Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

They aren't even using the brooder correctly anymore
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Time to remove it I think. And put up the roost bars. Should I leave that lid in front of the nest boxes or let them sort themselves out?

How old are they now?

You can tip the brooder plate on its side so they can snuggle up next to it if they need warming up.

Not sure of your night time temps, but as long as no drafts they should be ok, I would put in roosts, mine enjoyed hopping up on anything and everything by they time they were 2 weeks old - little brats loved my office chair - thankfully only one poop happened.

 

[knoturavggrl]

Butters is failing today. I'm not sure she'll live through the night. Yesterday she was eating and drinking and fairly active, but today mostly resting, not wanting to move much. It seemed she wasn't steady on her feet, especially one side, and I wondered if she hurt something. Her comb and face is normal red. Later when I gave her some walnut bits, she wanted them, but it seemed her beak was pretty dry and ate some then stopped eating. She went over to the feeder and tried to eat but the crumbles were very dry in her beak too. So she got herself over to a sunny protected spot and rested. When the sun moved she moved too, but not very well. I felt her crop and decided to tube-feed her some baby bird mix thinking it would give her nutrition and fluid, and I syringe-fed her 3ml of water & electrolytes too, all right there in the sun. She stayed where she was for a couple of hours.

So at 6pm I got her and sat with her by the coop and said my goodbyes and just hung out with her on my lap for half an hour. She slept and looked around a bit. I put her in the nestbox, because that's where she puts herself to bed and it feels safe, and the others would soon be in, and she would have her usual company. I fluffed the hemp so it would be soft.

I am sorry to hear this. I will hope that it is just a rough day for her. I agree 100% that she should be wherever she is most comfortable and with her friends and I am so glad you got to spend some time with her today.

 

[SimpleJenn]

How old are they now?

You can tip the brooder plate on its side so they can snuggle up next to it if they need warming up.

Not sure of your night time temps, but as long as no drafts they should be ok, I would put in roosts, mine enjoyed hopping up on anything and everything by they time they were 2 weeks old - little brats loved my office chair - thankfully only one poop happened.

I believe the youngest is 5 or 6 weeks. I got them August 25th. The coop is insulated so no drafts now. nighttime temps will be in the 50s until Friday or saturday, and 41 is the lowest they're predicting over the next week.
They do love roosting! The run has a roost bar they enjoy using for what I call their after dinner conversation haha. I'll try to get it taken care of tomorrow if it stays dry.

 

[lightm]

Congratulations on @knoturavggrl too on your friend medal!

 

[notabitail]

Oh that's the inside of their sleeping area. They have a whole run too. Angle is weird because I stuck my phone in the pop door and took the pic while locking up.

That makes sense. I was afraid you kept them in something that small

 

[SimpleJenn]

That makes sense. I was afraid you kept them in something that small

Oh no! They definitely wouldn't tolerate that! You should hear the indignant cheeping when I go to let them out in the morning!

 

[lightm]

Hello everybody!!!

How is everyone?

Life has been busy but good. I'm still chicken-less, but please enjoy "my" breeding pair of vultures!

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Hello. So glad to see you checking in. Glad things are going well even without chickens.

 

[Ponypoor]

Gutter and drain pipe on, but I need to cut it a bit shorter I think
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Clearing out the run down to earth and shale. This is Butters' inspecting. And eating worms! She has lost weight though, about 6 oz, down to 2lbs 15 oz from 3lbs 5 oz.
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Got a quarter of this run clear, started on hardware cloth all around, some old boards for the sides - I keep debating using treated wood, or just seeing how this works and changing them out when necessary.
Our excavator/ driveway guy has a gravel mix he thought would work well for drainage and raising the floor so he brought over a bucketload.
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Starting to fill in
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Doing it in sections, this is 25% so far. Using boards to keep the old litter and gravel sand separate between work sessions.
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My idea is to cover this with landscape fabric to not clog the gravel stuff? And then pile shavings thickly to make the litter on top? Or since this is more like a sandy mix and not all just pebbles shall I just tamp this down and build litter thickly on it? That would allow bugs and worms etc to move through it better, all those microbes everyone says we should encourage? Or, I'm saving some old litter that's stayed dry and could "inoculate" the new litter so it could be good even if over the landscape fabric?

Wow good job. That looks great.

 

[notabitail]

Oh no! They definitely wouldn't tolerate that! You should hear the indignant cheeping when I go to let them out in the morning!

During the winter we locked the chickens in their top. It turned into a stompfest when they didn't get let out. Running around, bawking, until someone hears them and releases their powers across the yard. They then, once let out, push and shove each other out of the way like as if they are going after a good deal on the day after Thanksgiving. And then they demand food.

 

[Ponypoor]

I believe the youngest is 5 or 6 weeks. I got them August 25th. The coop is insulated so no drafts now. nighttime temps will be in the 50s until Friday or saturday, and 41 is the lowest they're predicting over the next week.
They do love roosting! The run has a roost bar they enjoy using for what I call their after dinner conversation haha. I'll try to get it taken care of tomorrow if it stays dry.

Aren’t they hilarious? Such little characters