Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

The question was about getting mold in the bedding if you use the mister.
I suspect it doesn't actually make the bedding wet, but because I have never used one I wasn't sure.

I have never had that problem. I use straw for my bedding. The fan is roughly over 2 feet above the surface of the coop.

 

[BY Bob]

I moved Sophia and quadruplets to the large crate with placed in the Summer House, and closed to door so the rest of the beasties couldn’t bother her.

I placed the crate facing the one doorway for light and so that everyone could have a look see. The top is off the crate for now.

Ok well lunch time now, need to drag the gang inside, had a fox visiting this morning. Next on my agenda is get the outside run completed.

And fix my screen better, have a security breach here!
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What a great mum she is. I'm so very happy for her.

 

[BY Bob]

She's calm now. Clearly unhappy, but calm. Maybe the whole day inside is too much, (and again tomorrow) but I don't think she'd survive another day like yesterday. I don't want to shock her system by getting her too cold either...I'll keep the AC from blowing on her directly and maybe warm the house up to 75 or so before taking her back out tonight. View attachment 3560076

She may not be happy but she is alive. Good job.

 

[BY Bob]

DISASTER: when I returned from town I saw this! The grapevine is not ripe yet either. I don’t know what to do with this. Such a shame to have happened! View attachment 3560186View attachment 3560192

I bet you could prop it back if up with some 2x4s to at least get you through harvest time. Then you could rebuild it over the winter.

 

[BY Bob]

I haven’t really checked out how to do that yet. Maybe I’ll leave it there for the season and hopefully the trunks will survive.

The trunks will survive. You could have trouble with the grapes though.

 

[BY Bob]

It is that time of year again friends, the Mimosa's are busting out in bloom. The pictures were taken yesterday and the amount of blooms has doubled today.
View attachment 3560207View attachment 3560209View attachment 3560211View attachment 3560212
And one of Branch just because he is so stinking cute.
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I will not argue that those trees are beautiful when in bloom. They also provide shade and cover for the chickens. They hate me though, 2 days now fighting a sinus headache that is about to take me out. We have got to get the grass mowed this evening. It quit raining and the yard is dried out. We also have a 2 day horse show starting tomorrow evening so there is no hiding inside like I want to. If I am sporadic about visiting it is because I am having to lay down to get rid of the headaches. I could cut them down, but it would do no good. They are everywhere.

They are beautiful though.

Sorry they cause you so much trouble.

 

[BY Bob]

She's a stupid chicken, that's for sure. She's managed to spill her food and water, so she's standing on soaked newspaper and shavings. I refilled the bowl, but she keeps crowding it, though there's plenty of room. I actually mixed her up oatmeal, peanut butter, sunflower seeds and craisins and she's doing her best to spill that too.View attachment 3560223
We went out and checked the others a bit ago. It was nearly 99 in the shed, but under 93 in the nest box. So Eenie's new ventilation (the grate over the egg door) seems to really work. Manny and Meanie are hot...but not HOT. Ran the hose over the building and that seemed to help too.

It's not unusual for that to happen. It hard to blame her. She is not used to living in a crate. That's why I have mine mounted on the crate walls.

 

[Lilion]

It is that time of year again friends, the Mimosa's are busting out in bloom. The pictures were taken yesterday and the amount of blooms has doubled today.
View attachment 3560207View attachment 3560209View attachment 3560211View attachment 3560212
And one of Branch just because he is so stinking cute.
View attachment 3560213
I will not argue that those trees are beautiful when in bloom. They also provide shade and cover for the chickens. They hate me though, 2 days now fighting a sinus headache that is about to take me out. We have got to get the grass mowed this evening. It quit raining and the yard is dried out. We also have a 2 day horse show starting tomorrow evening so there is no hiding inside like I want to. If I am sporadic about visiting it is because I am having to lay down to get rid of the headaches. I could cut them down, but it would do no good. They are everywhere.

I love mimosas. Here they're considered invasive, but I think they're so pretty with their fuzzy blossoms and lacy leaves. God only knows what they'd do to my sinuses. Oak trees do it for me and of course in the spring everything is just green with their pollen. And Lilies. In love them and I can't breathe with them near. I'd give good money to be able to take decongestants. I hope you feel better soon.

Generally they prefer to be with their friends so if she has recovered I would probably put her back outside.
An alternative is to bring a friend in to keep her company. I have never done that but others do so.

She's back in the coop. Manny was on her back before she'd been in there 90 seconds! Dang randy roo! She was still wet from laying on wet newspaper but she'll dry. It was still over 90, but we have a fan blowing.

Thank each and every one of you for all your help. It was such a relief to have people to ask. We've learned so much with this little heat snap...my husband, bless him, is talking about buying a portable building (wood) and running electrical to it for an AC unit! LOL. He may be going a tad overboard.

 

[TX Chick Noob]

I'll take a look at that. With respect to bedding...how do you mist the roosts without getting bedding wet? Inquiring minds want to know!

The question was about getting mold in the bedding if you use the mister.
I suspect it doesn't actually make the bedding wet, but because I have never used one I wasn't sure.

There is a difference between “wet” shavings and “damp” shavings. People who use the deep litter method, where the goal is for it to compost right in the coop, will tell you there has to be some moisture in the bedding for it to work. When things are too dry they will actually mist the bedding on purpose. The rule of thumb is if you pick up a handful and squeeze it you don’t have any water dripping out, and little to no clumping. So it is ok to get a little moisture on the bedding, just make sure to have plenty of ventilation and keep it turned/mixed up. The chooks will help you with that last part, especially if you throw a handful of scratch or mealworms on top.

What sort of switch are you using for starting your fans? I have mine on a timer but a temperature gauge startup would be my bucket list!

You have to remember that my husband does commercial refrigeration for a living. We have three rows of plugs in our barn. One row is wired into a thermostat that is set for them to only be hot when temps are above 85. Another row the plugs are only active when temps are below 40 (for heat lamps, etc). The third row is hot all the time. He gets either digital or manual commercial thermostats that he wires in. But if you Google it you might be able to find thermostats that you can just plug into the outlet that have a receptacle you can plug your fan in to.

Yes! My wee ones look like them, that colouring is lovely and the eggs are nice also. I think they just throw them into these boxes and don’t segregate them by breed - I am not so hung up on the breed, but would be nice to have an idea of when they might start laying. I am going to go with 15 weeks, esp if they have production breeding.

They sure are cute they were out eating this morning

When I ordered mine I talked to them and was told you could get all five of one “breed”, or one each of five different breeds, or anything in between. Almost all the breeds they list in that assortment are really just Easter Eggers with a designer label, using slightly different breeds as parents. It will be fun to see what color eggs you get, and if you have crests, miffs, beards, etc.
mine started laying between 19-22 weeks.

Eenie isn't panting, but her comb is looking pale. Shall I evict her for the nest and try to force her to drink?

Their combs get pale any time they stop laying for an extended period of time, like when they are broody. So it could be the heat but also could be from being broody. I agree with the others to try to provide a wet mash to eat and other moisture rich foods.

 

[lightm]

I’m so sorry to read this. Our chicken friends are so dear, and we don’t have great ways to help them when they need it.

Thank you, and hugs to you about your Butter. Hope things get sorted out.