Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Pastel the Rooster]

If she doesn't stop with the broody threaten her with having to spend the night in the human house. Works best on birds that prefer not to have human company.

I mean… he has a point.

 

[featherhead007]

Oh, that would be amazing! What breeds are you thinking?

A new breed they call strait run. I can get five free chicks with the purchase of 50 lbs of feed

 

[Marie2020]

A new breed they call strait run. I can get five free chicks with the purchase of 50 lbs of feed

Their lives mean nothing. Grab them all and rehome some. The poor things

 

[Marie2020]

Good night fluffy butt's

 

[notabitail]

Good night fluffy butt's

Good night.

 

[Pastel the Rooster]

Good night fluffy butt's

Good night Marie!

 

[Ponypoor]

So now that I know for sure I have chicks developing I have just under 2 weeks to make some decisions.
Option A. Brood them myself. Clean out the spot beside my computer desk and set up the brooder like I have done in the past. Being silkies, the dog crate will be big enough for them for 3 to 4 weeks before I put them outside. This will allow me to be a helicopter parent. This will also ensure optimal friendliness in the chicks. Again, being silkies they are born human friendly.

Option B: Bunny and or Spooky. Conviently Bunny went broody the day I set the eggs on the porch. Spooky followed suit 2 days later in the other nest box. Bunny is beyond experienced and has adopted chicks before. Spooky is unproven, but Marans x Silkie so has the genes to be a good mother. If I attempted to foster any onto her I would hover and be prepared to remove them the first sign she was going to reject them. This is the smartest thing to do. Broody raised chicks are so much smarter and in the long run healthier and grow faster. The drawbacks is I cannot be outside 24/7 to constantly supervise those first critical weeks. This is my only planned hatch this year.

Right now I am letting the girls sit on nothing. Incase I do decide to use them I want them ready. My head is telling me to let Bunny have them for well adjusted already integrated chicks. My heart is saying do it myself and deal with integration at a later date.

Hard choice! And until this week I would have said go the broody route. Of course Whiskers ruined that for me

Then there is Curly who is the model perfect mommy hen. So I would go that route.

And then there are my 6 older chicks and 2 bantam midgets all running around out and about with the bigger chickens since they were a week old no problems with integrating them at all. Friendly to a fault…. Maybe go that route…..

Or maybe flip a coin - either way I am sure they will be fine you have a couple weeks to decide.

Fun isn’t it

 

[Ponypoor]

Some trouble

Seems the last chick born early this morning around 5am has some mobility issues. I have consulted and chatted with some people on here and it was suggested that she be popped back into the incubator for a few hrs to sleep and get stronger.

So that’s whats happening now, if she is no better by morning I will bring her and a friend back here and put some hobbles on her to try and get her legs straightened out.

Spoiler: Chick

Should be good in a few days if needing hobbles

 

[Ponypoor]

A new breed they call strait run. I can get five free chicks with the purchase of 50 lbs of feed

What if you get 5 Roos?!

That could be bad news….

 

[featherhead007]

What if you get 5 Roos?!

That could be bad news….

I’m not getting any more chicks