Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

You think I should leave them to decide for themselves?
Oh dear. I am not sure what is best.

No - lock the door - they will be fine; as long as it is a secure location they will be fine.

I find that the human is always more worried than the chook/horse.

 

[Ponypoor]

I have a cooler by the road for my eggs. It worked really well for about 6 months - then on 3 separate occasions someone stole the money. I bought a key drop-box with a lid, and screwed it to the sign (mine - with egg prices - chicken & duck), and I have not had a problem since. For a bit, someone was buying duck eggs and paying chicken egg prices....so I started putting a sticky not on each duck egg dozen indicating the price (and yes, they were on opposite sides of the cooler with a paper sign over each stack indicating what they were!) Someone must have paid the difference as one week I had 'extra' money in the till, and it equated to the 'short' for all of the duck egg dozen. I have sold through the cooler at the road (weekends, mostly) since a year before the pandemic, and other than that rash of thefts all within a 6 week period, have been fine. I think if you have some sort of secure thing for people to put the money into, you will be okay. Occasionally someone pays with some bills and some change and is a bit short - but it is occasional, and most of the money is there. And, I go through a lot of eggs every weekend (in addition to colleagues at work that regularly buy some). I usually sell 14 dozen chicken and 2-3 dozen duck eggs a week at the cooler IF I have that many. This is what I got to secure my money, only it was blue. It has worked very well for me.

Egg sales tax:

Fluffy bottoms
View attachment 3569768

A preening bottom. This is one of my DC broodies - pre-egg setting
View attachment 3569770

Another one of my broodies - again, pre-egg setting.
View attachment 3569771

Thanks for the info, I will look into this, another issue I have is a place to put a ‘stand’ - I am going to see if I can put one near my driveway.

The road here is narrow and the ditches about 8’ deep - with sharp slopes, and no shoulders on the road. So no place to pull off and park and no place to put a stand.

I guess I could chop down all the tiger lilies, and put a stand near the fence…. But we have these gawd awful ginormous trash bins to deal with. Hmmmmm - where to put them - no where really (don’t get me started on the trash bins). Will need to think on this.

 

[RoyalChick]

No - lock the door - they will be fine; as long as it is a secure location they will be fine.

I find that the human is always more worried than the chook/horse.

Well I dithered. @featherhead007 you had a say in that!
I flicked the door closed but didn’t latch it. Then I sat in the run trying to decide what to do.
While I did that, Piglet opened the door and let the others in.
I need to be more decisive tomorrow night.

 

[Ponypoor]

Well I dithered. @featherhead007 you had a say in that!
I flicked the door closed but didn’t latch it. Then I sat in the run trying to decide what to do.
While I did that, Piglet opened the door and let the others in.
I need to be more decisive tomorrow night.

Oooo what a smart girl!

There is always tomorrow night

 

[featherhead007]

They will be fine

It’s only my opinion, and I know that I humanize the birds more than I should.

 

[bgmathteach]

Peanut is not doing much better on the painkiller. Just talked to the vet call center, she's looking to see if the vet on duty can come here tomorrow to help Peanut pass. She offered to check if I could bring Peanut up there today, but unless it's cancelled due to thunderstorms (actually likely) I have a gig in the opposite direction today and have to leave here by 4. It also would be added stress on Peanut to travel, it would be altogether less stress all around, me included to not travel for it...

I'm sitting with her with the side door to the nestbox open. She's confined herself here today, and though the Meloxicam has perked her up as far as catching flies, preening a little, gathering a little nest box hemp to her breast, she's not moving much except to adjust her sitting and raise up a bit and forward to poop. She doesn't want to drink any water. She is taking some blueberries and a little scrambled eggs & sunflower seeds. Her crop seems full and I wonder if things aren't moving.

Her belly is not tight like it was but it is filling again, and she is panting and seems hot. She stood a bit wingspreading and then slowly settled down like she didn't want the strain of standing. Or I'm imagining that. But the chopped hemp is warm and holds her heat. I might put her on the roost platform next to this where it is much cooler, especially since there's a big hole below with hardware cloth and screening in the poop tray now. If she wants to move back I'll help her if she can't.
Edit - I just left her there on the hemp. She might be feeling vulnerable and wants to feel hidden in the nest box darkness.

I don't know what to say other than I am sorry. I suspect you hurt as much as Peanut - just in a different way.

 

[Pastel the Rooster]

Peanut is not doing much better on the painkiller. Just talked to the vet call center, she's looking to see if the vet on duty can come here tomorrow to help Peanut pass. She offered to check if I could bring Peanut up there today, but unless it's cancelled due to thunderstorms (actually likely) I have a gig in the opposite direction today and have to leave here by 4. It also would be added stress on Peanut to travel, it would be altogether less stress all around, me included to not travel for it...

I'm sitting with her with the side door to the nestbox open. She's confined herself here today, and though the Meloxicam has perked her up as far as catching flies, preening a little, gathering a little nest box hemp to her breast, she's not moving much except to adjust her sitting and raise up a bit and forward to poop. She doesn't want to drink any water. She is taking some blueberries and a little scrambled eggs & sunflower seeds. Her crop seems full and I wonder if things aren't moving.

Her belly is not tight like it was but it is filling again, and she is panting and seems hot. She stood a bit wingspreading and then slowly settled down like she didn't want the strain of standing. Or I'm imagining that. But the chopped hemp is warm and holds her heat. I might put her on the roost platform next to this where it is much cooler, especially since there's a big hole below with hardware cloth and screening in the poop tray now. If she wants to move back I'll help her if she can't.
Edit - I just left her there on the hemp. She might be feeling vulnerable and wants to feel hidden in the nest box darkness.

I am so sorry. I hate for you to have to go through this. I'm the type of person to wish it would happen to me instead. And I do. ❤

 

[Pastel the Rooster]

I have a cooler by the road for my eggs. It worked really well for about 6 months - then on 3 separate occasions someone stole the money. I bought a key drop-box with a lid, and screwed it to the sign (mine - with egg prices - chicken & duck), and I have not had a problem since. For a bit, someone was buying duck eggs and paying chicken egg prices....so I started putting a sticky not on each duck egg dozen indicating the price (and yes, they were on opposite sides of the cooler with a paper sign over each stack indicating what they were!) Someone must have paid the difference as one week I had 'extra' money in the till, and it equated to the 'short' for all of the duck egg dozen. I have sold through the cooler at the road (weekends, mostly) since a year before the pandemic, and other than that rash of thefts all within a 6 week period, have been fine. I think if you have some sort of secure thing for people to put the money into, you will be okay. Occasionally someone pays with some bills and some change and is a bit short - but it is occasional, and most of the money is there. And, I go through a lot of eggs every weekend (in addition to colleagues at work that regularly buy some). I usually sell 14 dozen chicken and 2-3 dozen duck eggs a week at the cooler IF I have that many. This is what I got to secure my money, only it was blue. It has worked very well for me.

Egg sales tax:

Fluffy bottoms
View attachment 3569768

A preening bottom. This is one of my DC broodies - pre-egg setting
View attachment 3569770

Another one of my broodies - again, pre-egg setting.
View attachment 3569771

The middle picture is a Barnevelder, correct? She looks just like Willow.

 

[Pastel the Rooster]

Ok everyone, they are almost 5 weeks now. Owly is a Americauna or fancy word for Easter Egger. There was some suspicion a week and a half ago about her being a boy. She does not act it and I cannot see any boy traits on her yet. She is my favorite, willingly seeks me out to sit on me so that probably does mean she is a male but there is hope. What do you all think.
View attachment 3569829View attachment 3569830View attachment 3569832View attachment 3569834View attachment 3569836View attachment 3569839

Owly is a girl. Even if she turns out to be a boy, she can always be a girl in you're heart. (Who cares about genders anyway, right!?)

 

[bgmathteach]

Maybe I can help. Let me see if I have pics of all the ladies.... note: the following pics were all taken prior to the arrival of the chicks 5.5 weeks ago.

View attachment 3569664Indigo was my prediction for broody outside the coop first. I was wrong. (She's a year)

View attachment 3569671Cuckoo (2 years)

View attachment 3569672Nellie (2 years)

View attachment 3569673Nox (1year)

View attachment 3569674Pear (3 years)View attachment 3569676Primula (front, 1 year)

View attachment 3569678Twirp and Blanche (both 2 years)

View attachment 3569679Thing 2 (2 years)

View attachment 3569680Maizie (1 year)

View attachment 3569682Storm (2 years)

View attachment 3569683Lark (1 year)

View attachment 3569685Silver (4 years)

View attachment 3569687Jessica (2 years, successful broody last year)

View attachment 3569688Mera (1 year)

View attachment 3569689Belladonna (1 year)

View attachment 3569690Pippa (1 year)

View attachment 3569694PITA (2 years)

I'm going to go out on a limb here...and guess it ISN'Y Jessica - because that would be too obvious.

So, I will go with either Maizie or Primula.

I'd love to say Silver is too old to go broody for the first time - but Crop Girl has gone broody (sitting a week now), and she is 5. Never a hint of broody tendencies before! So, honestly, it really could be anyone.