Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

But she’s only 12 weeks old!

Dont get judgy! Just continue to love the chicken!!! I miss my chickens when we are apart. Yesterday i thought of you a bunch featherhead. Heres why. Miss Patient did something to her leg while out freeranging. She developed a limp. I had the entire day to spend with them....so, after a long epsom salt soak and blow dry at 6:30am, I thought to crate her for the day to rest the leg.in the crate, she was pissed!!! She wanted to be with the flock so bad, the stress was worse than the leg at this point. So what would featherhead do? We all know the flock likes to explore an area for about 30-45 minutes. Afterwards, meandering to the feeder/water and a rest before going back to explore. I am aware of these routines, but didnt want Miss Patient to overdo it. So, i carried her to all the cool spots, we all hung out until head hen says, lets go over here....i carried that chicken from spot to spot. One time she stayed in my lap and nestled into my arms. You know when they get all comfy and their breast pushes way up all cozy. That evening I did not bring her inside to sleep in my coop, but instead, made her a cozy bed under the roost so she could avoid the roost drama. This morning Miss Patients leg is certainly not worse and a tad better! Shes back to her ol' cranky self! She growls when i grab the garden tools and helps me dig so good

 

[featherhead007]

I love that photo of Jaffar and I also love that last photo - her expression and that funky comb and wattles are so expressive! She looks so stern

The last picture is of the Magnificent Beetov-Hen she was a looker for sure. So smart too.

 

[Marie2020]

Dont get judgy! Just continue to love the chicken!!! I miss my chickens when we are apart. Yesterday i thought of you a bunch featherhead. Heres why. Miss Patient did something to her leg while out freeranging. She developed a limp. I had the entire day to spend with them....so, after a long epsom salt soak and blow dry at 6:30am, I thought to crate her for the day to rest the leg.in the crate, she was pissed!!! She wanted to be with the flock so bad, the stress was worse than the leg at this point. So what would featherhead do? We all know the flock likes to explore an area for about 30-45 minutes. Afterwards, meandering to the feeder/water and a rest before going back to explore. I am aware of these routines, but didnt want Miss Patient to overdo it. So, i carried her to all the cool spots, we all hung out until head hen says, lets go over here....i carried that chicken from spot to spot. One time she stayed in my lap and nestled into my arms. You know when they get all comfy and their breast pushes way up all cozy. That evening I did not bring her inside to sleep in my coop, but instead, made her a cozy bed under the roost so she could avoid the roost drama. This morning Miss Patients leg is certainly not worse and a tad better! Shes back to her ol' cranky self! She growls when i grab the garden tools and helps me dig so good

That's great
Really positive signs

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

Dont get judgy! Just continue to love the chicken!!! I miss my chickens when we are apart. Yesterday i thought of you a bunch featherhead. Heres why. Miss Patient did something to her leg while out freeranging. She developed a limp. I had the entire day to spend with them....so, after a long epsom salt soak and blow dry at 6:30am, I thought to crate her for the day to rest the leg.in the crate, she was pissed!!! She wanted to be with the flock so bad, the stress was worse than the leg at this point. So what would featherhead do? We all know the flock likes to explore an area for about 30-45 minutes. Afterwards, meandering to the feeder/water and a rest before going back to explore. I am aware of these routines, but didnt want Miss Patient to overdo it. So, i carried her to all the cool spots, we all hung out until head hen says, lets go over here....i carried that chicken from spot to spot. One time she stayed in my lap and nestled into my arms. You know when they get all comfy and their breast pushes way up all cozy. That evening I did not bring her inside to sleep in my coop, but instead, made her a cozy bed under the roost so she could avoid the roost drama. This morning Miss Patients leg is certainly not worse and a tad better! Shes back to her ol' cranky self! She growls when i grab the garden tools and helps me dig so good

 

[Barnette]

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I have been wanting to do this for some time now. I knew once I started doing this there would be no going back. So I am now diving in and I hope you all enjoy coming along for the ride.

First of all let me tell you how we view our flock as that will help you to understand why we treat them like we do.

Our birds are our pets and we treat them as such. We do not care if someone is not laying eggs. They are welcome to stay at Fluffy Butt Acres until they pass naturally. (Now don't go telling them that! I would hate for word to get out) We do thoroughly enjoy the fresh eggs.

I plan to tell stories from the past as well as from today. I hope you all enjoy and will share stories of your flocks as well.

Oh my gosh, I love what you're doing. Thank you for keeping those hens even after they stop laying. I recently adopted several old hens from neighbors who didn't want them anymore, and they are living out their lives with our other, younger hens. Can you believe that one of them is NINE years old!! Anyway, good luck with your beautiful hens

 

[Marie2020]

Look at what she did to my fluffy @BY Bob . I told everyone on beakbook but I never did get a army too help me put this human in the sink

 

[BY Bob]

Oh my gosh, I love what you're doing. Thank you for keeping those hens even after they stop laying. I recently adopted several old hens from neighbors who didn't want them anymore, and they are living out their lives with our other, younger hens. Can you believe that one of them is NINE years old!! Anyway, good luck with your beautiful hens

Thank you. Chickens learn from each other. Older hens are a wealth of knowledge that helps the entire flock safer.

 

[BY Bob]

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Look at what she did to my fluffy @BY Bob . I told everyone on beakbook but I never did get a army to out this human in the sink

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Poor baby. It's so undignified!

 

[notabitail]

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Look at what she did to my fluffy @BY Bob . I told everyone on beakbook but I never did get a army too help me put this human in the sink

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Princess, get a hose and soak Marie!

 

[rural mouse]

@Pastel the Rooster
Thank you for posting the video. As someone who is also having issues with a rooster at the moment, I found this video very helpful. It allowed me to look at your interactions and compare it to my own and my daughters to see what I could change to improve the situation here. I understand the fear, my current roosters do not induce the same fear but Oreo sure did and I now have a deep respect for the amount of fury a 8-10 lb critter is capable of unleashing. I find carrying something, anything really, like you did so I can block (not hit) takes away most of the anxiety I might project. Rural mouses advice is spot on and I am right with you in learning from her.

@rural mouse

Excellent advice. The video analysis of the little details was very helpful. I really appreciate that you took the time to do so. I am going to show and read it to my daughter as well, to reinforce previous discussions. She is brave and really loves em like Pastel does and wants to continue to work on bettering the situation.

My own kids and I have had discussions over the years about the why's behind PEOPLE'S actions (usually involved with bullying). Conclusions: how we handle each situation depends upon the why's behind it (kid bullying because is getting abused at home? Lack of leadership, discipline, guidance? Other?) I'm finding that same rule of thumb applies to interactions with animals too. Did the cat claw you because you're pulling its fur, brushing it's fur backwards, because you're taking its food dish away, it's semi-feral? Has babies that it's protecting? Analyzing the behavior is frequently easier when you're NOT the one in the midst of it.

I'm glad it's helping.