Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[featherhead007]

Yes. Mine are like yours.

I am on my way to go meet a German Shepherd in need of a home. He is being fostered, but his fosterer is going through a divorce so he needs to find a forever home for Charlie. He is three years old, and my mom told me that he is around 100 pounds.

My dog Coach, who died last year, was around 95 lbs. My dog who died three years ago, Dina, was about 75 lbs. My two current dogs who we got two weeks after Dina died, Apollo and Diana, are 60 and 45 pounds. Coach and Dina had tails but Apollo and Diana don’t. I miss having big dogs, and I miss getting hit with tails.

I’m sorry, but the fact that we got two puppies two weeks after Dina died but waited almost a year (or more if we don’t get Charlie) to get another dog when Coach died is kinda funny to me. I get that my dad was much more affected about Coaches death than he was by Dina’s. He and Coach were very close. Don’t get me wrong, he loved Dina like she was his daughter, but he and Coach were inseparable. My mom and Dina were very close though. My brother and I were close with both of them.

I wish that we had gotten another dog after Coach passed. Having two 8 week old pups to look after when Dina died took some of the grief away. I was more affected by Dina’s death than I was for Coach. Perhaps it is because I was three years younger when Dina died. I cried the day that Coach died, and maybe one or twice since. And keep in mind that he passed in April. With Dina I cried for months after. It’s kinda sad to me that I cried more about a horse (Lenny) that I’ve known for a year than a dog I’ve known since the day I was born (literally)

But I’ll let you all know if I’m getting another dog. I really want to help this pupper out. All animals deserve people but not all people deserve animals. If we do get him, my family will be his fourth home, and he’s only around three.

You might want to weigh your options before deciding on keeping the dog. Stay safe, keep your feathered friends safe

 

[featherhead007]

Okay this is getting out of hand...
View attachment 3768770
View attachment 3768771
It has been sunny and then it was snowy and as I'm typing, it is now sunny. This has been happening a countless number of times today.
SOMEONE GET ME OUT OF THIS GODAWFUL WEATHER!
The chickens stayed inside all day regardless.

Here’s a reminder of what sunshine looks like: my many trips to the beach

 

[notabitail]

Here’s a reminder of what sunshine looks like: my many trips to the beach View attachment 3768783

 

[Grandma The Chicken]

Here’s a reminder of what sunshine looks like: my many trips to the beach View attachment 3768783

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Is this supposed to make me feel better because if this is, it's somewhat working. I love the beach and anywhere hot. At least these are my reminders that it will be summer soon and there will be good weather.

 

[Grandma The Chicken]

Grandma notices something different about this forum...

 

[notabitail]

I just posted the photo because I went by there yesterday.

Is this supposed to make me feel better because if this is, it's somewhat working. I love the beach and anywhere hot. At least these are my reminders that it will be summer soon and there will be good weather.

 

[bgmathteach]

I have a feeling you have explained this to me before, but how do you stop them from getting moldy? I had to give up growing shoots for my Princesses because they always got white hairy mold on them!
Fortunately they LOVE whole cabbage and so do I and so we share. I eat half and they eat the other half.

I soak the seeds in a container for about 8 hours. less, they don't germinate well, more they tend to get moldy further on in the process.

I rinse twice a day for a couple of days until there is a root bud on most of the seeds, then transfer them to the trays I have. These are reused trays from items gotten at the grocery store (think clamshell plastic), I drill about 6-8 holes in the top so some ventilation. In these I rinse twice a day until ready. Then I clean all the containers with white vinegar after scrubbing them with soapy water (dish soap)

Note that we keep our house pretty cool - if the environment is too warm, you are more likely to get mold. Our house is set at 62 during the days we are home, and 58 at night and days I work away from home. Mold was why I went to growing the fodder - but I just can't grow enough to be worth it space wise - given how long they take to grow and how big my flock is. I had to move the 'operation' to the kitchen because 'my room' is most definitely even colder (?about 5 degrees, maybe more), and they just were taking forever to sprout and would eventually get mold. In the kitchen window, it seems to be working well (knock on wood here), but really, it is not, imo, enough.

I almost sent you a set of the things I use - but then you had mentioned you were going to be away, so I didn't. The 'soaking jar' I use is a large seasonings container. It works perfect - half fill with seeds, top up with WARM water and let soak overnight (again about 8, maybe sometimes 9 hours) drain through the seasoning shaker holes, rinse, and drain again...rinse and drain all the others in progress. I find it takes about 8-10 days for them to be ready to feed.

 

[bgmathteach]

You could try fodder. I found an awesome article about it yesterday... and closed the tab. Now I can't find it anymore

That's what my pea shoots are - fodder. Again, I just don't have enough space to grow enough to make a dent with the number of birds I have - and it takes 14-18 days for fodder to be ready to eat in my house - I keep the temps cool, so, because of that, it doesn't germinate and grow as fast as if it was in a warmer place.

 

[Pastel the Rooster]

my family has to be the dumbest people on earth… Guess who has a 105 pound German Shepherd in the back of her car? Me. We met up at a dog park. He did well with the other dogs there. He seems really good. We are going to keep him unless things don’t work out with us and our dogs. Apparently his owner had chickens before and Charlie was scared of them.

 

[Pastel the Rooster]

You might want to weigh your options before deciding on keeping the dog. Stay safe, keep your feathered friends safe

Yeah. My parents were really thinking about it. We are keeping him for a few days to see if it works out. If not, then we will give him back to his owner.