Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Pastel the Rooster]

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!?)

I woke up and decided to just clarify on this last part...I know that genders and whatever can be offending to people or something, you know. (Sorry I'd this is not well written, I'm writing this at 1AM and I woke up a few minutes ago.
But basically I was just saying that Owly can (hopefully) stay even if it's a roo, because not all roosters are jerks.
I honestly don't know what I meant. Just ignore this message and the other message if you want

 

[Pastel the Rooster]

I made the decision today that the Meloxicam is not enough to help Peanut live a good chickeny life. She really can't move, or doesn't want to move much, it must be too uncomfortable, and there is no promise of recovery from cancer, things will be getting worse, and quickly I think. So I'm taking her to the vets tomorrow (turns out they don't do weekend house calls). She hasn't wanted to leave the nestbox today, at least through 4 o'clock when I had to leave to work, and I don't want to leave it until she is suffering even more.

For those of you who have done this, and those who haven't, I'd appreciate your thoughts on travel companion(s) for Peanut - I brought Butters (a calm hen) with her as a companion on her treatment visit previously. Do I do that again, with Butters, or maybe everyone, so there's less loss of company on the return trip, or take her there by herself, with no one (which doesn't seem right as far as how I did it last time)? And then later, if she is in a box, maybe, put her somewhere in the run back home, where they can see her, say goodbye, or know she has died? Or is it better for them if she just disappears and doesn't leave the box?
@RebeccaBoyd @Ponypoor @rural mouse
@RoyalChick @featherhead007 @bgmathteach @BY Bob @micstrachan

I am so sorry. I believe that you should take them all, and I think that you are an amazing person for not letting Peanut suffer. Most people would probably wait until they die on their own, or try to extend the time they have with them, but you are letting her go while hopefully the pain is not the worst it could possibly be.
You are such an amazing person. I am sending tons of hugs right now.

 

[ManueB]

I made the decision today that the Meloxicam is not enough to help Peanut live a good chickeny life. She really can't move, or doesn't want to move much, it must be too uncomfortable, and there is no promise of recovery from cancer, things will be getting worse, and quickly I think. So I'm taking her to the vets tomorrow (turns out they don't do weekend house calls). She hasn't wanted to leave the nestbox today, at least through 4 o'clock when I had to leave to work, and I don't want to leave it until she is suffering even more.

For those of you who have done this, and those who haven't, I'd appreciate your thoughts on travel companion(s) for Peanut - I brought Butters (a calm hen) with her as a companion on her treatment visit previously. Do I do that again, with Butters, or maybe everyone, so there's less loss of company on the return trip, or take her there by herself, with no one (which doesn't seem right as far as how I did it last time)? And then later, if she is in a box, maybe, put her somewhere in the run back home, where they can see her, say goodbye, or know she has died? Or is it better for them if she just disappears and doesn't leave the box?
@RebeccaBoyd @Ponypoor @rural mouse
@RoyalChick @featherhead007 @bgmathteach @BY Bob @micstrachan

I think it's obvious you don't like the idea of Peanut being alone. Do you know how long and painful the ride there is, if there will be a lot of waiting, and if it's not too stressful ? Depending on how difficult it would be I would either just take Butter because she's more calm, or all of them.

I had the experience not of euthanizing at the vet, but of Caramel dying alone while being there. I showed the body to the other hens. I'm not sure if it meant something for them. I know they felt something was very wrong, especially as they had already lost Vanille a week ago.
I personally felt terrible for letting Caramel die alone at the vet, it made things much more worse, and I promised myself I would do all I could not to have this situation happen again.

I'm trying to say I think you also need to take your own feelings and wishes into account. We know there is no right or wrong choices in such matters, but when you make a choice you "think" is right but feel terrible about, it takes a long time to get over it.

 

[BY Bob]

Thank you for making me smile!

I'm glad I could.

 

[Ponypoor]

Holy Friday Batman!

I almost missed it!

Up high!
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Down low
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The queen's tush
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Wait, which head goes with that bum?
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Last photo - hilarious!

First photo - POW

 

[Ponypoor]

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.

What’s with these older girls going broody first time?

I wonder if the additional care and attention given to our chooks these days, means that the older girls live longer, and hormone fluctuations from being elderly cause them to go broody.

 

[BY Bob]

Yikes - it didn’t even occur to me that it might be an issue with the well itself.
Yikes.
Taking deep breaths - nothing I can do until the guy gets here other than finding all my hand sanitizer bottles.

Our well pump went bad when I was in high school. It was one week of showering at the school, collecting rain water for the chickens, and borrowing drinking water from the next farm up until the parts to repair the pump showed up.

 

[Ponypoor]

I woke up and decided to just clarify on this last part...I know that genders and whatever can be offending to people or something, you know. (Sorry I'd this is not well written, I'm writing this at 1AM and I woke up a few minutes ago.
But basically I was just saying that Owly can (hopefully) stay even if it's a roo, because not all roosters are jerks.
I honestly don't know what I meant. Just ignore this message and the other message if you want

I think Rebecca will not keep another Roo because of what happened with her beloved Silkie Roo Branch a couple months ago. She doesn’t want to risk Branch’s wellbeing.

It is a risk we all have to deal with if we want to hatch eggs. The alternative now to just buy day old pullets .

 

[BY Bob]

What an adorable chicken!
Yes, after hurricane Sandy I was trapped in the house by trees and live wires down across the drive. No power which meant no water (now I have the generator).
We did have warning so I had stockpiled a huge tub of clean water which was a huge help - as was the torrential rain which I collected in buckets.
Ten days later when the road opened, but I was still trapped, I hiked to the road avoiding the wires and climbing over the trees, and got a ride to the same motel where I showered and then watched TV for an hour and then showered again!
I can live without electric light but no running water is a massive pain.

Running water tax - Babs sunbathing in the 90 degree heat. No wonder she was panting later!
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Black chickens and sun bathing when it's really hot out. What's up with them?

 

[BY Bob]

Fluffy Butt Friday

Misty & Marty
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Rico
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Seagull
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It’s FREEZING here! Ok well not freezing but darn chilly after a week of high heat. But the chickens and horses are loving it, so I guess I will be glad for the weather change.

What temp is "freezing"?