a pretty major repair, and he is very uncomfortable. I have a feeling it will be several weeks before he isn’t in almost constant pain, even with medication and icing it.

Tax
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Oh I am so sorry he is in pain, I know how that goes, and how it can make you feel even worse. Make him take his pain meds, pain management is very important.

Oh I love your girls colour so rich and vibrant

 

[Ponypoor]

@Ponypoor, I thought you might be interested in this picture. It is a bit hard to see because the feeder is in the way - but there are at least two chicks who are sleeping like Mr.P with their heads hanging down.
I think it may be time to turn off their heat plate. According to commonly shared guidance they need 85 degrees and at night it is only 50, but this is the second night they have slept mainly outside the heat cave.

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My kiddies are now sleeping under the brooder

Even with it off they will sleep under
It.

 

[Ponypoor]

My vote is to leave it till they are fully feathered. If they were to get damp or chilled by a gusty day they may need it, you never know.
I left mine in till the 6th week. They rarely used it but every now and again someone ran under to get warmed up for a brief while.
* Side note my chicks hatched on the 5th which makes then a whole 6 days old they are out in the garage and during the day they rarely spend much time under Brownie anymore. They already just dart under for a minute then back out. Its topping out temp wise here at 80 ish at the warmest part of the day but they seem unfazed and certainly not chilled.

Yes today it was 26C (77F approx) and the silkie babies were fine, they were scratching and running and doing chicken things most of the day and I didn’t see the mamas needing to stop and let them warm I at all. The are must more hardy then I figured.

 

[Ponypoor]

Thanks. I am really struggling with it right now, and I know it is because I am overusing it. I managed to elevate it a little more often today but need to ice it more too.



I know that eggs with a brown coating (that includes green eggs) get lighter over the course of their laying season, until they take a break to “recharge the paint booth”. But blue is a different process and is the full thickness of the shell. So even if they got an extra coat of calcium that shouldn’t affect the inside color with the membrane removed. I would definitely check with the breeder, and maybe do a little more research on blue eggs starting to fade out. Hopefully it is a temporary glitch from the upheaval in your flock the past few months.


I was going to mention that I had heard some states require a license to own/breed some species of quail. It definitely sounds counterproductive to efforts to repopulate areas that have seen them become much more scarce.




Agreed, looks like what Coco did to her breast when she went broody. But keep an eye on her in case it is something else.

Thirsty Thursday
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Re license: same here, many species require a license or are out right restricted. This is to try and control mixing with native stock or outright competing with native species.

We have a real problem with many introduced species out competing our native species - so much so that some have been pushed to extremely low populations in the wild.

Also they try to control introducing diseases and parasites into wild populations.

But people get them on the sly, then when they don’t want them, or don’t have adequate housing they animals get loose and into the wild.

 

[Marie2020]

Ticks are bad this year, too, ALREADY! I suspect it was because we, overall, had a mild winter. That said, I'm surprised the week of the deep chill, especially with no snow cover, didn't kill more off.

You can try Guinea fowl, but I suspect they won't last too long due to predation. You might want to try getting some pheasants, grouse, or quail - all raised specifically to be released, so they have a chance. All of them are good at eating ticks (quail are supposedly really good at this) and I think have a better chance of survival and reproduction success in this area. I think you can get quail that are native to the region. Bobwhite quail are, and I think there is another species that is, also. Just a thought!

I wonder if Bobwhite quail is in UK

 

[Marie2020]

Tina rips into her breakfast menu of layers, crumble, green stalks banana and yogurt before Princess gets there

Princesses on her first course of wood lice before her main dish. She never misses a tasty bug

Princess on her second breakfast course

 

[rural mouse]

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This is Gaby. Why does she barely have any feathers under her?

Going broody? They can pluck out the feathers so they can make better contact with the eggs for incubating them.

Shra tax