Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[rural mouse]

2 exploring the winter wonderland (She's behind the barrel on the right)

(Still grumbling about it, too)

2 retreating for warmer/dryer areas

2 smartly staying put. (With 1 of the retreaters joining them)

Snow melted quite a bit yesterday and lots of chicken tracks about.

 

[BY Bob]

2025 …..

What? I thought you were starting a pool?

 

[BY Bob]

Your update, as promised. I'll start off from November, which is when I stopped posting and ultimately "fell off the face of the earth" computer-wise.

So, in November, of course I was very busy canning and stuff, preserving food, and I also was going through some turbulent times with work. So I kind of let go of BYC for a little while. Of course, I'd come back soon, right?
I had to deal with lots of chicken related stuff, like Sir Cuckoo's frostbite (he got some in early December, with some more in January) and getting the chickens' covered run up (they HATE the snow).

On top of that, I have also had to deal with the loss of Ginger, as you know, one of my beloved first hens. If you remember from summertime, she had Salpingitis, which I temporarily cured, but it came back as a reinfection. (Presently, Lady Nacho is displaying signs similar to that of Ginger's. I'll have to do more research, though). When I did a necropsy on her, I found LOTS of lash egg (pics coming soon in another post, I have yet to upload them-- for those of you with sensitive eyes, they are pictures of her guts so I will put them in a spoiler). There was so much lash egg, it looked like it was blocking her butt, so she couldn't poop. (I was wondering why she never pooped) and her heart had atrophied. It was tiny compared to her body size, she was a full-grown hen, only a little emaciated, and her heart was the as long as the diameter of a loonie.

I had a good Christmas, though. I went to my friends' house for Christmas (which is all the way in Calgary!) and, I'm sad to say, may have bored them a bit with my chicken talk. I promise you, I did not talk about just chickens, I talked about other things too!

I spent my New Year's here at home, and then I kind of floundered in my work until now. Also, during that -40 cold spell, I had deal with frozen hot water pipes and more frostbite. I was so scared that their toes would get frostbite and fall off, and then I'd have a disabled chicken like Muffin. (Tomorrow more up-to-date pictures are coming of the chickens, including Muffin. She has grown so much! But her leg situation isn't any better, and I can't imagine her laying an egg.) Also, I had to cull my CR cockerel, Ratty, because he was so stupid. He'd just grab the hens, pull the feathers out, and throw them across the room. Like a teenage cockerel pulleting. But he was six months old! (I guess that's still teenage, though...) I gave him patience, but he started eating eggs after that. That was the last straw for me.


Other news: Aurora, Amitabha, Amoghasiddhi, Akshobya, Blaze, and Fleur have started laying. Aurora lays blue eggs. So now I have two blue egg layers and two green egg layers. (Sadly, Lightning does not lay blue-- or green-- eggs. Only brown.) I also set 26 eggs in my incubator (they are on Day 3, I think) and have two of Aurora's eggs and one of Twilight's. Little Bananas is no longer naked, she has many feathers now.

To be honest, I can't believe how everyone's chickens have grown, including mine. Chickens that were chicks when I stopped posting now have turned into laying pullets (and crowing cockerels)!

Sounds like it has been a lot. So glad you made it to the other side and are back with us.

 

[BY Bob]

Repeat after me:

Math is for me,
Math is for me.

No one can take
advantage of me,

Calculating for eternity
Math is for me!

Math tax:
View attachment 3741353
Early stage of chicken math at work.

See the rewards WILL be great with hard work early

Look at all those gorgeous eggs.

 

[Ponypoor]

Be careful! I'm starting to get worried you are going to need an ambulance to the barn to rescue you at some point.

Rescue Tax
View attachment 3741376

It’s the chicken poop that really gets me, super slippery on those pavers haha, I slid on a real good one on Sunday and just about took a fall - and last night someone plopped a juicy cecal poop all over poor Truly’s hay net, they must have flown up on the stall wall and did that


Of course I didn’t see it and I was opening the top and got poopies all over my hands - I went through quite a few disinfectant wipes and paper towels cleaning that up - yuck! Ewwwww!

If it was summer I would have just taken it down and hosed it off and washed it, but winter is hard to do that.

Can’t have my horses eating chicken doodoo!

 

[Ponypoor]

Your update, as promised. I'll start off from November, which is when I stopped posting and ultimately "fell off the face of the earth" computer-wise.

So, in November, of course I was very busy canning and stuff, preserving food, and I also was going through some turbulent times with work. So I kind of let go of BYC for a little while. Of course, I'd come back soon, right?
I had to deal with lots of chicken related stuff, like Sir Cuckoo's frostbite (he got some in early December, with some more in January) and getting the chickens' covered run up (they HATE the snow).

On top of that, I have also had to deal with the loss of Ginger, as you know, one of my beloved first hens. If you remember from summertime, she had Salpingitis, which I temporarily cured, but it came back as a reinfection. (Presently, Lady Nacho is displaying signs similar to that of Ginger's. I'll have to do more research, though). When I did a necropsy on her, I found LOTS of lash egg (pics coming soon in another post, I have yet to upload them-- for those of you with sensitive eyes, they are pictures of her guts so I will put them in a spoiler). There was so much lash egg, it looked like it was blocking her butt, so she couldn't poop. (I was wondering why she never pooped) and her heart had atrophied. It was tiny compared to her body size, she was a full-grown hen, only a little emaciated, and her heart was the as long as the diameter of a loonie.

I had a good Christmas, though. I went to my friends' house for Christmas (which is all the way in Calgary!) and, I'm sad to say, may have bored them a bit with my chicken talk. I promise you, I did not talk about just chickens, I talked about other things too!

I spent my New Year's here at home, and then I kind of floundered in my work until now. Also, during that -40 cold spell, I had deal with frozen hot water pipes and more frostbite. I was so scared that their toes would get frostbite and fall off, and then I'd have a disabled chicken like Muffin. (Tomorrow more up-to-date pictures are coming of the chickens, including Muffin. She has grown so much! But her leg situation isn't any better, and I can't imagine her laying an egg.) Also, I had to cull my CR cockerel, Ratty, because he was so stupid. He'd just grab the hens, pull the feathers out, and throw them across the room. Like a teenage cockerel pulleting. But he was six months old! (I guess that's still teenage, though...) I gave him patience, but he started eating eggs after that. That was the last straw for me.


Other news: Aurora, Amitabha, Amoghasiddhi, Akshobya, Blaze, and Fleur have started laying. Aurora lays blue eggs. So now I have two blue egg layers and two green egg layers. (Sadly, Lightning does not lay blue-- or green-- eggs. Only brown.) I also set 26 eggs in my incubator (they are on Day 3, I think) and have two of Aurora's eggs and one of Twilight's. Little Bananas is no longer naked, she has many feathers now.

To be honest, I can't believe how everyone's chickens have grown, including mine. Chickens that were chicks when I stopped posting now have turned into laying pullets (and crowing cockerels)!

Wow that’s a lot of stress, sure hope everything works out ok with the frost bite.

 

[BY Bob]

Shhhhh - don't tell Aurora, but Hattie is looking very regal/stately in this picture!

She is.

 

[BY Bob]

The times I have broken eggs in my pockets I really cannot count. Sitting on them is the worst, that cold yukky realisation

She speaks truth. It only takes once.....

 

[Ponypoor]

I'm also looking at buying chicks from a hatchery or Peavey Mart...

Peavey Mary hasn’t yet posted their catalogue for Chick Days. I plan on ordering some Brahma and I am hoping they will offer some Appenzelle Spitzhabin (spelling?), their site will be up next week they say.

https://chickdays.ca/

 

[BY Bob]

Two-fer Tuesday

Found two babies, they are flying everywhere - Betty and Bert
View attachment 3741502

Two having breakfast - Fluffy and Larry
View attachment 3741500

Two helping clean stalls - Petunia and Sophia
View attachment 3741501

Very nice 2fers.