Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[featherhead007]

Perfectly fair and understandable. I can imagine how awful it must be to have her gone.

I learned a big lesson from all that. (Don’t buy a major property for only one reason)

 

[featherhead007]

Property is everything you see in this background:

 

[Ponypoor]

Property is everything you see in this background:View attachment 3765972

Beautiful horse beautiful vista

 

[knoturavggrl]

Petunia

Well she is one expensive chook. But I am glad to did take her in, the Vet felt that she didn’t have an egg in there, she did an X-ray and she didn’t see anything, she thinks what we feel in her abdomen is her gizzard enlarged, she also ran a fecal as Petunia was so nice to give her a juicy sample.

She had Round Worms and Cecal Worms.

The Vet also discussed nutrition with me as she noted several of my hens lay soft or brittle eggs. She told me stop the table scraps, stop the Starter ration, separate the chicks from the Bigs (that likely won’t happen), and look into a different feed, also to put my calcium/oyster shells into a container for them to access rather then feeding it off the floor.

So I was sent home with Panocur wormer for the herd to treat worms; and some Sulpha antibiotics for Petunia. So we shall see what happens.
View attachment 3766000View attachment 3766002

I am sorry she isn’t feeling well I have been following along on how she is doing and hoping for the best. Worms are at least pretty easy to take care of.

I have been reconsidering how to do calcium here too. I have it in a hanging feeder in the run. However, my Orps eggs were initially very weak at the apex of the shell where I typically date my eggs and they would break when I touched them with my pencil. I decided to switch to layer feed for the spring and summer when they are all laying the most. Then in the fall/ winter I will go back to an all flock to give the roosters a break from the calcium, which I know isn't great for them. Just thought I would share my middle of the road solution to meet the needs of all of the flock as the Orps shell issues resolved within a week of being on the layer feed.

 

[RoyalChick]

I am sorry she isn’t feeling well I have been following along on how she is doing and hoping for the best. Worms are at least pretty easy to take care of.

I have been reconsidering how to do calcium here too. I have it in a hanging feeder in the run. However, my Orps eggs were initially very weak at the apex of the shell where I typically date my eggs and they would break when I touched them with my pencil. I decided to switch to layer feed for the spring and summer when they are all laying the most. Then in the fall/ winter I will go back to an all flock to give the roosters a break from the calcium, which I know isn't great for them. Just thought I would share my middle of the road solution to meet the needs of all of the flock as the Orps shell issues resolved within a week of being on the layer feed.

That is an interesting idea. I had been pondering something along those lines. Of course that is assuming Calypso ever decides to lay!

I think this is Calypso - she and Tassels look similar unless you can see either comb or feet. Or have a good sense of scale as Tassels is BIG!

 

[Desertvalleychickens]

It's raining again... here are the chooks from this morning.

 

[Desertvalleychickens]

Incubator Check
I candled a few eggs, and a lot of them have the "spiderweb formation"! Here is one of them. I hope you can see it.

We are currently at day 17 counting down.

 

[Desertvalleychickens]

Some tax:

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Pony Sunday:
View attachment 3762920
View attachment 3762922
Okay not a pony, but I’m pet sitting my neighbor’s dog who is huge. He’s a good boy- even the chickens approve of him. And they won’t come out of their run unless visiting dogs pass muster for good manners…

Which is fortunate, because today they all got to get out for the first time in a while. It was cold, but the baby and I watched them forage from her swing and it was lovely.View attachment 3762924

Man, what to say about Albert. Her illness is an enigma to me. She is looking much better: tail up, comb pink (definitely not laying-red), scratches and dust bathes.
But: she won’t eat. Just a perpetually empty crop, wimpy excuses for poops. She took a few bits of leftover chicken meat from me in the morning, and I did see her actively eating some tiny tiny worms while free ranging. And a bite of dandelion in the afternoon. She may be turning the corner

Albert could have pain digesting, that's why I and others recommend low-bull foods that don't need a lot of gizzard work or other digestion to be well-absorbed, like scrambled eggs, baby bird formula, etc., and why she may be more interested in tiny things.

Eight months seems early for a hard molt, but that is another situation where sometimes eating normal things just stops, they are way more interested in only what they can forage for, they stop laying and they can lose a lot of weight. Some of the Buckeyes were /have been like that.

 

[Ponypoor]

I am sorry she isn’t feeling well I have been following along on how she is doing and hoping for the best. Worms are at least pretty easy to take care of.

I have been reconsidering how to do calcium here too. I have it in a hanging feeder in the run. However, my Orps eggs were initially very weak at the apex of the shell where I typically date my eggs and they would break when I touched them with my pencil. I decided to switch to layer feed for the spring and summer when they are all laying the most. Then in the fall/ winter I will go back to an all flock to give the roosters a break from the calcium, which I know isn't great for them. Just thought I would share my middle of the road solution to meet the needs of all of the flock as the Orps shell issues resolved within a week of being on the layer feed.

Wow that’s great! I have a pink egg that is brittle and I am not sure who it is.