Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

BREECH, BREECH, BREECH!

Well, yesterday near the end of my workday (worked remote/from home) I hear a very loud peeping - the kind emitted from a lost or upset chick. I am zooming with a new student...and I think the sound is getting louder, but I try to ignoire it and focus on what the student is asking, saying, etc. This appointment takes about 45 min...and at times is it difficult to hear the student (soft spoken) over zoom - over the seemingly ever louder distress peeps.

Finally, I finish with the student and start talking in a soft voice to the chick while I enter notes on our appointment - I'm focused on my computer screen and just saying random things like 'here chickie, it's okay chickie', etc.

Next thing I know, I look up and there is a chickie half way across the living room! Now I speak to it in earnest, and if comes bopping over and stands on my foot (socks but no shoes on)! once settled there, it changes to soft, content chickie chatter peeps!

This chick was one of my 'slow grow' meat birds (rainbow red rangers) It not only managed to hop out of the box, but go down the short hallway the box is in (6'), through the very long kitchen (15-18 feet), and through the living room - I am in the farthest corner - so about another 12-15 feet - and the chick has never been out of the box, so must have been navigating solely by my voice!!! Talk about melt my heart! (and, no, visually, it is all angles, so no line of site until it entered the living room!)

Gosh, 13- 14 weeks from now will be very difficult! I didn't have my camera out then - I had to quick pop it back into it's box with hatch-mates before my next appt. arrived. However, when I opened the door late this evening to come home (I worked on site today, not remote), I had to get my camera, as this is what I found:

View attachment 3591365View attachment 3591367View attachment 3591368View attachment 3591369Not only did he get out, but evidently showed a couple of friends how to get out, too. Seems I had really better get my 2 broody/isolation, breeding huts done this weekend!!! (And I'll have to test out my ;portable power supply) to see how it runs the brooder plate (only 18w, so it should handle it just fine!!)

Awwww they are wonderful

 

[Ponypoor]

Coop closed. Headcount 21 adults, 6 invasion. Tinies hidden so not countable. Zulu and Chia decided its time to roost on the actual roost with the bigs (apparently on top of the nest boxes doesn't count). Not on the SAME roost, but on the same level, in near proximity. Enigma tried roosting on top of the Chicken door. I think she's been sneaking inside the big house to get on Beakbook. @Ponypoor, your birds have been spreading ideas. She got moved up on a roost (opposite end from the bigs). No idea if they all stayed there, but the Invasion is growing up.

The school chicks and Tweens all want to roost on top of the temporary pen I have my nieces hens in. I would have let them but worried the Roos might get in that small area.

Penne meanwhile thinks the window in the Hen House is his personal spot!

Can’t wait to see where Sophia’s babies decide they want to roost likely my office! They were all snoozing on my office chair when I came back from doing stalls - easy access to my laptop and beak-book!

 

[Ponypoor]

BREECH, BREECH, BREECH!

Well, yesterday near the end of my workday (worked remote/from home) I hear a very loud peeping - the kind emitted from a lost or upset chick. I am zooming with a new student...and I think the sound is getting louder, but I try to ignoire it and focus on what the student is asking, saying, etc. This appointment takes about 45 min...and at times is it difficult to hear the student (soft spoken) over zoom - over the seemingly ever louder distress peeps.

Finally, I finish with the student and start talking in a soft voice to the chick while I enter notes on our appointment - I'm focused on my computer screen and just saying random things like 'here chickie, it's okay chickie', etc.

Next thing I know, I look up and there is a chickie half way across the living room! Now I speak to it in earnest, and if comes bopping over and stands on my foot (socks but no shoes on)! once settled there, it changes to soft, content chickie chatter peeps!

This chick was one of my 'slow grow' meat birds (rainbow red rangers) It not only managed to hop out of the box, but go down the short hallway the box is in (6'), through the very long kitchen (15-18 feet), and through the living room - I am in the farthest corner - so about another 12-15 feet - and the chick has never been out of the box, so must have been navigating solely by my voice!!! Talk about melt my heart! (and, no, visually, it is all angles, so no line of site until it entered the living room!)

Gosh, 13- 14 weeks from now will be very difficult! I didn't have my camera out then - I had to quick pop it back into it's box with hatch-mates before my next appt. arrived. However, when I opened the door late this evening to come home (I worked on site today, not remote), I had to get my camera, as this is what I found:

View attachment 3591365View attachment 3591367View attachment 3591368View attachment 3591369Not only did he get out, but evidently showed a couple of friends how to get out, too. Seems I had really better get my 2 broody/isolation, breeding huts done this weekend!!! (And I'll have to test out my ;portable power supply) to see how it runs the brooder plate (only 18w, so it should handle it just fine!!)

Love the larger text easy to read for old eyes

 

[RoyalChick]

Hello friends. So the watering system actually works pretty well overall. One dripper already seems to be clogged, but I ran it before adding the filter, so maybe that’s a factor? I ended up using TWO pressure regulators; one right after the filter and one where the regular garden hose meets the main drip line. I did not rinse the filter, and I’m not sure if I was supposed to. I think what I’ll do is rinse out the whole line and I have a new drippers. The mini soaker hose is actually super awesome. Now with the two pressure regulators going, I think you could leave it on all the time in hot weather.

Once I have all the kinks worked out, I think I will fine tune it, and add a timer.

And then show us everything so we can steal your great idea!

 

[Ponypoor]

Hello friends. So the watering system actually works pretty well overall. One dripper already seems to be clogged, but I ran it before adding the filter, so maybe that’s a factor? I ended up using TWO pressure regulators; one right after the filter and one where the regular garden hose meets the main drip line. I did not rinse the filter, and I’m not sure if I was supposed to. I think what I’ll do is rinse out the whole line and I have a new drippers. The mini soaker hose is actually super awesome. Now with the two pressure regulators going, I think you could leave it on all the time in hot weather.

Once I have all the kinks worked out, I think I will fine tune it, and add a timer.

That’s wonderful! Sounds like a perfect solution for keeping things cool, I look forward to your photos of the system.

 

[rural mouse]

I think we all know what sort of fluff is coming from my place today

Day 1 off the nest (sneaky fluff attempting to head back to it)

"Cotton balls" day 2

After many just off pics, Mama Storm's full spread

 

[ChicoryBlue]

I am sorry to hear Butters isn’t rallying, I have to same feelings with Tuff, she eats but I am guessing she has reproductive tumours.

Is Butters still mobile? Does she feel like getting out and about?

Yep she was first to the door of the run, second to trot out, this was a couple hours after feeding her, and I thought a good sign. But then at the dig pile she acted out of it more than last time, and ate four worms, declining several more. It was hotter yesterday, possibly a factor. She does walk around foraging.

 

[RoyalChick]

Tassels wishes everyone a happy Fluffy Butt Friday and is showing that she will give Babs a run for her money in the fluffy butt stakes.
Babs doesn’t care because I gave her more cauliflower.

 

[lightm]

Light's crop is the smallest ever! Almost empty! I would expect that it emptied tomorrow morning.

Overnight, she made lots of dry poop, almost normal looking, but not quite. Then when she got up she made two liquidy poop.

However, I only managed to tube feed her 10ml of paste this morning. The tube came out of the syringe again in the middle of it... I think the content was liquidy enough. Outside, it is pretty easy to push the syringe, but somehow when the tube goes down to her crop, there will be much more pressure and it becomes hard to push.

But she is eating lots of her favorite veggies like usual so I am not really worried.

 

[RoyalChick]

Light's crop is the smallest ever! Almost empty! I would expect that it emptied tomorrow morning.

Overnight, she made lots of dry poop, almost normal looking, but not quite. Then when she got up she made two liquidy poop.

However, I only managed to tube feed her 10ml of paste this morning. The tube came out of the syringe again in the middle of it... I think the content was liquidy enough. Outside, it is pretty easy to push the syringe, but somehow when the tube goes down to her crop, there will be much more pressure and it becomes hard to push.

But she is eating lots of her favorite veggies like usual so I am not really worried.

So happy to hear this.
Make sure she has access to lots of good size grit. Sounds like she is almost well again!