Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[fuentemoon]

I need to get more photos today, the littles are getting so big! They spend all day in the yard now, constantly foraging. Alintas comb was noticeably red today, curious to see how soon she starts laying again. Rosie seems less hovering over the chicks than Alinta, but she isn't as red.
The news is that one chick roosted last night! I didn't get a pic since was dark. I went to turn off the hose before bed and decided to check on them. I opened the egg door and could only see 1 chick and Alinta, curious i opened the big door and there was #2 up with Rosie and Brenna. I had been planning on installing a second roost this weekend a bit lower, but it looks like they can make it! I might put the second one a bit lower anyway as my girls are getting older.

 

[BY Bob]

I appreciated the leghorns. I found them very smart and really liked them. They are very alert and were excellent at free ranging. Sadly they were too good at it. Exploring the hillside is one thing. Spending about 75% of your day way up on the hill out of sight is another thing entirely. Sending them to my aunt was the best thing for them. They have a huge covered run, as big as my yard. The best part, my aunts house is on a hill. Her run, is on the hill. The girls get the best of both worlds. Exploring a hill and safely enclosed. They are thriving. The one thing she does not have that I do is the creek. She does have a ditch though that unless it is very dry has water flowing. After they got acclimated she started letting them out of the run when she was outside doing yard work. My "ducks in chicken suits" as she calls them head straight for the ditch every time.

They are fabulous foragers. That makes total sense.

 

[BY Bob]

I hope so - I just worry so much ever since Floyd last year

 

[BY Bob]

I'm terribly weary of cute and funny animal videos on social medias because sometimes the background can be quite horrid. I read a few posts from a french insta account who actually analyses animal reels that went viral, explaining if there's something wrong with the behaviour or if it's just really cute and funny...and that sort of ruined it for me.

The relationship with Alba and Nieva, our leghorns, is complicated . It's not so much that we don't like them, that they don't like us. And it has overall being getting worse now that they have spent more than a year here. When they got here in May 2023 at five months they were very weary, but curious. Now they are still curious but terrified! I'm not really sure what we did wrong. It's even more surprising since both had stubborn bumblefeet and spent for months half an hour daily or every other day inside our house. They didn't seem to hate the bath, the wrapping, and they loved the treats that came with it ; but whenever we approach them then and now in the chicken yard or outside, they shy away from us and especially from being touched. When we hand out some treats they really love, they will come near enough to grab a piece... and run. When it's just some more usual treats, they dont even come near.

On the other hand, they have not being explorers like some of our other chickens. When we fenced all the chickens in the yard, it took several weeks for some to accept that and stop trying to get out. Alba and Nieva tried once or twice and gave up. They could easily fly over our chicken fence which is only five feet high , but they don't seem to want to. They also adapted very well with the other chickens, they are confident, and have dominant tempers.

I could say they fear humans because they arrived here at five months already coming from a bad breeder, but the other two hens that came with them from the same place, Lily and Kara, the Marans x Harko, are not like this at all. And if it was only Nieva I could imagine she was traumatised by her surgery at the vet, but Alba is also like her although not as bad

It makes dealing with health issues a real pain. Right now, Nieva has a lice infestation that seems to resist every treatment supposed to be efficient (and which seem to have been efficient for the other chickens) and every time I have to catch her, it's like I'm sending her to the slaughterhouse rather than just applying some powder or spray. If I take her off the roost at night and she wakes up before I catch her, she will even risk getting hurt flying in the dark rather than being caught.

I'm interested to hear if anyone has tips to try make things better- more specific than handing out treats and spending time with them, which we already do a lot of . I also don't feel catching her to bring her inside with us would help much, since she already spent a lot of time in when we were treating her foot, and anyway at this time of year we only go in after dinner and crash to bed shortly after.

I have seen some of my other chickens who were either very scared or didn't like humans completely change and become more familiar for various reasons, like Piou-piou, or Chipie, or Théo in his good days, so I know it's possible even when they are adults !

Alba
View attachment 3895347
Nieva.
View attachment 3895348
Alba and Kara (yes, we just called them white in Italian and black in Turkish).
View attachment 3895349
View attachment 3895350

I trained my Leghorns with food. Mostly cheese its crackers. They had to take them directly from my hand. I use blueberries more now.

I will say that after more than 5 years I can't touch Aurora. She won't have it. If I take her off the roost at night she fights like the devil. She will take food from me but I dare not touch her.

Each chicken has their own rules and I respect them.

You might try doing the same thing every day. Like blueberries at 6:00 pm every day. They will get used to the routine and start seeking you out at that time. That can be the beginnings of a changing relationship.

 

[knoturavggrl]

Lots of Fluffy Butts for Friday!

Ginger

Brownie

Lore

Flour, Ginger, and half of Peanuts

 

[Ponypoor]

Excellent to keep her confined! I was thinking the jumping will refracture the area. You are so good w/your animals

I have 6 that I lift down every morning. And now 3 more that also wait for me - hahaha.

Meanwhile my bratty wee OEGB bantam cockerel is flying demon!

This morning he was getting ready to fly down from the floor beam, but was hesitant; so I put my arm out and told him ‘ok kiddo come on I’ll catch ya’. And down he flew to my outstretched arm hahahaha.

It’s really a bad habit to teach them, because, next thing you know they are flying all over you, poopy feet and all in your hair! Which is why I now wear a cap/hat in the barn at all times!

 

[Ponypoor]

I need to get more photos today, the littles are getting so big! They spend all day in the yard now, constantly foraging. Alintas comb was noticeably red today, curious to see how soon she starts laying again. Rosie seems less hovering over the chicks than Alinta, but she isn't as red.
The news is that one chick roosted last night! I didn't get a pic since was dark. I went to turn off the hose before bed and decided to check on them. I opened the egg door and could only see 1 chick and Alinta, curious i opened the big door and there was #2 up with Rosie and Brenna. I had been planning on installing a second roost this weekend a bit lower, but it looks like they can make it! I might put the second one a bit lower anyway as my girls are getting older.View attachment 3895619

Gosh they grow so fast don’t they!

They are looking like little chickens now rather than wee babies

My 4 week old chicks easily fly up 3’ now, the poor silkie chicks are now left down below.

 

[Ponypoor]

I trained my Leghorns with food. Mostly cheese its crackers. They had to take them directly from my hand. I use blueberries more now.

I will say that after more than 5 years I can't touch Aurora. She won't have it. If I take her off the roost at night she fights like the devil. She will take food from me but I dare not touch her.

Each chicken has their own rules and I respect them.

You might try doing the same thing every day. Like blueberries at 6:00 pm every day. They will get used to the routine and start seeking you out at that time. That can be the beginnings of a changing relationship.

Each of mine is handled the same, and they all have differing levels of interaction with me. Some don’t want anything to do with me, and others are all over me all the time, getting underfoot tripping me up, flying up on me with poopy feet.

The ones that don’t like being handled I deal with at night, like Mr P who screams like he’s being murdered otherwise. But I do make a point of picking each one up whenever I get a chance just to make sure they are used to being handled so that they don’t freak out too much when I need to deal with something.

One thing I have noticed is that usually when they start laying the pullets usually settle down and I am able to handle them more. Usually.

But then there are some who just don’t like to be handled no matter what. Bert is one of those, but each night I pick him up and haul his butt over to Hen House B and put him with the Azurs along with anyone else who I can drag over to help thin out the crowd in Hen House A.

He doesn’t like it and screams just as much as his Dada, I just ignore him. He is getting better. Last night the hardly screamed at all - or maybe I am now just deaf in that ear….

 

[featherhead007]

I have 6 that I lift down every morning. And now 3 more that also wait for me - hahaha.

Meanwhile my bratty wee OEGB bantam cockerel is flying demon!

This morning he was getting ready to fly down from the floor beam, but was hesitant; so I put my arm out and told him ‘ok kiddo come on I’ll catch ya’. And down he flew to my outstretched arm hahahaha.

It’s really a bad habit to teach them, because, next thing you know they are flying all over you, poopy feet and all in your hair! Which is why I now wear a cap/hat in the barn at all times!

Get off the drugs you crazy Canadian lady!

 

[featherhead007]

Get off the drugs you crazy Canadian lady!

Yes I’m only joking