Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[RebeccaBoyd]

Spoiler

Front tooth and bottom incisor or canine tooth are broken.

 

[rural mouse]

Speaking of new coop...would anyone like to give me roost feedback?

The wall on the back is where roosts will go. It's nearly 8 feet long.
View attachment 3914609

The distance, from that wall to the opposite wall, where the nest boxes are, is 7 feet (about 6.5 feet to the boxes themselves).

The height of the window sill is 3'.

I was planning 2 roosts. How high would you put them. If you're worried about drafts...I can easily close the window in the cold weather. However, there's another window across from it. I could close that one too of course.

Thoughts?

How padded will the floor be? My coop has a dirt/deep litter floor so the landing from 6 feet up (especially since I have some 4 foot high roosts and a pallet set about 2 feet high) is pretty soft. @Ponypoor has cement bricks for floor, so quite the impact. She reworked her coops to what...2-3 feet high? I think... mine use the top of the nest boxes for a landing/launching point also. ...and use multiple heights.

When it's cold, then snuggle together on the roosts. When it's hot (or they're moulting and are prickly pincushions) they spread out, including the nest boxes. The roosting drama gets separated by moving to different roosts.

A long roost may be a problem unless some sight blockers get put up.

Not stating: do it this way, just providing food for thought.

 

[Ponypoor]

How padded will the floor be? My coop has a dirt/deep litter floor so the landing from 6 feet up (especially since I have some 4 foot high roosts and a pallet set about 2 feet high) is pretty soft. @Ponypoor has cement bricks for floor, so quite the impact. She reworked her coops to what...2-3 feet high? I think... mine use the top of the nest boxes for a landing/launching point also. ...and use multiple heights.

When it's cold, then snuggle together on the roosts. When it's hot (or they're moulting and are prickly pincushions) they spread out, including the nest boxes. The roosting drama gets separated by moving to different roosts.

A long roost may be a problem unless some sight blockers get put up.

Not stating: do it this way, just providing food for thought.

Yes my floor is brick pavers with about 6” of shavings on it. The height of the ledge is 29”. And a bit lower in HH-B and the Summer House. About 24” - makes it easier for the silkies.

I am going to put a nice high roost up for the bantams, they fly really well.

 

[rural mouse]

I could use some prayers sent Rosie's way please.

I got a call from the school this afternoon that a fight broke out and she was caught in the cross-hairs and needed to be picked up.

I get to the school and there is a ambulance there along with the sheriffs department. They are loading Rosie onto the ambulance. Principal, the sheriff and her teacher were trying to talk to me all at once and Rosie is in a meltdown. The teacher and myself rode with her to the hospital and the principal told me to come Monday and they would have all the information for me then. I got from the teacher that there was a pep-rally going on when a girl started hitting a boy who was sitting beside Rosie in the head with a Stanly cup. He tried to get away and she threw it and it bounced off his head and hit her in the mouth. She has 2 broken teeth, a busted lip and a concussion. I found out from a friend who came to the ER right after school that she did pass out for about 2 seconds but a group of people caught her before she hit the ground. Her mouth is hurting and she is super sensitive to heat and cold but the nerve is not exposed. She is on amoxicillin and pain meds until Monday when I can get her into the dentist for them to be capped. Rosie is also on a 3 minute loop. Every 3 minutes she starts asking the same questions over and over and over and does not remember exactly what happened. I did let the sheriff and principal know before I left I do want charges pressed.

For you, Rosie, and Mama Bear. Stick to your guns. Those metal mugs can be a weapon and hitting anyone with them, let alone throwing them is unwise. The girl needs to face the consequences...paying the medical expenses might be a wakeup call for the kid.

 

[Ponypoor]

Bittercup?

Yes I am bitter about that photo! It was a good one!

 

[rural mouse]

Yes my floor is brick pavers with about 6” of shavings on it. The height of the ledge is 29”. And a bit lower in HH-B and the Summer House. About 24” - makes it easier for the silkies.

I am going to put a nice high roost up for the bantams, they fly really well.

Expect to find some larger invaders on it too....

 

[Lilion]

How padded will the floor be? My coop has a dirt/deep litter floor so the landing from 6 feet up (especially since I have some 4 foot high roosts and a pallet set about 2 feet high) is pretty soft. @Ponypoor has cement bricks for floor, so quite the impact. She reworked her coops to what...2-3 feet high? I think... mine use the top of the nest boxes for a landing/launching point also. ...and use multiple heights.

When it's cold, then snuggle together on the roosts. When it's hot (or they're moulting and are prickly pincushions) they spread out, including the nest boxes. The roosting drama gets separated by moving to different roosts.

A long roost may be a problem unless some sight blockers get put up.

Not stating: do it this way, just providing food for thought.

Sight blockers? There will only be 7 hens, with 16 feet of perches...I'm not sure why they need that. You're talking about partitions to not see each other?

So, I guess you don't think in front of the window is an issue?

As you know I now have the roosting ledge in my hen house. I found they were doing too much squabbling on the roost.

They are all crammed in Hen House A as usual;
View attachment 3914692

I’ll go and shift some of them to Hen House B now when I do chores.
View attachment 3914691

I find they don’t squabble at all now and it’s easy for them to shuffle around to a new spot rather than falling or jumping off a roost.

Yes my floor is brick pavers with about 6” of shavings on it. The height of the ledge is 29”. And a bit lower in HH-B and the Summer House. About 24” - makes it easier for the silkies.

I am going to put a nice high roost up for the bantams, they fly really well.

I haven't considered ledges...the plan was 2x4, wide side up. It's what I've always seen, until here. Maybe poop boards...I hadn't really decided.

The floor is your basic shed floor. The coop is inside a portable building. It was bought to be a hunting cabin, but we sold the hunting property and had it moved to our new home. It's a very well built portable building with your basic subfloor. Over that there will be commercial linoleum and shavings. So, pretty soft.

They aren't large breeds. The older mixed breed girls are only 4ish pounds. I guess the new girls will go about 6 eventually? That's what I read on Rhone Island Reds at least.

 

[RoyalChick]

Sight blockers? There will only be 7 hens, with 16 feet of perches...I'm not sure why they need that. You're talking about partitions to not see each other?

So, I guess you don't think in front of the window is an issue?




I haven't considered ledges...the plan was 2x4, wide side up. It's what I've always seen, until here. Maybe poop boards...I hadn't really decided.

The floor is your basic shed floor. The coop is inside a portable building. It was bought to be a hunting cabin, but we sold the hunting property and had it moved to our new home. It's a very well built portable building with your basic subfloor. Over that there will be commercial linoleum and shavings. So, pretty soft.

They aren't large breeds. The older mixed breed girls are only 4ish pounds. I guess the new girls will go about 6 eventually? That's what I read on Rhone Island Reds at least.

My big main roost is 10’ and runs in front of 2 windows. There is another window at 90° at the end.
There is a slope so it is just over 3’ high at one end and nearly 5’ at the other from the dirt floor.
They can choose to go up and down ladders, jump up and down off from tree stumps, and at the high end jump on and off via the second (and never used) set of nest boxes. Mostly they fly up and down and don’t use any of the aids to reduce the height. Some fly off the end through the open door and down the hill which is a good 6’+ drop.
Terrifies me but they seem to like it.

They do run back and forth along the length to peck each other which is where sight blockers might help, but it isn’t really that bad and there are other separate roosts they could use.
Hope that helps.

 

[Grandma The Chicken]

Part 2 of the doctor trip. So, the doctor asked Grandma if she's having complications with anything. Grandma answered her questions and I tried to read what she was writing on the paper but she was just writing scribbles. The whole time she was "writing", Grandma was closing her eyes and then she started by taking her height, then the stethoscope, hit her knees with the hammer thing they use for knees, a cranial exam in which Grandma has to guess the color of the marker cap and follow the pen. Part 3 soon.

 

[ManueB]

Sight blockers? There will only be 7 hens, with 16 feet of perches...I'm not sure why they need that. You're talking about partitions to not see each other?

So, I guess you don't think in front of the window is an issue?




I haven't considered ledges...the plan was 2x4, wide side up. It's what I've always seen, until here. Maybe poop boards...I hadn't really decided.

The floor is your basic shed floor. The coop is inside a portable building. It was bought to be a hunting cabin, but we sold the hunting property and had it moved to our new home. It's a very well built portable building with your basic subfloor. Over that there will be commercial linoleum and shavings. So, pretty soft.

They aren't large breeds. The older mixed breed girls are only 4ish pounds. I guess the new girls will go about 6 eventually? That's what I read on Rhone Island Reds at least.

My big main roost is 10’ and runs in front of 2 windows. There is another window at 90° at the end.
There is a slope so it is just over 3’ high at one end and nearly 5’ at the other from the dirt floor.
They can choose to go up and down ladders, jump up and down off from tree stumps, and at the high end jump on and off via the second (and never used) set of nest boxes. Mostly they fly up and down and don’t use any of the aids to reduce the height. Some fly off the end through the open door and down the hill which is a good 6’+ drop.
Terrifies me but they seem to like it.
View attachment 3914792

They do run back and forth along the length to peck each other which is where sight blockers might help, but it isn’t really that bad and there are other separate roosts they could use.
Hope that helps.

One of my roost is in front of a small window. I block it a few days during the year when there is a really cold wind with a piece of cardboard. How cold, windy or damp is your climate ?

About the roosts, I would just temper RC's comment that if you prefer not to have to make modifications in the future, think that once your hens are older they won't be as agile jumping both up and down. In fact, some won't be able to jump at all.