Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[knoturavggrl]

Does cinnamon need a brassiere???

Absolutely she does. Almost all of them needed those last evening. They were pigging out on some leftovers that had to be used up before they went bad.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Yes all factory farms here are strictly bio-security. No one gets in who isn’t supposed to, and they were some sort of PPE, and yes you are correct it’s not a full quarantine, but preventing them from touching feces and eating drinking from communal water and feed bowls is my big worry.

Air circulation is a huge worry for avian influenza and the like. At this time of year I am not overly concerned for that.

My big worry is actually for the Azurs, they would have been locked away in a facility not exposed to the outside, like soil, grass, etc. so their immune system would not be stressed like my gangs would be. Who knows what’s in my ground and what my birds carry that their system wouldn’t have been exposed to and built up immunity to.

With all the rain, I’d say keep an eye on their poop, maybe they’re vulnerable to coccidiosis. You have Corid on hand?

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Thanks for the pictures! I am confident that I can figure something out once I find a big/sturdy enough jug...

After looking around, I ended up ordering hanging cups from a different website: https://pinnonhatch.com/poultry-supplies/hanging-feed-water-cage-cups-poultry-cups

This bird netting from the same place also looks great for aerial predators except that I don't need it at the moment.

Those cups look good! The Premier 1 cups were only a dollar when I got them, and with another order so there wasn’t shipping…

I have the 2” knotted netting from Pinnon Hatch, it’s been great and one net I’ve had for three years, holding up well.

 

[Ponypoor]

With all the rain, I’d say keep an eye on their poop, maybe they’re vulnerable to coccidiosis. You have Corid on hand?

I don’t, but it’s easy enough to get here. Peavey Mart is open 7 days a week here and has it, and my horse vet gets me anything I need next day if I can get the order to them by 4pm. I am super paranoid with the Azurs as they haven’t been near dirt! Thank goodness today they are not going outside, one peeked out but decided nope not going out!

Re: rain. Surprisingly my gang doesn’t like the rain (wimps!), even a light drizzle will send 30 odd galloping little feet thundering down the alleyway away from the evil rain! Wimps!

I am blessed with sandy soil here and surprisingly to me this year it’s actually quite dry on the top of the soil. Good mosquito weather.

 

[Ponypoor]

Seems that the Azurs have been accepted pretty much.

One of them looked outside but decided nope staying in.

Topsy checking stuff out

The three is them and Henny Penny checking out nest boxes.

 

[Lilion]

Morning everyone! I actually slept last night and though I need more...I'm better for sure. Maybe I'll nap at lunch. That's the joy of working from home.

Eenie and kids were still on the platform this morning! That's the good news. This is the bad news.

I need a way to clean this off now! My heretofore un-befouled platform is now a poop depository. I may scatter some shavings on there after I scrape it off, so it's at least easier to clean.

I know some of you use ledges and shelves that they roost on instead of roosts... don't you have poop piles every day???

But all is well at the coop. Here's a couple two-fers.

 

[featherhead007]

Morning everyone! I actually slept last night and though I need more...I'm better for sure. Maybe I'll nap at lunch. That's the joy of working from home.

Eenie and kids were still on the platform this morning! That's the good news. This is the bad news. View attachment 3609895
I need a way to clean this off now! My heretofore un-befouled platform is now a poop depository. I may scatter some shavings on there after I scrape it off, so it's at least easier to clean.

I know some of you use ledges and shelves that they roost on instead of roosts... don't you have poop piles every day???

But all is well at the coop. Here's a couple two-fers.
View attachment 3609905View attachment 3609907

Glad my prayer was answered. You were able to get some sleep!

 

[lightm]

Those cups look good! The Premier 1 cups were only a dollar when I got them, and with another order so there wasn’t shipping…

I have the 2” knotted netting from Pinnon Hatch, it’s been great and one net I’ve had for three years, holding up well.

I paid as much shipping as the product itself...

Good to know the netting works great!

Chickens digging in the garden.

 

[bgmathteach]

I am very disappointed in our Suntuf roofing job, and I don't know what we did wrong except that the frame base is not in deep pilings to avoid frost heave.

We followed the panel installation directions to an insane degree, took extreme care and time with each screw, and yet the majority of the purlin attachments are leaking, at the screw. In fact if we had not put so many in and risked the wind lifting it off we would be better off in the rain. Now I am hanging little tarps inside to divert the drips and thinking about a little gutter system, like a skeeball maze. The positive would be fresh rain water for the chickens.. .At least it's coming down in discreet places, dripping mostly off the purlins; the ones over the rafters go along the rafter tops until they drip off mostly. Darn!

My best idea about why, besides worker error somehow, is that the framework, which is sitting on the ground, shifted with the ground heaving in the winter, that heaving did happen, and that skewed things enough to move the rubber gaskets off the horizontal, and they've not moved back. Darn! Did not anticipate this, if that's what's happened. It's all braced very well, horizontally and vertically. Snow load appeared to not affect it.

What might work (will be a pain, but should work though) is to get on the roof and back each roofing screw out part way, wipe around under it with a vinegar or alcohol dampened rag (to remove any dirt/mold/slime), and put a dollop of a clear silicon exterior grade sealer, then screw the screw back down - firmly, but not over tighten. That should alleviate any leaking through the screw holes for good - the silicone should remain permanently slightly flexible even when dry, so any heaving should not cause it to leak in the future.

You can still get clean rain water by putting a gutter on the bottom end and having it run into a collection barrel or something similar

 

[bgmathteach]

Morning everyone! I actually slept last night and though I need more...I'm better for sure. Maybe I'll nap at lunch. That's the joy of working from home.

Eenie and kids were still on the platform this morning! That's the good news. This is the bad news. View attachment 3609895
I need a way to clean this off now! My heretofore un-befouled platform is now a poop depository. I may scatter some shavings on there after I scrape it off, so it's at least easier to clean.

You can do 2 things. If you have the adhesive shelf liner stuff, you can put that on when it is cleaned, then sprinkle shavings on top. That said, they will scratch most of the shaving right back off in no time. I slather a couple of coats of spar urethane on any platforms/poop boards or nest box floors. Makes clean-up very easy, especially when sprinkled with some shavings on top.

The particle board is far from smooth - so it would easily take a couple of coats (2-3) to make it smooth enough to clean easily. If you have some exterior grade paint, hanging around, a couple of coats of that should do the trick. Alternately - If you have an old pillowcase, put that on top and just shake it off each morning until it is really disgusting - then it can go into the compost (assuming it is cotton, that is) or washed and reused some more.