Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[RoyalChick]

Came across this interesting article, and I am now thinking this is why my pullets have started laying - as I have been getting up early and doing chores before heading to work.

https://the-chicken-chick.com/supplemental-light-in-coop-why-how/#:~:text=There is no evidence of,some muscle and fat stores

The inverse of this is why I thought I might get Babs to stop laying - I was trying to prolong her night.
But I gave up as you all thought it was likely to be useless and it was going to be a lot of work.

 

[RoyalChick]

On molting - I can see a molt helping to replenish bone, if they keep eating oyster shell (do they?) and growing new feathers is good. How does a molt replenish muscle and fat stores? Every one here that's molted, even a slow molt, has gone skinny during it. Maybe it's when they come out of it but haven't started laying yet?

That made no sense to me.
I took it that the guy is a laying/light expert not a molt expert and was just making a throwaway comment.

Bone is continuously remodeled so only needs replenishing if they haven’t been getting enough calcium.

 

[featherhead007]

“I was being picked on, so daddy let me go in the big coop with him for tonight!”
Signed Coco.

 

[featherhead007]

Rough being a hen during perching disputes in the dark!

 

[BeastBaby]

That’s actually a great plan - a tarp is perfect - do you get a lot of snow though? That is the one reason I haven’t covered my run yet, the heavy snow would tear it down, anything I cover it with will need support with at least 18’ apart and my run is 18’ wide so I would need 20’ 2x8 which at 18’ apart would be incredibly expensive.

I thought about just covering the 16’ portion by the barn here and letting them out there but that’s just dirt there no grass or trees. Boring for them.

I thought of putting support poles and just getting 10’ 2x6’ but even that’s really expensive. So far I have been lucky enough to use lumber that’s been hanging around here and stuff my BIL got rid of. Guess I will have to think about forking out money for lumber now.

How big is your run going to be?

Covering even half the run would probably enhance their winter experience! Although like RC pointed out, if you did fully cover it it would end up dry, and thus a bugless dust bowl. Covering half of it (the long and skinny ways, so like 8’ long lumber) would probably allow enough precipitation to get in and keep the ground “alive”.

 

[BeastBaby]

Diane Ida went after my insulated gloved fingers yesterday and I thought I'd try @knoturavggrl 's (?) suggestion of that intimidating lean and look chickens do. I lifted my hand and leaned a bit over her. She backed down and stepped away. That worked twice, then she didn't step away and jumped up and tried to grab a finger. I tapped her on the neck/shoulders, but that just engaged her. We lightly sparred, she’s jumping up to get my fingers, her neck hackles came out, her growling increased and just as I was thinking, "This is obviously not working" Popcorn zoomed in from behind my left and told Diane to knock it off, pushing her away from me. Diane tried walking around a pole back to me twice, and Popcorn followed, moving her off until she walked away.

The gang last night
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Hurray Popcorn for the win!

 

[BeastBaby]

Woke up this morning to single digits (F), but clear skies. Egg supplies AFTER making eggnog and deviled eggs (cooked 3 doz for those)View attachment 3712299

Shan is very much Cheetah's daughter. Not sure yet if she's going to reach her mother's statuesque size, but her eggs are like her half sisters, Lark and Indigo.
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And compared to large/extra large from Maizie
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Mugs from much of the crew
View attachment 3712302Cardhu, Havoc, Tuff, and Shan

View attachment 3712303Another of Havoc

View attachment 3712305Nellie

View attachment 3712306Cheetah and Enigma (who moves like Silver did, I truly suspect she is her daughter)

View attachment 3712307Twirp, Nellie, Primula, Storm, Cardhu, Whiskey (with Cuckoo's bum bombing in front)

And SherlockView attachment 3712310

Great photos! And handsome Sherlock is looking so grown With perfectly rounded paws.
How many hens do you have, to have so many dozens of eggs? Did a significant portion of them come back into lay recently, or do you just have good Winter layers?

 

[TX Chick Noob]

Hi everyone, and Merry Christmas!

Sorry I haven’t been on in so long. I had already been having trouble keeping up with the thread and then my life pretty much imploded right before Thanksgiving. He is doing ok, but my husband had a heart attack and then a quadruple bypass. This came at a horrible time, as he will soon lose his disability payments for his shoulder surgery, and since his company laid him off in July when his 12 weeks FMLA were used up, he can’t file a new claim for the cardiac issues. It will probabaly be at least theee months before he can even think about looking for work, and we don’t know yet if he will ever be able to work in his industry again due to the health issues. We are thinking about applying for social security disability, but can’t afford an attorney and don’t know how to find a good one that works on a contingency basis.

On top of all that, between his heart attack and his surgery we found out our main property had been robbed and basically trashed (we were at our other property for deer season and the holidays). They stole all four Harley’s, his great grandfather’s 1965 Chevy pickup that he had bought brand new and had been in the family ever since, and pretty much cleaned out or destroyed everything else. So I have also been having to deal with detectives and insurance companies.

Other than that I guess we have been doing ok, lol. My newest chicks are almost full grown. My husband calls them the flutter-bots because of the way they run out and flutter around when we open the coop.

Life sucks tax:

 

[fuentemoon]

Hi everyone, and Merry Christmas!

Sorry I haven’t been on in so long. I had already been having trouble keeping up with the thread and then my life pretty much imploded right before Thanksgiving. He is doing ok, but my husband had a heart attack and then a quadruple bypass. This came at a horrible time, as he will soon lose his disability payments for his shoulder surgery, and since his company laid him off in July when his 12 weeks FMLA were used up, he can’t file a new claim for the cardiac issues. It will probabaly be at least theee months before he can even think about looking for work, and we don’t know yet if he will ever be able to work in his industry again due to the health issues. We are thinking about applying for social security disability, but can’t afford an attorney and don’t know how to find a good one that works on a contingency basis.

On top of all that, between his heart attack and his surgery we found out our main property had been robbed and basically trashed (we were at our other property for deer season and the holidays). They stole all four Harley’s, his great grandfather’s 1965 Chevy pickup that he had bought brand new and had been in the family ever since, and pretty much cleaned out or destroyed everything else. So I have also been having to deal with detectives and insurance companies.

Other than that I guess we have been doing ok, lol. My newest chicks are almost full grown. My husband calls them the flutter-bots because of the way they run out and flutter around when we open the coop.

Life sucks tax:
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Sending you some positive energies!

 

[notabitail]

Merry Christmas!