Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

It is very, very, hard to overdose on oral calcium.
In your example of the cow with milk fever it is a delicate balance to give the calcium very slowly to cure the cow and not cause cardiac problems. But that is intravenous calcium.
Oral calcium is actually very poorly absorbed and the bulk of it just passes straight through.
It is theoretically possible to cause heart problems with oral calcium but really very, very, very unlikely.

This is true, but also a ne needs to ensure potassium and phosphorus are also in the correct percentages.

Now I have another elderly hen laying soft eggs - I have suspected Sharpie as laying soft eggs for quite a while now, but never caught her in the act.

Today I happened to notice Mr P trying to breed her and she wasn’t making a fuss but he was not getting it done.

So after he moved on I went and picked her up and happened to notice a ‘mucky’ bum - I took a closer look and noticed membrane hanging from her cloaca - it broke off but she still had more to expel, I popped a whole calcium in her and left her to see if she would pass it on her own.

About an hr later she came sashaying out and I couldn’t see anything else hanging out from her.

I noticed that the spot she roosted on had a ‘broke’ egg liquid, so I guess I’ll put her on calcium also now.

In the upside Larry laid a beautiful brown egg today .

Haven’t seen Petunia laying anything in a couple days, but she only lays every few days.

I caught Tippy laying a lovely pink egg and Eli-too a beautiful blue one.

 

[Ponypoor]

Her getting calcium every other day really ought to have remedied this if it were due to lack of calcium! Her shell gland isn’t functioning, or things are going through too fast…I don’t mean this entirely seriously, but I wonder if there’s such a thing as Imodium for slowing down the peristalsis that moves the egg along?

Thyroid issues are said to be at the root of these issues many times.

 

[Ponypoor]

So do I.I have high blood pressure issues too. Today he’s been eating and drinking a little. Thing is, I’m a bit of an important person in this community, getting some “get well soon” flowers for Sir Jaffar”The church pastor drove 15 miles just to bless him and pray over him. Sir Jaffar is a celebrity in this Central Valley community.

It’s wonderful that you have a loving community.

Sir Jaffar is a lucky Roo.

 

[ManueB]

Hello ! A late reply for which I apologise. I have been having internet issues on and off again. I'm also in the process of saying goodbye to Blanche, another of my ex-batt's just five weeks after Cannelle, and i've been finding it harder to concentrate enough to post, even though I still manage to read most of the thread, worry for Jaffar and Becky, and smile at Poppet.

Very interesting story! I see Kara has a bandage on her left foot. For bumblefoot? So Kara keeps everyone in line? What is her rank? I don’t recall hearing her name before. edit: So that was an egg inside Kara there in the X-ray, very cool.

Kara is one of four pullets I bought in may 2023 in the hope that adding hens would help our two roosters to not kill one another.
This was the post for their introduction. Unfortunately, when they arrived they were in very poor condition. Although they improved, they keep having health issues, so I am very unhappy overall with the local breeder. I have made sure everyone I know who buys her chickens will think twice about it from now on.
Yes, Kara has bumblefoot. It is an unusual bumblefoot because there are two abscesses next one to another, one is in the fold of the skin which makes me thinks she may have had something stuck there that caused it. Strange enough, all of those four pullets got serious bumblefoot at different periods since they arrived ; whereas only two of my other hens did, and they healed in two weeks. I know our environment is very rocky and there are still a lot of rusty metal pieces buried in the ground, but still I wonder if it is just a coincidence that the other chickens raised here had no problem.

When Kara and the others arrived, they were junior to 1. my then four remaining ex-batts, 2. Chipie, and 3. the first hatch by Chipie (Léa, Piou-piou, Merle and Gaston). A week after their arrival, while they were quarantined, Léa hatched six chicks.
Kara has become a bully for a number of hens above her rank : Blanche the ex-batt because she is very ill, Chipie, Piou-piou, Léa. She was leader of the four pullets but this has changed recently, as Alba, one of the leghorn, won a row of several fights. I think that when my last ex-batts dies (which I hope doesn't happen too soon as Nougat is doing great) she will try to become head hen...but she will find resistance with Merle and Alba. She is a nasty bully and the biggest of the hen, so I hope she never takes the lead.

You are a great story teller, thanks for sharing Carlos’ story! Do the shepherds sleep in the hoop house with the herd? If so, is it only for winter?

It's a bit of a rabbit hole to explain how people keep the sheeps here as a lot of it is still very familial and traditional . Each family had a small summer barn/cabin in the mountain and one member of the family , usually an older child, would take the few livestock they had for grazing up in the mountain all summer and sleep there. So the hoop shelter is right next to one of those small barn, which has a little stable for the horse and goats, and that's where the couple was planning to sleep. But I think they only did one night or two : most nights the ewes were left to manage on their own until the next morning. This is why the LGD's stay up there, and the shelter is surrounded by electrical anti wolves netting, but it all came down with the snow.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Happy FBF!
Everybody this morning, up in the morning sun on the veranda. Except Hazel's sitting underneath the coop, see her silhouette. Think that might be Anna's fluffy butt here. She was going in and out of the coop, getting ready to lay her egg.

 

[Desertvalleychickens]

These three are all that hatched?

Yep...

 

[Ponypoor]

Happy FBF!
Everybody this morning, up on the morning sun on the veranda. Except Hazel's sitting underneath the coop, see her silhouette. Think that might be Anna's fluffy butt here. She was going in and out of the coop, getting ready to lay her egg.
View attachment 3785428
View attachment 3785429

What a great spot for them bet that’s a favourite location!

 

[Ponypoor]

Fluffy Butt Friday

Butts in hiding

Larry Butt - nice egg today kiddo!

And a junior butt - he just started crowing this week.

 

[Ponypoor]

Hello ! A late reply for which I apologise. I have been having internet issues on and off again. I'm also in the process of saying goodbye to Blanche, another of my ex-batt's just five weeks after Cannelle, and i've been finding it harder to concentrate enough to post, even though I still manage to read most of the thread, worry for Jaffar and Becky, and smile at Poppet.

Kara is one of four pullets I bought in may 2023 in the hope that adding hens would help our two roosters to not kill one another.
This was the post for their introduction. Unfortunately, when they arrived they were in very poor condition. Although they improved, they keep having health issues, so I am very unhappy overall with the local breeder. I have made sure everyone I know who buys her chickens will think twice about it from now on.
Yes, Kara has bumblefoot. It is an unusual bumblefoot because there are two abscesses next one to another, one is in the fold of the skin which makes me thinks she may have had something stuck there that caused it. Strange enough, all of those four pullets got serious bumblefoot at different periods since they arrived ; whereas only two of my other hens did, and they healed in two weeks. I know our environment is very rocky and there are still a lot of rusty metal pieces buried in the ground, but still I wonder if it is just a coincidence that the other chickens raised here had no problem.

When Kara and the others arrived, they were junior to 1. my then four remaining ex-batts, 2. Chipie, and 3. the first hatch by Chipie (Léa, Piou-piou, Merle and Gaston). A week after their arrival, while they were quarantined, Léa hatched six chicks.
Kara has become a bully for a number of hens above her rank : Blanche the ex-batt because she is very ill, Chipie, Piou-piou, Léa. She was leader of the four pullets but this has changed recently, as Alba, one of the leghorn, won a row of several fights. I think that when my last ex-batts dies (which I hope doesn't happen too soon as Nougat is doing great) she will try to become head hen...but she will find resistance with Merle and Alba. She is a nasty bully and the biggest of the hen, so I hope she never takes the lead.
View attachment 3785362
View attachment 3785424

It's a bit of a rabbit hole to explain how people keep the sheeps here as a lot of it is still very familial and traditional . Each family had a small summer barn/cabin in the mountain and one member of the family , usually an older child, would take the few livestock they had for grazing up in the mountain all summer and sleep there. So the hoop shelter is right next to one of those small barn, which has a little stable for the horse and goats, and that's where the couple was planning to sleep. But I think they only did one night or two : most nights the ewes were left to manage on their own until the next morning. This is why the LGD's stay up there, and the shelter is surrounded by electrical anti wolves netting, but it all came down with the snow.

I’m to hear about Blanche, seems like an era is ending.

 

[BeastBaby]

Vent gleet is what you’re suspecting?

Yes, so far. What do you think?

Her lethargy is abating, she is active again! Hasn’t laid yet, but otherwise is behaviorally back to normal. Perhaps the topical antifungal is working? Her bum is still bare of feathers, but I wouldn’t expect that to get better until she molts?