Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

Up, just checked the horses, Truly is upright

The chooks also look ok; I managed to check Larry’s bare butt, also noted broken feathers on her back and shoulders, I couldn’t see any critters but will treat her for such with Ivermectin tomorrow. And the others also,
May as well get them done for the year.

I will monitor for feather picking by her flock mates - but hopefully being in a free run part of the day will help with any of those issues, also will get a higher protein going for her.

Just checked my weather, yesterday at 4pm we had a lovely wind and rain storm, no thunder at all. It the wind was ferocious and in the span of half an hour dropped 3/4” of rain! Everything was flooded.

Now it seems today we are under high wind and tornado warnings again. Crazy weather.

 

[Ponypoor]

It is scary, most of the time it’s fine and taken care of without to much fuss but if it takes hold it can be truly terrifying.

I was a lifeguard from age 16-20 and spent many summers out in the sun with little to no thought to properly using sunscreen. I have long since wised up but the damage has a lasting effect. So, yes hats, sunscreen, rash guard clothing are very important, I agree 1000%.

Sun dangers tax:
View attachment 3582844

Those kiddos have big fluffy derrières

Yes I try to be better with the sun, I don’t do the sun worship thing anymore.

 

[Firsttimehens1234]

Wonderful! Mama is sticking to the nest? Make sure you put food and water so she doesn’t have to get off the nest and the hatchlings are eating

Mama is laying in the nest and not budging, I had to put some food with water in the nest for the chicks so they could eat and they did, the last chick is hatching right now and I’m hoping that after the last chick hatched mama will go with the chicks and take them off the nest

 

[RoyalChick]

I have been quiet also for similar reasons as @RebeccaBoyd. I have been diagnosed with Melanoma stage 2a and will have to have surgery to remove it. I am waiting for my appointment to find out more details @ Ohio State University's cancer center.

I know this is a chicken thread but you all have become friends. I should be fine but I do want to remind everyone to get your skin checked every year and to wear sunscreen.

Sunscreen reminder tax:

View attachment 3582631

Oh goodness. I am glad the prognosis is good, but I know it must be very stressful and frightening.


Lovely picture

 

[RoyalChick]

Since this is insanely long I've bolded the main points.

Hopefully good news about Butters! At least, she is doing much better overall! Over the last weekend I thought she hit rock bottom. Surprisingly these last three days she's not fading away but holding on and even improving. Her energy got better. She was dust bathing, foraging, sunbathing. Less sleeping during the day and much less standing around looking miserable. I saw her eat a small spider (yay!), and later maul a tiny snail, and a worm, but not eat them, except whatever little bits she got by mauling. She would nibble a bit of blueberry and no more. But then she actually ate about a third of a blueberry on Monday I think, actually taking pieces of it, and ate one small worm too.

On Monday the vet emailed with the blood work - everything very normal, but some inflammation indicated. Her uric acid was slightly high also. Bile levels very low, so no liver problem. Glucose normal, she was managing to eat enough that day to maintain. If there's something wrong it is either kidneys or her heart. I have started seriously wondering if she has been going through a very screwy starvation molt. For the first time I offered electrolytes and probiotics in the insulated waterer on Monday, with plain water in a dog bowl. I never saw Butters drink it except when I first showed her. I don't think she liked it. Hazel did drink it.

The vet said tube feeding could be done if Butters would tolerate it, but only every other day, and as low stress as possible. I decided not to tube feed for at least a couple of days, because Butters was slightly improving and maybe would continue and eat on her own. Today Wednesday she proved this true in spades, she found and ate a bunch of worms! Still very little interest in greens. Only a little bit of Baby's Breath. She's been terribly interested in bugs and worms all this time, but just not eating them.

Yesterday Tuesday I saw her eat a medium-size worm plus a tiny snail. She liked the insides of a blueberry, eating a few bites. She just mauled the rest of any living thing she uncovered while I was watching her, but I noticed the bile she was pooping was much less, her fluff wasn't nearly so messy with that bright green stuff (I had cleaned it off a couple of times to monitor and check her skin). Her body overall appeared better. Had she fixed up her feathers some? Hard to explain, but she carried herself in a better way too, she looked stronger.

Since Monday the tribe has been behaving differently. Hazel began squatting for me, she had stopped ages ago. She was calling a lot, I kept asking her if she's coming into lay again. Yesterday Tuesday out with them in the back shady area where they like to dig, I noticed Hazel was getting into little scuffles with everyone around her. Butters, too, was chasing Popcorn off of her forage spots, and herself getting picked on by Hazel, once involving Hazel's feet. We heard several kerfluffles throughout the day. Butters looked like she was feeling better!

Today Wednesday Hazel was calling incessantly at times, there were two escort calls, and they all really wanted out to forage, even Butters taking a turn standing at the run door. Now I keep thinking Hazel knew Butters needed to get on fresh ground and eat. Out they ran, and I saw her rear fluff looks pretty good, much more normal, and - today she dug and went to town on about 12 worms! She ate every worm, small and big ones. Even when it looked like she was going to be just mauling it, she got it into position and hiked it back. What a change! Yay!

This is a spot covered with cardboard last year to prepare for gardening in it. I've brought them here often, pulling it up here and there for them. She discovered a motherlode and dug away, more importantly she ate what she found. Previously she had been leaving a trail of dead bugs and worms.
View attachment 3582352

Hard work! She decided to sunbathe and doze for a short while.
View attachment 3582360

Thinking she's a protein hog now, I offered some sardines to lure them back to the run, (they were out a good couple of hours) - and for the first time in ages, Butters tagged along, walked back to the run interested in what I had, and I didn't have to get her and carry her back (she is soooo light). She moved more slowly than the others who trotted, but still, very interested. She nibbled and kept pecking away at the sardines, even after the other two had their fill for the time being.

Here she is still eating.
View attachment 3582496

Butters still has an issue with her left eye. @ManueB it does seem to be something irritating it but it doesn't look red or swollen anywhere yet. I sent the vet pictures, and she saw nothing untoward either. Butters scratches the area regularly. The vet said to monitor it and update her. I did order Terramycin on my own and it arrived today.

PS: I burned my right hand Monday grabbing a hot (400 F) cast iron pot handle like an idiot. The chicken medical kit supplies have come in handy! It is the worst I have ever burned myself, I immediately ran cool water over it for at least fifteen minutes and continued with cool soaking because of the pain, but the damage was done. There is a blister an inch long+ and maybe half an inch wide on my palm at the base of my thumb. The rest of my palm and fingers is manageable but there I could not control the pain except holding it in cold water, and even after a few hours and taking ibuprofen it would flare up unbearably and only cool water was helping.

I searched around my medical supplies for anything to put on it (aloe was like nothing). I then searched the web for ideas and then! I remembered I had bought some sort of pain cream for the chickens - and found Aspercreme with 4% Lidocaine in the chicken kit. After seeing conflicting advice on the web about Lidocaine on burns I felt this injury was probably not through all the skin and so okay, but if that proved to be the case later I'd go to the doctor, and for now I was desperate so I slathered it on. It helped some. It helped for about half an hour, so then I rinsed it off and slathered on more. That lasted longer (did I give myself a double dose?). I tried a gauze covering which was very awkward in that location, then for the night I removed it, washed the area lightly and applied more Lidocaine in case it hurt in the night, and covered it in different gauze and fastened with paper tape with a loose glove over it all. Next day I found a non-adhesive non-stick pad, and got antibiotic ointment on it, and - yes, in the chicken kit! - fastened it all with vet-wrap cut in strips. That's been working great. I can play bass because my fingertips are okay, but weirdly the back of my hand feels the inflammation from my palm with some soreness. I have a gig tomorrow night.

Fantastic news on Butters!
Ouch on the burn - that sounds miserable.

 

[Ponypoor]

Mama is laying in the nest and not budging, I had to put some food with water in the nest for the chicks so they could eat and they did, the last chick is hatching right now and I’m hoping that after the last chick hatched mama will go with the chicks and take them off the nest

She may stay till the youngest one gets strong enough to run with her and the others.

Can’t wait to see pictures

 

[rural mouse]

So, yesterday I kept hearing the boys in the grasses.... the "lay eggs here" sounds...

Whiskey

Cheetah

Same spot

At bedtime. Looks like probably Indigo (the grasses she was poking around in the otherday).

 

[rural mouse]

They used to like the bucket water

Then...

Adults taught them wild water is better

Zulu

Chia

Havoc


(Dappled sunlight is almost impossible to get ok pics. Good ones do not exist)

 

[Ponypoor]

So, yesterday I kept hearing the boys in the grasses.... the "lay eggs here" sounds...View attachment 3582916Whiskey

View attachment 3582917Cheetah

View attachment 3582918Same spot

View attachment 3582919At bedtime. Looks like probably Indigo (the grasses she was poking around in the otherday).

Wow your kiddos are taking this Jungle Fowl thing to heart it’s good cover against aerial predators, not sure about foxes, etc. but your flock is better used to those predators, than the average flock I bet.

I think it’s great they can be so natural

 

[Ponypoor]

They used to like the bucket waterView attachment 3582925

Then...View attachment 3582924Adults taught them wild water is better
View attachment 3582923Zulu

View attachment 3582922Chia

View attachment 3582921Havoc


(Dappled sunlight is almost impossible to get ok pics. Good ones do not exist)

The school chicks aren’t keen on the wild water, but Sophia’s kids just slog right into the mud and have a blast. Will see if I can get some pictures today!

Ok well I need to climb up to the house attic and put some mouse bait up there, I was awoken at 3am to something chewing in the attic over my head. I tried playing cat meows on My phone to scare it away, but it’s still there chewing

Need to get rid of that immediately!