Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[RoyalChick]

Oi, I wish I had seen this sooner. I'll enter this into the caption contest if they allow cats in the photo.

Yes! Good idea. No restrictions on what can be entered in the caption competition photos.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

I would order soon, then! I ordered a month ago, and still couldn't get the breeds I wanted (not completely) unless I put off their arrival until late summer.

This I did NOT want to do for a couple of reasons. I have regular egg customers, so I need the pullets to start laying in the fall when the older girls stop to molt...and some don't start back up until spring. Also, since my extra boys go to freezer camp, both hubby and I are 'done with' processing in the middle of winter when it is so cold out it is hard to feel your fingers (and hence clean out the carcasses) when you are only half way through the lot.

While I can't predict when my hens will go broody and hatch some chicks, I CAN 'predict' when any ordered chicks arrive. For my location, mid to late March is perfect, as by 6 weeks it is decent out - may still get an overnight frost or something, but grass has started growing and day-time temps are fine for them.

This year, if I can get my solar panels and battery set up rigged up - they will be incubated outside in my 'red coop' after the first 2 weeks. (In the house I will have more access to them, so hope they will bond a bit better - but I am getting quite a few, and think they should be outside with more space by the time they can fly) I plan on building a small run (7' high on the high end so they have lots of 'up' space) and attach to the red coop so they can be safely 'exposed' to the rest of the flock at early age, and then doors to run opened somewhere around 4-6 weeks. (Red coop is inside main run, so it would be a run within a run....full wire exposure, but no physical contact until they are a bit bigger - I have so many chickens, this is safest - may build a small pop door for chicks in it - but again, it would be really easy for a chick to get ambushed outside and not be able to get back in quick enough given the amount of both chicks and adults.)

I wish I could build a larger pen, but it will be roughly 6'X6' - I need to be able to get around it easily, so bigger will not work. That said, the red coop is 12' square (+), a double decker, and I am thinking of raising it - it now sits on the ground - and having dust bath area underneath. (giving a total of 24 sq. feet of 'coop space', 12 sq. feet of 'dust bath ' space plus 36 sq. feet of run space) This was the coop given to me by my niece when she got rid of her chickens - and while it is well built (by my brother-in-law, a carpenter), the design is not the best and I never felt like it really worked for adults well...and hard to modify enough - but I think it will be great for chicks. They will start on the lower level with the brooder, and as they get bigger and can fly and be longer away from the heat - they can spend time under and in the upper level. I'll wrap the wind side of the run in plastic for a wind break. I'm hoping this will work, as I want to use the red coop, but I haven't been happy with it for the adults - I think ( ) It will work out well for them...and as older adults get processed mid to late fall, I will lock them out of there so they put themselves in other coops for the winter. (Mostly I'll let them choose -but will place the non-deciders in whichever other coop has more space.)

I'm excited about this possibility - and hubby will be very happy to not have chicks in the mudroom/house for very long. And, if they integrate with others well...could use that set-up for my late broodies! This will protect young chicks from the rats as I will did the red coop's pen into the ground (well fencing) so it is safe from them, too.

Sounds great!

 

[LhickenChicken]

I would order soon, then! I ordered a month ago, and still couldn't get the breeds I wanted (not completely) unless I put off their arrival until late summer.

This I did NOT want to do for a couple of reasons. I have regular egg customers, so I need the pullets to start laying in the fall when the older girls stop to molt...and some don't start back up until spring. Also, since my extra boys go to freezer camp, both hubby and I are 'done with' processing in the middle of winter when it is so cold out it is hard to feel your fingers (and hence clean out the carcasses) when you are only half way through the lot.

While I can't predict when my hens will go broody and hatch some chicks, I CAN 'predict' when any ordered chicks arrive. For my location, mid to late March is perfect, as by 6 weeks it is decent out - may still get an overnight frost or something, but grass has started growing and day-time temps are fine for them.

This year, if I can get my solar panels and battery set up rigged up - they will be incubated outside in my 'red coop' after the first 2 weeks. (In the house I will have more access to them, so hope they will bond a bit better - but I am getting quite a few, and think they should be outside with more space by the time they can fly) I plan on building a small run (7' high on the high end so they have lots of 'up' space) and attach to the red coop so they can be safely 'exposed' to the rest of the flock at early age, and then doors to run opened somewhere around 4-6 weeks. (Red coop is inside main run, so it would be a run within a run....full wire exposure, but no physical contact until they are a bit bigger - I have so many chickens, this is safest - may build a small pop door for chicks in it - but again, it would be really easy for a chick to get ambushed outside and not be able to get back in quick enough given the amount of both chicks and adults.)

I wish I could build a larger pen, but it will be roughly 6'X6' - I need to be able to get around it easily, so bigger will not work. That said, the red coop is 12' square (+), a double decker, and I am thinking of raising it - it now sits on the ground - and having dust bath area underneath. (giving a total of 24 sq. feet of 'coop space', 12 sq. feet of 'dust bath ' space plus 36 sq. feet of run space) This was the coop given to me by my niece when she got rid of her chickens - and while it is well built (by my brother-in-law, a carpenter), the design is not the best and I never felt like it really worked for adults well...and hard to modify enough - but I think it will be great for chicks. They will start on the lower level with the brooder, and as they get bigger and can fly and be longer away from the heat - they can spend time under and in the upper level. I'll wrap the wind side of the run in plastic for a wind break. I'm hoping this will work, as I want to use the red coop, but I haven't been happy with it for the adults - I think ( ) It will work out well for them...and as older adults get processed mid to late fall, I will lock them out of there so they put themselves in other coops for the winter. (Mostly I'll let them choose -but will place the non-deciders in whichever other coop has more space.)

I'm excited about this possibility - and hubby will be very happy to not have chicks in the mudroom/house for very long. And, if they integrate with others well...could use that set-up for my late broodies! This will protect young chicks from the rats as I will did the red coop's pen into the ground (well fencing) so it is safe from them, too.

I will be ordering soon. I am looking forward to chicks but they don't stay chicks for long!
Also, in March it is warmer where you are, instead here the grass doesn't start growing till end of April (unless there's a really early spring).

I am going to raise my chicks like I did last year, I think. Maybe put some with my meaties, but there's going to be 100 of them in there.

 

[Ponypoor]

You trim their nails? Yikes. I never thought I had to do that. Don’t they wear them down scratching in the dirt?

She has the 4th and 5th toes on each foot that curl around each other - they formed incorrectly. So they need to be trimmed to prevent them growing into her foot.

Mr P has bent toes on his feet that don’t wear off so he also gets a trim. The Silkies 5th toes never touch the ground so they get trimmed.

These mutant chooks all require extra care! I’m the wild they sure wouldn’t do well for very long.

 

[LhickenChicken]

Thank you both. I'm getting the necessary materials now.

Rosilia lost her toe when the door closed on her foot. At the time I was really inexperienced, so I basically just put her on the other side to be away from the other chickens. Along the way somewhere it must've gotten infected, because a week later another part fell off on its own. Now it's all healed up and doesn't bother her anymore. Hopefully Cluckie doesn't have to experience losing another part of her toe. That looks pretty painful.

 

[RoyalChick]

She has the 4th and 5th toes on each foot that curl around each other - they formed incorrectly. So they need to be trimmed to prevent them growing into her foot.

Mr P has bent toes on his feet that don’t wear off so he also gets a trim. The Silkies 5th toes never touch the ground so they get trimmed.

These mutant chooks all require extra care! I’m the wild they sure wouldn’t do well for very long.

Phew! I was worried I had overlooked something. I mean my guys have long nails, but I figured they needed them to dig the soil.

 

[LhickenChicken]

She has the 4th and 5th toes on each foot that curl around each other - they formed incorrectly. So they need to be trimmed to prevent them growing into her foot.

Mr P has bent toes on his feet that don’t wear off so he also gets a trim. The Silkies 5th toes never touch the ground so they get trimmed.

These mutant chooks all require extra care! I’m the wild they sure wouldn’t do well for very long.

On Sunday I trimmed Alpha's toenails. They were really long!

 

[LhickenChicken]

On Sunday I trimmed Alpha's toenails. They were really long!

Oh, tax...
Bokalina is molting.

 

[notabitail]

Yes I am planning on either 3 buff Brahma or maybe the silver laced Wyandotte. Cold and heat hardy, developed in New York and named after the Wyandotte people of Ontario and new York. One of the most winter hardy of all breeds.

Then again there is the buff Orp and the light Brahma…. Gonna need a bigger barn ha!

Get Wyandottes, Butt Orpingtons, and Light Brahmas.

 

[notabitail]

I meant the USPS carries the last mile, ex. small packages sent via FedEx get delivered here by USPS. I think FedEx pays them something to do that.
View attachment 3753726

That's interesting. I'm guessing mail is done differently in different places.

For example, in CA Amazon would deliver their own packages. Here the post office delivers them. I think it depends on the size of the city and if there's a Amazon warehouse anywhere.