Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Grandma The Chicken]

I'm back. Of course, my least favorite part about a trip is coming home but at least Grandma was happy to see me again.

 

[BeastBaby]

This is what I found online...
View attachment 3715501

Wow, I had no idea this sort of info was available. It instantly got sorted into my memory banks of “useless facts”

 

[Kris5902]

Happy New Year’s Eve everyone! My 2023 is almost over and I’m looking forward to a lot of new beginnings for 2024. The end of 2022 saw the roof of my house almost fully completed, and my goal for 2023 was to get moved in. Duck eggs, from my 7 adopted Muscovy, turned out to be more profitable than I expected so I let them go broody and ended up with 31 Ducks. The year was going very well. I adopted another baby goat, Tommy, who was dropped by an eagle right in front of me. Another baby landed at the nearby vineyard a few months later, so Ruth (male) joined the herd as well.

I was Under 25 sheets of plywood away from fully closed in, had borrowed some scaffolding, and had just convinced DH to help me put up one sheet every day until it was done. Immediately after our first successful sheet went up, working together before work, one of the in-laws came up and apparently the story had changed from “there’s no way you can finish the house, just give up” to “you have to stop building and leave because you’re not wanted here”. I continued to try to work things out, but stopped working on the house and started helping some friends build a Cabin out of my second story walls on another property instead. DH started looking for rentals on a different Island he works on. I still didn’t want to leave.

In September another incident happened with some goat hunters, I had a car accident and finally got fully on board with leaving. We secured a Goat/Chicken/Duck friendly rental for December 1st, and I began building a coop on our utility trailer for the Ducks and Chickens. We moved in in early December, and moved my mother in a week or so later. It’s a “800” square foot two story 3 “bedroom” home. The actual usable/non closet square footage is 550 yes I measured it last night. Either way it has heat, running water, and electricity, so I’m happy with that. Most importantly I was ably to bring the 13 ducks, 3 drakes, and 31 of my chickens along with the goats.

I’m not 100% sure what 2024 will bring, but I will be applying at the local grocery store full time. This island has 2 real grocery stores!!!, a small hospital, actual restaurants, and 2 gas stations that don’t charge $3/L CAD for diesel…I will also be running the property’s blueberry farm as a condition of the rental, and Andrew must continue to work at the Abattoir here as well.

 

[BeastBaby]

Yup it’s likely not feasible due to the terrain, and soil conditions. Here when have a short growing season to grow things like potatoes, carrots, cabbage, beets, tomatoes - but only for the summer. Once the growing season is over, all our produce is imported and it’s expensive. Watermelons are not to be found anywhere here right now because it’s too expensive and people won’t buy them.

I pay $6 for 6 oranges. The only thing cheap here is bananas!

Food tax
What are they looking at? I never did see what they saw.
View attachment 3715580

The mullet is perfect

 

[ChicoryBlue]

My Cholesteral was a bit high - high enough for the Dr. to want to put me on meds.....especially since I am insulin dependent diabetic. I started taking a teaspoon of Metamucil every evening - in addition to diet changes that were sometimes hot, sometimes cold on (i.e. not as consistent as I should be, diet wise) My next blood draw 3 months later was PERFECT (well, for everything but my HBA1C) So, metamucil is, essentially water solluble fiber (like what is in oatmeal, etc). If you are open to it, and the oatmeal 5X a week isn't enough - I would strongly suggest adding some Metamucil to your diet. Better then meds, for sure. If you are able to get enough fiber in your diet without it, GREAT - but it is really, really hard with our Western Diet of over-processed foods to get enough fiber unless you make EVERYTHING yourself. Honestly, since I went back to f/t (instead of 50%) plus teaching, plus all of my animals - my diet has definitely suffered. I am strongly considering retiring soon...just to save my health because work is a toxic environment - but if I retired now, I would only get approximately 16% based off of a 2/3 annual salary ( 1 yr. f/t, 2 @ 50% averages to a 66% of f/t salary as a base) Works out of about 10% of f/t salary. If I can manage to hold off 2 more years (honestly, it is doubtful given the escalation of health issues due to stress increases this year) then i will get about 28% of a full time salary (partially because increased age factor, partially because 2 more years of service, and, significantly, because average of highest 3 years will all be full-time salaries, so no proration there) I know I can not live on 10%, might be able to on 28% (though health insurance will take a big bite because in retirement, they pay 50%, now they pay 75% because I have been around long enough - newbies they are only paying 60%). Of course, I will keep teaching - but adjunct pay is fairly low - but it is something!

Presently I am putting away 15% of my f/t salary ( which means 26% is taken right off the top, as they take 11% for pension), and I put away 20% of my adjunct pay. But, that only increased (from 3% & 10% respectively) this past year when I went from 1/2 time to f/t. So, IDK what to do. My health - and longevity - but definitely in poverty - or stick it out 2 more years to get enough to actually manage in retirement - but at the rate I am going, maybe not make it - or not make it in a state where I will be able to enjoy retirement and my chickens.

Unfortunately, hubby and I have only lived in our current house 5.5 years - so no way can pay off mortgage before either retirement date - though we have been putting extra towards it - it is still at least 15 years away from paying off the 30 yr. mortgage with the extra payments.

Well a win for your health there at the top, and an understandably really tough situation there at the bottom. I have no answers but here's some hugs

 

[knoturavggrl]

Happy New Year’s Eve everyone! My 2023 is almost over and I’m looking forward to a lot of new beginnings for 2024. The end of 2022 saw the roof of my house almost fully completed, and my goal for 2023 was to get moved in. Duck eggs, from my 7 adopted Muscovy, turned out to be more profitable than I expected so I let them go broody and ended up with 31 Ducks. The year was going very well. I adopted another baby goat, Tommy, who was dropped by an eagle right in front of me. Another baby landed at the nearby vineyard a few months later, so Ruth (male) joined the herd as well.

I was Under 25 sheets of plywood away from fully closed in, had borrowed some scaffolding, and had just convinced DH to help me put up one sheet every day until it was done. Immediately after our first successful sheet went up, working together before work, one of the in-laws came up and apparently the story had changed from “there’s no way you can finish the house, just give up” to “you have to stop building and leave because you’re not wanted here”. I continued to try to work things out, but stopped working on the house and started helping some friends build a Cabin out of my second story walls on another property instead. DH started looking for rentals on a different Island he works on. I still didn’t want to leave.

In September another incident happened with some goat hunters, I had a car accident and finally got fully on board with leaving. We secured a Goat/Chicken/Duck friendly rental for December 1st, and I began building a coop on our utility trailer for the Ducks and Chickens. We moved in in early December, and moved my mother in a week or so later. It’s a “800” square foot two story 3 “bedroom” home. The actual usable/non closet square footage is 550 yes I measured it last night. Either way it has heat, running water, and electricity, so I’m happy with that. Most importantly I was ably to bring the 13 ducks, 3 drakes, and 31 of my chickens along with the goats.

I’m not 100% sure what 2024 will bring, but I will be applying at the local grocery store full time. This island has 2 real grocery stores!!!, a small hospital, actual restaurants, and 2 gas stations that don’t charge $3/L CAD for diesel…I will also be running the property’s blueberry farm as a condition of the rental, and Andrew must continue to work at the Abattoir here as well. View attachment 3716147View attachment 3716149View attachment 3716151

Wow what a year, I am glad you found a place for you and your family both human and animal! The place looks lovely.

 

[Kris5902]

The property here also has three underfed, dirty, louse ridden chickens… I’m slowly working on that decontamination/integration as well

I was able to re-home 20 of the youngest and most promising chickens, to a person from a local off grid FB page, before our move. I had to make some very tough decisions regarding my older and special health needs chickens, and many Unfortunately didn’t make the trip with us. Dean, Trouble, Scarface, Chickie Hawk and his ladies, Mr. Marans and his ladies were all too old or required separate housing so I wasn’t able to bring them. Trouble and Scarface, aka little fluff, were able to raise a chick together though. Little Man is clearly Chickie Hawks descendant, and I’m hoping he will work out in the flock.

The goats and chickens have a fairly large field, but not much cover from aerial predators, and I believe Stick had an encounter with an eagle, as he has developed a horrible limp and I found a clear feather/predator attack trail of down and “can only belong to Stick” feathers. We are working on Rehabbing that, which has complicated getting out and about.

 

[knoturavggrl]

A new layer! As soon as it got chilly out my girls gave decided to bury their eggs in the wood chips at the back of the coop so I missed this for a couple of days
The top two light tan eggs are Avalons pullet eggs Myth has yet to really get red in the comb yet. They sure do take their time as they are coming up on 8 months old now.

 

[featherhead007]

There's a reason I'm Big Rooster.

Can you imagine the joy that the woman experienced, when she realized that she didn’t loose her money, identification, her birth certificate was in the wallet too. And that some stranger had the decency to save her so much trouble?
I did it, because I would most certainly want someone to do that for me if it was my circumstance.

 

[Ponypoor]

I'm back. Of course, my least favorite part about a trip is coming home but at least Grandma was happy to see me again.

Welcome home - glad Grandma was happy to see you.