Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

Me too! He is really quite cute. I got a kick out of watching him try to get some of the very popular fermented feed. I could see him thinking, "Oh, I want some of that" and he would lean towards the bowl, but then he would abruptly pull back because Annie the alpha hen was right there watching. I could see his desire and indecision in his body language. Poor little fella trying to find his place in the flock!

Awwww poor baby

Do you put out multiple bowls? I have to put bowls for the chicklets otherwise, the grups hog it all!

 

[notabitail]

And out. Right? It should vent to the outside.

If it vented to in the house I would not have it at all. .*insert loud sneeze because thinking about it makes me feel the pain of dryer scent in a house*

 

[RoyalChick]

If it vented to in the house I would not have it at all. .*insert loud sneeze because thinking about it makes me feel the pain of dryer scent in a house*

Yes I realized that. But one of your prior photos looked like it was venting into a shed or garage. Not truly outside.

 

[notabitail]

Yes I realized that. But one of your prior photos looked like it was venting into a shed or garage. Not truly outside.

It is going to vent right out the gate into the wide world but not the world wide web.
The laundry room and the coop are right next to each other. I have suggested turning my office into a coop but that would require taking out the floor and turning the space under it into a giant dirt pit.
Our yard is a mess but we do everything we can for the chooks. The Littles are getting a bigger coop soon. Josey is not too happy with the land development back here

 

[Lexicon]

Awwww poor baby

Do you put out multiple bowls? I have to put bowls for the chicklets otherwise, the grups hog it all!

I have four feeders for pellets, but oddly if I put out more than one bowl of fermented feed some gets wasted, so I make a point of making sure everyone gets some of the wheatgrass fodder that I serve at the same time as the fermented feed and the adults eat the majority of the fermented feed.

At this time of year, there's lots of variety as far as food goes with foraging, insects and the compost pile that is in the chicken run.

 

[Ponypoor]

So locking Manny out was a two person job. An hour and a half later, Meanie and Sheba are still having nothing to do with Eenie. Meanie remains firmly ensconced on the top roost. She spent the first 45 minutes or more screaming at the top of her lungs. Sheba never made a sound, ate all the treats, went to the nest, came back out, ate the treats I put to try to lure Meanie down, and joined Meanie on the top roost.

There were two minor dust ups at the very beginning, when Meanie jumped down on Eenie, who promptly handed Meanie her tail-feathers! I no longer fear for Eenie from the hens! She can clearly take care of herself.

So, in a few I'll reunite Manny with his girls. I'll put Eenie up with the chicks if that's what she wants. We'll see how it goes there. I guess we'll try again tomorrow.

And she definitely wanted in. After about 2 1/2 hours later I checked and Meanie and Sheba were cowering behind the waterer while Eenie and the triplets were ignoring them totally.

I let Manny in. I didn't see it as I was at the pop door but in the few seconds it took me to get there, the chicks were all in the crate area and Eenie was about to scrape her feathers off trying to get on too. She's now locked up with the ladies again.

Ok so think of it this way - it was actually very productive and successful, no one was hurt, and everyone learnt something.

I say job well done! Every time you do something it will be easier the next time

 

[notabitail]

Chicken Coop Cooling Solutions.
So we have tried using a fan for cooling out chicken coops. It just blows hot air. What we need is a effective cooling solution. Is there any other solutions that anyone has with more than the fan?
Do those water fans work?

 

[Ponypoor]

I have four feeders for pellets, but oddly if I put out more than one bowl of fermented feed some gets wasted, so I make a point of making sure everyone gets some of the wheatgrass fodder that I serve at the same time as the fermented feed and the adults eat the majority of the fermented feed.

At this time of year, there's lots of variety as far as food goes with foraging, insects and the compost pile that is in the chicken run.

I use two feeders for dry feed, but 5 separate bowls for the mash so the poor chickies get some

Yes this time of year is great for bugs and stuff and the babies are hilarious trying to catch flies hahaha so cute

 

[Ponypoor]

Chicken Coop Cooling Solutions.
So we have tried using a fan for cooling out chicken coops. It just blows hot air. What we need is a effective cooling solution. Is there any other solutions that anyone has with more than the fan?
Do those water fans work?

I would review the last few entries from @micstrachan - she has a nice cooling setup that might work for you.

 

[RoyalChick]

Chicken Coop Cooling Solutions.
So we have tried using a fan for cooling out chicken coops. It just blows hot air. What we need is a effective cooling solution. Is there any other solutions that anyone has with more than the fan?
Do those water fans work?

If your humidity is relatively low then all sorts of cooling systems will work - misting fans to the ultra low tech of wet towels or sheets in front of the fan.
If you are high humidity, these things are a lot less effective (though not totally ineffective).