Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[featherhead007]

To be perfectly honest with you. I honestly wouldn't be able to resist

that neighbor was looking for two little (somethings) yesterday. He doesn’t speak English, and his Spanish is really terrible too. I’m thinking that he was looking for his baby ducklings. But they weren’t on my side of the fence, unless the stray cats got to them.

 

[Marie2020]

that neighbor was looking for two little (somethings) yesterday. He doesn’t speak English, and his Spanish is really terrible too. I’m thinking that he was looking for his baby ducklings. But they weren’t on my side of the fence, unless the stray cats got to them.

Bless him. Do you have a translation on your phone?

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

Success today. The game rooster from next door came over and was inside the run eating our chooks feed. Rudy (my Wyandottey rooster) beat the pizz out of him and sent him home.

Good boy Rudy. It sounds like you little man is growing up. Have your hens realized yet that they once again have a rooster to look to for guidance or do they still see him as a annoying chick?

 

[Sylvester017]

Bubba has a huge growth on each of his feet. It started I think last fall or early winter. They grew slowly and were really not red until late winter early spring. Early on I suspected bumble foot. I cannot tell you how many times I got him and looked those feet over closely. I was under the impression if it was bumble foot there would be a opening somewhere where the infection started. There has never been any opening, ever. The masses are rock hard, almost feeling like bone so I chalked it up to possibly a tumor. This spring the masses grew red, and periodically he would limp for a bit. When our vet was out to do the horses yearly vaccines I had him look at Bubba for me. He informed me it was bumblefoot but closed bumblefoot. The masses were too big to safely remove and it was a matter of time. He saw him moving around and witnessed him breed a hen. He told me when he declined to where his mobility was inhibited, he stopped breeding the girls and his apatite was gone it would be time. He said that could be weeks or months but he and I both agreed it would need to be done by this fall. It would be cruel to put him through a cold snowy winter with his feet. Bubba has been good for about 8 weeks. The masses had stopped growing until recently. Now the redness is streaking up his legs and there is heat in them where there was previously none. He was not as active Monday and yesterday morning. I do not know how he was yesterday evening as I was hit with the stomach flu, but he is out and about right now digging away on the creek bank. I live in a rural area. My horse vet will tend to minor injuries and illnesses with chickens if he is out on a farm call. I cannot bring them into the office. Their is a avian vet several hours away in Lexington but they are geared towards caged birds like parrots. If I could find someone he told me due to the complexity with birds and anesthesia I would be looking at least 1000 to attempt to fix and in his opinion they were inoperable. I love my birds, but I cannot do that. So I am watching Bubba. I have decided with the redness streaking up and the heat it is close to being time. I hope he has a few good days left. That is what we are looking at now, days.

That is so heartbreaking! Sweet Bubba!

Still, one would think an antibiotic would've halted the spreading red infection? I'm not a poultry vet but I do know there is an antibiotic that is available when bumblefoot infections happen ~ just don't recall the med?!

I am so queasy when there is injury or suffering that I make a pest of myself with medical establishments. I've made up to 5 trips back to a vet when I wasn't satisfied with the surgery or treatment of one of my bumblefoot birds!

If I hadn't been a BYC lurker years ago I would never been aware of the different evidences of bumblefoot. BYC articles/discussions made me aware to catch bumblefoot years later when a couple hens got it. I eventually learned to treat it myself with a later bird with my vet's good instructions.

 

[BY Bob]

Thanks Marie. Not off to a great start. Just missed the flight because of an accident closing the tunnel into Heathrow.

That's not good. Heathrow has been very unkind to me in the past.

 

[BY Bob]

I found a plane to take me. Thanks to security pulling some guy off and so there was a spare seat!

Meanwhile, back at the Chicken Palace, Pooh is heading to lay an egg. She is the only one using the nest boxes these days!
View attachment 3906307

I'm glad they let you on. I hope your entry into the country was smoother.

 

[Ponypoor]

@janiedoe ~ Marek's is too devastating so we get only vaccinated chicks now and a policy of no outside adopted birds. Sounds like a harsh policy but it saves flock lives in the long run.

I value owners hatching their own babies but I value the ones who vaccinate their day-old chicks even more. Natural resistance to build hardiness is a sweet idea until something like Marek's or genetic weakness like avian leukosis strikes from an outside source.

So sorry you lost so many chicks/juveniles. It's so hard to go thru!

I asked my vet about vaccinations for my chooks and apparently it is not a thing here for personal backyard flocks.

Only commercial factory farms vaccinate - one cannot even get vaccine here to do with one’s own birds.

The Hoover chicks all come vaccinated for Mareks which is extremely worrying for me as my own birds are not, there has been cases of vaccine leakage from vaccinated birds into a population not vaccinated. Which is one of the reason I was so aggressive with treating the whole flock for coccidiosis - I didn’t want anything to stress them and lower their resistance. I also wormed everyone again this week.

And I just noted they vaccinate for coccidia as well. - that explains my chickies getting ill; they say not to feed medicated feed if they have been vaccinated for coccidia! It cancels out the vaccine. Well duh! I didn’t realize this.

Wish I had checked this out, and wish Peavey Mart had mentioned this!


Rain rain rain. Did it ever rain last night!

Poor Fluffy was not so fluffy!

 

[BY Bob]

Good morning. I'm dropping in to say hello and see how you are all doing.
@BY Bob how are you? Again, I am so sorry that you lost Phyllis. She brought a lot of joy and laughter to BYC.

We are doing fine. Having the chicks hatch the day after Phyllis has surely helped. Thank you for the kind words.

 

[Ponypoor]

Bubba has a huge growth on each of his feet. It started I think last fall or early winter. They grew slowly and were really not red until late winter early spring. Early on I suspected bumble foot. I cannot tell you how many times I got him and looked those feet over closely. I was under the impression if it was bumble foot there would be a opening somewhere where the infection started. There has never been any opening, ever. The masses are rock hard, almost feeling like bone so I chalked it up to possibly a tumor. This spring the masses grew red, and periodically he would limp for a bit. When our vet was out to do the horses yearly vaccines I had him look at Bubba for me. He informed me it was bumblefoot but closed bumblefoot. The masses were too big to safely remove and it was a matter of time. He saw him moving around and witnessed him breed a hen. He told me when he declined to where his mobility was inhibited, he stopped breeding the girls and his apatite was gone it would be time. He said that could be weeks or months but he and I both agreed it would need to be done by this fall. It would be cruel to put him through a cold snowy winter with his feet. Bubba has been good for about 8 weeks. The masses had stopped growing until recently. Now the redness is streaking up his legs and there is heat in them where there was previously none. He was not as active Monday and yesterday morning. I do not know how he was yesterday evening as I was hit with the stomach flu, but he is out and about right now digging away on the creek bank. I live in a rural area. My horse vet will tend to minor injuries and illnesses with chickens if he is out on a farm call. I cannot bring them into the office. Their is a avian vet several hours away in Lexington but they are geared towards caged birds like parrots. If I could find someone he told me due to the complexity with birds and anesthesia I would be looking at least 1000 to attempt to fix and in his opinion they were inoperable. I love my birds, but I cannot do that. So I am watching Bubba. I have decided with the redness streaking up and the heat it is close to being time. I hope he has a few good days left. That is what we are looking at now, days.

You are a good chicken mama, Bubba will live the good life until it’s his time to be at peace.

 

[BY Bob]

Bubba has a huge growth on each of his feet. It started I think last fall or early winter. They grew slowly and were really not red until late winter early spring. Early on I suspected bumble foot. I cannot tell you how many times I got him and looked those feet over closely. I was under the impression if it was bumble foot there would be a opening somewhere where the infection started. There has never been any opening, ever. The masses are rock hard, almost feeling like bone so I chalked it up to possibly a tumor. This spring the masses grew red, and periodically he would limp for a bit. When our vet was out to do the horses yearly vaccines I had him look at Bubba for me. He informed me it was bumblefoot but closed bumblefoot. The masses were too big to safely remove and it was a matter of time. He saw him moving around and witnessed him breed a hen. He told me when he declined to where his mobility was inhibited, he stopped breeding the girls and his apatite was gone it would be time. He said that could be weeks or months but he and I both agreed it would need to be done by this fall. It would be cruel to put him through a cold snowy winter with his feet. Bubba has been good for about 8 weeks. The masses had stopped growing until recently. Now the redness is streaking up his legs and there is heat in them where there was previously none. He was not as active Monday and yesterday morning. I do not know how he was yesterday evening as I was hit with the stomach flu, but he is out and about right now digging away on the creek bank. I live in a rural area. My horse vet will tend to minor injuries and illnesses with chickens if he is out on a farm call. I cannot bring them into the office. Their is a avian vet several hours away in Lexington but they are geared towards caged birds like parrots. If I could find someone he told me due to the complexity with birds and anesthesia I would be looking at least 1000 to attempt to fix and in his opinion they were inoperable. I love my birds, but I cannot do that. So I am watching Bubba. I have decided with the redness streaking up and the heat it is close to being time. I hope he has a few good days left. That is what we are looking at now, days.