Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

Mr Wyandottey has left me, for the ladies too. Rudy still shows interest in me but he is also getting violent with Mr Wyandottey over those ladies. Poor Coco gets mated by Rudy way too much. It doesn’t matter where he does it either

I was wanting to put Sue in with Mr P as she is really getting harassed by the boys, but she’s one of pickers who picks at Mr P. I really need to do something with those boys

 

[featherhead007]

Oh dear, yep Clyde is my right hand man

 

[featherhead007]

I would also put a bowl of it out by their feed. My ladies like to pick through the bowl, and I also sprinkle it on the floor for them.

Are they getting a layer feed? Right now I have layer out for the main flock, but Mr P and his ladies are getting a mix of the layer textured and grower to lower the calcium levels. The silkies aren’t laying at the moment.

I am going to get some calcium into Flopsy tomorrow nigh, if she has a fracture I want her to heal up fast. Birds bones heal faster than our do as they are not as dense.

I had some and put it in a bowl tonight for the chooks

 

[BY Bob]

Monday Mugs

 

[featherhead007]

Rudy has earned his spurs, even before he grows them. He’s up on the roost with all the Rockettes tonight. That doesn’t say much for Mr. Wyandottey He lost a fight with Rudy today. Many feathers were lost

 

[featherhead007]

Tax:

 

[bgmathteach]

Monday Mugs

View attachment 3965393View attachment 3965394

Hmmm, the Queen's neck does not seem to be as long as Sydney's....though clearly it is 'long enough'!

Lovely mug shots on both!

 

[ChicoryBlue]

I posted this elsewhere today and meant to post it here, I'm all sad and distracted.

Just found dear, dear Popcorn dead in the nest box.

It looks like she died suddenly, sitting on the fake eggs and one real one, which may or may not be hers. Stroked out? No sudden poop anywhere, her comb looked good, just kicked some hemp away and curled her head down and was lying on her side, eyes closed.

I feel thankful it seems that it was quick. She really wanted out of the run to forage when we went by to go on our walk this morning, but she was all talkative and seemingly her usual self.

She was a favorite, so personable, friendly and smart, very responsive to me showing and telling her things, and digging the garden with me in the spring, for instance.

I am unsure whether to try to get a necropsy. What are you opinions? There's a history of respiratory illness with her sister Hazel mostly, but Popcorn had some symptoms too, but never got treated. They both have displayed slightly bubbly eyes at times since then, Hazel more than Popcorn. Then there was whatever Annie had which was the same with different symptoms, or something else (bad conjunctivitis- practically bleeding eyes, sneezing) that the other Spuds also had - just sneezing - but to much lesser degrees. Annie survived but only with antibiotics. Is it a good idea to see if Popcorn succumbed to one of these diseases? Information that would be helpful going forward?

She's been lively, no indication of her unable to breathe well, she would run and dig like crazy, no napping, good self-care preening, but she had loose poop for two weeks or more. Very active, wanting only to forage in the last few days, not sitting in the nest box as if she were half broody and not laying. I'm sure she was hungry as she didn't want to eat much feed at all. Her neck had started a molt, which had seemed halted. I still felt concerned for her loose stools, which I was checking visually - found a whole pumpkin seed there a couple of days ago, which was concerning. This morning on the poop tray her poop was wet as it's been, with small poop squiggles as it's been, normal urates, normal darkish color.

I had given her a sponge butt bath & blow-dry inside yesterday, followed by almost a whole salt-free sardine, which she loved. I thought, if "wild" protein is what she'll eat, then okay, and inside the house she didn't have to compete with the three piranha Spuds for a good share of it. Checked her keel, she seemed under-conditioned for her normal weight, but not super skinny at all. She really only wanted to eat protein & fats - foraged worms and skinks and frogs, and some small amounts of oats, walnuts, sunflower seeds and mealworms as treats. They did get a little cooked farro recently.

I'm sad, I miss her already. She was four years and three months old. Hazel looked at her a few times and poked her comb once after I brought her out, and Annie, they were friends, seemingly tried to rouse her, trying to move her head a bit with her beak.

 

[RoyalChick]

I posted this elsewhere today and meant to post it here, I'm all sad and distracted.

Just found dear, dear Popcorn dead in the nest box.

It looks like she died suddenly, sitting on the fake eggs and one real one, which may or may not be hers. Stroked out? No sudden poop anywhere, her comb looked good, just kicked some hemp away and curled her head down and was lying on her side, eyes closed.

I feel thankful it seems that it was quick. She really wanted out of the run to forage when we went by to go on our walk this morning, but she was all talkative and seemingly her usual self.

She was a favorite, so personable, friendly and smart, very responsive to me showing and telling her things, and digging the garden with me in the spring, for instance.

I am unsure whether to try to get a necropsy. What are you opinions? There's a history of respiratory illness with her sister Hazel mostly, but Popcorn had some symptoms too, but never got treated. They both have displayed slightly bubbly eyes at times since then, Hazel more than Popcorn. Then there was whatever Annie had which was the same with different symptoms, or something else (bad conjunctivitis- practically bleeding eyes, sneezing) that the other Spuds also had - just sneezing - but to much lesser degrees. Annie survived but only with antibiotics. Is it a good idea to see if Popcorn succumbed to one of these diseases? Information that would be helpful going forward?

She's been lively, no indication of her unable to breathe well, she would run and dig like crazy, no napping, good self-care preening, but she had loose poop for two weeks or more. Very active, wanting only to forage in the last few days, not sitting in the nest box as if she were half broody and not laying. I'm sure she was hungry as she didn't want to eat much feed at all. Her neck had started a molt, which had seemed halted. I still felt concerned for her loose stools, which I was checking visually - found a whole pumpkin seed there a couple of days ago, which was concerning. This morning on the poop tray her poop was wet as it's been, with small poop squiggles as it's been, normal urates, normal darkish color.

I had given her a sponge butt bath & blow-dry inside yesterday, followed by almost a whole salt-free sardine, which she loved. I thought, if "wild" protein is what she'll eat, then okay, and inside the house she didn't have to compete with the three piranha Spuds for a good share of it. Checked her keel, she seemed under-conditioned for her normal weight, but not super skinny at all. She really only wanted to eat protein & fats - foraged worms and skinks and frogs, and some small amounts of oats, walnuts, sunflower seeds and mealworms as treats. They did get a little cooked farro recently.

I'm sad, I miss her already. She was four years and three months old. Hazel looked at her a few times and poked her comb once after I brought her out, and Annie, they were friends, seemingly tried to rouse her, trying to move her head a bit with her beak.

 

[bgmathteach]

Rudy has earned his spurs, even before he grows them. He’s up on the roost with all the Rockettes tonight. That doesn’t say much for Mr. Wyandottey He lost a fight with Rudy today. Many feathers were lost

They will figure it out - they need to establish an order with them, too...who will be the 'main roo' and who will be 2nd.

You can't have 2 kings, you know - not if things are to 'run' smoothy. They will figure it out - who will be king and who will be the Squire. They can lose a few feathers and still not be hurt, it is harder on us than it is on them most of the time.