Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[featherhead007]

I’m having my nice cup of Coco, while she’s still available for some cuddles

 

[Ponypoor]

I’m having the same problem with my silkies where it just gets stuck to their butt so easy and I have to leave for an eight hour school day. Do you think a larger pouch would help?

I would put her in a crate for the day if you don’t have her in a proper Hen House. She can poop to her hearts content in a nice bed of shavings

Is there a reason your chook-chook is in the house needing a poop controller?

 

[Sylvester017]

I’m having the same problem with my silkies where it just gets stuck to their butt so easy and I have to leave for an eight hour school day. Do you think a larger pouch would help?

Fluffy bums whether Silkie or standard size hen the tush areas are the softest fluffiest area of feathers & poop will stick to those feathers if the poop is a cecal or watery poop & if left in a chicken diaper for 8 hours or more will irritate the vent raw. Just like a human baby needs changing a minimum of 6x/day we've changed a Silkie diaper anytime we noticed an overfull waste pouch or watery soaked diaper material anywhere between 2 to 5 hour intervals depending on mess ~ we would change out the entire diaper to a dry diaper & immediately baby shampoo the Silkie's bum feathers & blow dry before putting on the new diaper ~ every diaper change called for tush washing. Trimming bum feathers is not helpful at all whether trimmed or not since the poop irritates the skin regardless.

Leaving a Silkie in a diaper unattended is not safe since Silkies are busy little buggers w/5 toes that can get stuck inside the front chest of the diaper material leaving the Silkie hobbling w/only one free foot ~ our Silkie got her toes & sometimes her whole foot stuck in the diaper material. It's not safe or healthy to leave an unattended diapered Silkie for any length of unsupervised time.

When you need to be gone I would strongly advise no diaper. Once you are home diaper her & let her free in the house. If you are gone from home set up a 4'x4' minimum area dog crate w/a hand mirror taped, hung or tied to the inside of the crate & leave a TV or soft music on & of course a secure waterer & feeder for her. Have separate container of grit ~ & one container for oyster shell too if laying eggs. The mirror is a great companion for a single bird. Whether tiny caged parakeets or larger chickens a single bird loves a mirror for companionship if left alone.

I'm sorry but there is more care of house chickens than just leaving them free in the house unsupervised. They hop on things, knock things over, get stuck in places they can't get out ~ just like watching a human toddler ~ cute but a lot of responsibility.

Our diapered Mini snoozing in the kitchen in her diaper which is not visible under all her fluff!
(2012)

 

[Sylvester017]

Trimmed poofs, floofs, and did a bandage change.
Samara needed a bootyfluff trim, Bab and Ric needed headpoof trim, and Nocturne needed a fresh foot wrap. All were extremely well behaved, Samara even settled into hubby's chest for a bit of a cuddle. Everyone got mealyworms when we were done. Versace came over and looked at the bag, looked at me, then back at the bag. So I tossed another few down for him.

They definitely let you know what they want, eh? Little characters!

 

[lightm]

I am still just starting but it is beginning to form an arch and there are several more shoots I can tie together to expand the covered area.
I didn’t plant anything, so I was constrained by finding two that grew close to each other.
I use the long ties you sometimes get around produce in the supermarket to tie the shoots together. The shoots don’t die when they are tied, but a new leader takes over.
Eventually I will prune off any lower branches that obstruct the cave.
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What is this plant?

 

[featherhead007]

I train my birds to let me know when they need to go . It takes a while, but it works. It takes patience and close attention. They will act a bit differently when they are ready to go outside. Sir Jaffar taught me this lesson.
He was such a good rooster

 

[RoyalChick]

So the copper is coming through. Could be interesting to see if she ends up with a copper head and black beard or copper beard and mostly black head or some sort of mix between

Well it sounds like I need to take lots of pictures of her so we can see how she evolves.
Oh the hardship!
She only just started molting today so not sure if she will have a hard molt or something more gentle.

 

[RoyalChick]

What is this plant?

It is a nasty invasive tree called a Bradford Pear. They spring up everywhere unfortunately.
One of my chores is to chop down all the ones in the chicken yard - but I thought I would spare these ones to try and create the gazebo.
I will remove all the others and make sure these don’t ever fruit, but it is a hopeless task to stop them as they seem to appear out of nowhere!

 

[Sylvester017]

I love those shelters and am shamelessly going to copy the design.
Adding it to my (already long) list of projects!

Me too!

Those shelter builds are great! I have no building skills so just used recycled dog houses, walking bridge, lawn furniture, & makeshift benches as low shelters around the yard.

 

[rural mouse]

Those shelter builds are great! I have no building skills so just used recycled dog houses, walking bridge, lawn furniture, & makeshift benches as low shelters around the yard.
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Paving stones make great seats....and can be moved for different things later....great use!