Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Felicitas the Cream Legbar also seems to be having egg issues here. She started dropping eggs off the perch and now she doesn't lay them anymore. I'm hoping that since she has issues with eggs she won't try and strain another one out.

Oh no!

 

[rural mouse]

She is flying like a leghorn for certain. Polish fly a lot and fly well but Aster is way beyond Versace.

But she hatched from a brown egg, right?

 

[Sylvester017]

It’s on my wish list

Zero-turn, 54” cutting deck…. Yep I want one!

Need a new lawn tractor tax
Curly’s babies are almost as big as she is!

WOW! That thing would mince a chicken in 2 seconds if she got in the way!

 

[Sylvester017]

Sebright pics
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I need a Halloweeny name for this one
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Wonder twins activate!
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Tonight I locked the big ones out and let the chickies be free in the run. Lots of flying and scratching around.
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The two pompoms seemed to have the most fun, and disco the bellbottom chick had a ton of fun too.
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They made it to the other side, attacking the bush and chicknick table
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Bab almost made it onto the "bench" of it but I moved too quickly and she scooted off.
All in all it was 15-20 minutes and they had a blast, Bab is already having to whip her head around to see so she had difficulties getting back in the brooder. I think it's because she was busy pecking the fence so got left behind by the rest and then freaked out.

Do any of your crested birds trim each other's face feathers? Our first Silkie "Violet" over a decade ago started sticking her face into other hens' beaks to allow them to pull out feathers around her eyeballs. Subsequent Silkies learned this from her so thru the Silkie generations we've never had to trim Silkie crests. They trim each other!

"Violet"

"Suzu" allowed herself to be trimmed TOO far! It turned into a Mohawk!

 

[Sylvester017]

@SimpleJenn ~ not a true Halloweeny name but my Keiko's momma was called "Pumpkin Spice" which fits the holiday

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

@SimpleJenn ~ not a true Halloweeny name but my Keiko's momma was called "Pumpkin Spice" which fits the holiday

This, this right here is what I think a couple of my chicks will end up looking like. Patsy is also going to be similar but instead of black I believe she will have blue or grey mixed in with the brown.

 

[Sylvester017]

Notabitail has experience with computers and gadgets.

Yes, he does!

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

Speaking of Marans and egg laying. I have also noticed high heat and or humidity affects them in a negative manner. Each and every one of them lay a different hue or spotted pattern. No two of the girls lays the same exact egg. If I take broody Holly and Goose out of the mix I should still have more brown eggs then I am currently getting. For example, Lilly. She is one of my two spotted egg layers. Lilly was broody back in February into March. I have not gotten a Lilly egg in over a month. Her eggs are heavier spotted then her mom Corona's. Lilly is also definitely NOT broody. Squirrel, she lays a medium brown, heavier egg with light spotting. She has never been broody a day in her life but for a few weeks now all I am getting from her is about 3 eggs a week. The same can be said about Bunny and Karen at most 3 a week. Raven, Blueberry, Corona and Grackle are picking up the slack for the brown egg laying girls. Each one on target for 5 eggs a week. The heat is also affecting my non marans girls as well. 19 hens, 3 are broody. For over a month now I am down to 8 to 10 eggs a day. For the first time yesterday I got 11 in a while. Once it cools down though, you cannot beat them for laying into the winter months.

 

[SimpleJenn]

@Sylvester017 these are my first truly crested chickens, Morinth has a small one that does not impede her vision so she doesn't need any trimming. However my satin silkie Samara has such a fluffy butt I have had to trim the feathers.

 

[SimpleJenn]

@RebeccaBoyd Yeah Shep the magesty Marans has had eggs all over the place. Lots of spots but they're sometimes almost tan, sometimes orangey brown, rarely dark brown. She's been having issues where the brown is all at one end and bumpy, so that's why I'm even letting her go broody. I want the factory to be shut down for a while so she can get back to laying eggs with normal shells.