Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

Well I didn’t fool the chickens. Let’s hope the crows are at least curious enough to come find the peanuts!

I just tried my crow call. It sounds pretty realistic to me and gets good reviews from turkey hunters who claim it makes the wild turkeys believe there are crows in the area.

The idea is to call the crows a provide peanuts for them out in the middle of the field where the squirrels are less likely to venture.

No crows have responded so far. But the chickens all froze in place. They stood stock still like this for several minutes after I sounded the crow call.
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I tried a crow call, and Mr P gave me the stink eye.

A flock of geese flew over and that sent them all running though! Geese flying north in February?! Crazy!

 

[Ponypoor]

I bet Ash waddled out of the nest after laying this beast of an egg!
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Wow! Bet she felt lighter at any rate!

Have to say it’s gorgeous, those are some really lovely eggs you’re getting

 

[Ponypoor]

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Mister Chitta

Hey moggie pretty kitty

 

[Ponypoor]

An alternate theory of the crime.
Another break-in at the Chicken Palace. Once again chaos in the servant quarters.
No eggs to break as I took yesterday’s haul into the house.
That is Calypso up in the rafters and Tassels up on the storage box.
Not pictured but Pooh was there too up on a storage shelf. Suspicious that she was present at both events - maybe not as sweet and innocent as she appears!
We know Calypso is a flyer - she was the one that flew away during the hawk attack a few weeks ago. And Pooh is small and a Legbar so she too can fly. But I think they all got in via the rafters as all doors were securely closed. So even hefty Tassels is able to go up there!
Both Tassels and Calypso flew down and out without difficulty. Pooh had got herself cornered on the shelf and I had to persuade her to take a ride on a broom handle.
I heard the kerfuffle and thought that maybe a fox had got inside the Chicken Palace even though I was right outside by the only entrance watching for crows.
Initially I couldn’t get in because they had knocked brooms and stuff over blocking the door.
I am not sure what I can do to prevent this. It seems that the spirit of Eli lives on and they are remembering her lessons about hanging out on the rafters!
Never a dull day with chickens!
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Oh they are so sneaky! Can you put screening up to the roof somehow? Once they get in once and learn where the good stuff is (eggs, treats…) they are going to keep going in there.

Meanwhile I had to move all the straw stacked in the hay stall and pile it up with the other stack, they were all starting to lay eggs up there even those beasty little silkies who can’t fly worth crap! Ok well one beasty silkie Marty the others still aren’t laying but I had visions of her crashing down and hurting herself. I found 2 eggs fallen down between the bales which were fine, but I also found 4 eggs that had rolled off the bales down behind and were broken, they all had a field day fighting over that, I feared for myself at one point with all these velociraptors fighting it out.

Bob would have howled in laughter as it was a relay of grab the eggshell and run away fast! Fluffy has still got it and those little legs sure can move!

 

[BY Bob]

ALARM!
Aurora just gave the alarm. That's a big one in a tree across the street.

 

[Ponypoor]

Me need two cats then.

And best to get kittens to grow up around the chooks so they learn they are part of the family

 

[BY Bob]

HOLY CRAP!!!

It just swooped across the yard at my eye level. Right across the pool. It was not after the ladies, this time. I was standing in it's way, just in case It just swooped past me like I was no concern.

 

[RoyalChick]

Oh they are so sneaky! Can you put screening up to the roof somehow? Once they get in once and learn where the good stuff is (eggs, treats…) they are going to keep going in there.

Meanwhile I had to move all the straw stacked in the hay stall and pile it up with the other stack, they were all starting to lay eggs up there even those beasty little silkies who can’t fly worth crap! Ok well one beasty silkie Marty the others still aren’t laying but I had visions of her crashing down and hurting herself. I found 2 eggs fallen down between the bales which were fine, but I also found 4 eggs that had rolled off the bales down behind and were broken, they all had a field day fighting over that, I feared for myself at one point with all these velociraptors fighting it out.

Bob would have howled in laughter as it was a relay of grab the eggshell and run away fast! Fluffy has still got it and those little legs sure can move!

I have been looking in the rafters to see how I could screen it. For various structural issues it is not easy to do without impeding my ventilation baffles (closed at the moment, but open in the summer), or creating a loft that they will sit on and rain poop down on my head!
If you remember I screened the whole space and it still didn't stop Eli from getting up there.
Sigh.

 

[RoyalChick]

HOLY CRAP!!!

It just swooped across the yard at my eye level. Right across the pool. It was not after the ladies, this time. I was standing in it's way, just in case It just swooped past me like I was no concern.

That looks a lot bigger than the Cooper's hawk you filmed in the trumpet vine.
Terrifying!

 

[BY Bob]

Interesting Notes

Good News
Aurora spotted it. Everyone did as they should. It was not interested in them from what I could tell.

Bad News
As usual, it is not afraid of me.

Aurora alarmed and all the song birds went quiet. Not the other way around. I think she spotted it first.

I noticed that first.

Éowyn was out with us. She stopped and looked towards the tree. That started me looking in that direction for the threat.

Then the hawk chirped. I know that sound is one a Cooper's Hawk makes and that's how I found it in the tree.