Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[featherhead007]

They are beginning to adjust to Popcorn being gone. Hazel was pretty out of sorts for a few days. She looked despondent and acted withdrawn. I tried to comfort her with little food offerings and calling her name a lot so she would come nearer. She's not a lap chicken, she's quite nervous, but she will eat greens and pellets from my hand.

She began asserting herself with everyone here just a few days ago. She started coming close to me, and sternly pecking others away when I offered pellets (so it's a two-handed affair, the Orps just have to keep switching hands) whereas when Popcorn was alive she used to wait on everyone and only was concerned about sharing with Popcorn. She is molting slowly and eats well.

Left to right - Diane Ida-Biter, Hazel, Tedi and Annie. They like that corner, and can hang there now, but I was late in turning the warmers off since it got warm again and it was too warm there I think. Had them on for Diane when it was pretty cold here, she's lost a ton of fluff under-feathers and snuggled close against the heaters. The other two Buff Orps also hung near, but Hazel the tough and hardy Buckeye sat some feet away.
View attachment 3970438

Preening party
View attachment 3970437

Two-Fer mugshots of Tedi (left) and Annie, Annie's neck indicates she is beginning a molt. Both Annie and Tedi think that chopped hemp is really interesting and come over and hop up to forage, explore it and eat a few bits every time there's good light on the next boxes so they can see. Same when the poop trays are out for the daily poop pickup they rush over to jump up on them and check it all out.
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Diane Ida-Biter below. She is into what looks to be a heavy molt. Her fluff feathers just exploded out of her the last two weeks. And she is almost tail-less. But no bare spots yet. She's still trying to bite me on the hands and also chases & bites ankles. She's all up in my business looking for an opening whenever I'm doing stuff, and I've made changes in the coop and run so I'm doing a lot of ground-level work, fixing a couple pavers at the coop-run connection and attaching welded wire, etc.

She got insanely peckish the last couple of weeks and I now think her molt is partly to blame. Hazel does a lot of correcting her, and so do the other two Buff Orps. I don't know that she has any close friends, which makes me sorry for her, but they all let her hang with them - foraging, preening, & resting, as long as she's behaving herself. Hazel has taken over the protecting of me like Popcorn used to do. She comes over looking very concerned when Diane starts her whiny keening sound at me. Diane is afraid of her and often retreats.

But Diane is surprisingly tame, she eats pellets from my hands, nicely & well mannered until she's had her fill, which isn't as much as it used to be maybe because of the molt. She doesn't struggle much when I pick her up to examine her. Sometimes when Diane is being a total pain I just carry her around like a football under my arm so I can get something done, even if one-handed. She's pretty compliant. Have I brought this on with my keeping practices? Nobody else here is like this.

I am hoping she will mellow with age, she's 15 months old, but am prepared for what's probably going to be a life of pecked & bitten hands and needing eyes in the back of my head (shout-out to barn boots).

DH calls her "Diane Tire-Biter"
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Be satisfied! My butterballs bite me on my bum every chance they get. Sneaky little birds.

 

[Sylvester017]

Sadly I recently rehomed my flock of 5 Isa Browns and one Smokey Pearl. I had two fatal raccoon attacks within one week, we had travel plans and I could not leave someone else with that kind of horror show, you know? I will however show you a pic or two! View attachment 3970670View attachment 3970671

So sad you had to go thru that! We've all lost or had to rehome birds here so we feel your pain. Is your rehoming permanent? Noticed you've been registered on BYC for several years?

 

[Ponypoor]

Gorgeous.
Yes, I remember that discussion and have got better at getting pictures of green and purple.
I love the sheen on black chickens.
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Gleaming beauties

 

[Sylvester017]

Good to see kitty approves of trackball mice.

(I use one and it helps with hand strain).

Been using an angled mouse w/RGB lighting (pretty & color spectrum rotates) rather than using an uncomfortable flat mouse:
DH got a program to customize the buttons for me ~ doing whatever he can to help my typing w/other hand cuz of regular typing arm broken

Mouse tax

Come on, he's so cute!

 

[RoyalChick]

Sadly I recently rehomed my flock of 5 Isa Browns and one Smokey Pearl. I had two fatal raccoon attacks within one week, we had travel plans and I could not leave someone else with that kind of horror show, you know? I will however show you a pic or two! View attachment 3970670View attachment 3970671

Lovely birds. Sorry you no longer have them.

 

[Ponypoor]

They are beginning to adjust to Popcorn being gone. Hazel was pretty out of sorts for a few days. She looked despondent and acted withdrawn. I tried to comfort her with little food offerings and calling her name a lot so she would come nearer. She's not a lap chicken, she's quite nervous, but she will eat greens and pellets from my hand.

She began asserting herself with everyone here just a few days ago. She started coming close to me, and sternly pecking others away when I offered pellets (so it's a two-handed affair, the Orps just have to keep switching hands) whereas when Popcorn was alive she used to wait on everyone and only was concerned about sharing with Popcorn. She is molting slowly and eats well.

Left to right - Diane Ida-Biter, Hazel, Tedi and Annie. They like that corner, and can hang there now, but I was late in turning the warmers off since it got warm again and it was too warm there I think. Had them on for Diane when it was pretty cold here, she's lost a ton of fluff under-feathers and snuggled close against the heaters. The other two Buff Orps also hung near, but Hazel the tough and hardy Buckeye sat some feet away.
View attachment 3970438

Preening party
View attachment 3970437

Two-Fer mugshots of Tedi (left) and Annie, Annie's neck indicates she is beginning a molt. Both Annie and Tedi think that chopped hemp is really interesting and come over and hop up to forage, explore it and eat a few bits every time there's good light on the next boxes so they can see. Same when the poop trays are out for the daily poop pickup they rush over to jump up on them and check it all out.
View attachment 3970439
View attachment 3970441

Diane Ida-Biter below. She is into what looks to be a heavy molt. Her fluff feathers just exploded out of her the last two weeks. And she is almost tail-less. But no bare spots yet. She's still trying to bite me on the hands and also chases & bites ankles. She's all up in my business looking for an opening whenever I'm doing stuff, and I've made changes in the coop and run so I'm doing a lot of ground-level work, fixing a couple pavers at the coop-run connection and attaching welded wire, etc.

She got insanely peckish the last couple of weeks and I now think her molt is partly to blame. Hazel does a lot of correcting her, and so do the other two Buff Orps. I don't know that she has any close friends, which makes me sorry for her, but they all let her hang with them - foraging, preening, & resting, as long as she's behaving herself. Hazel has taken over the protecting of me like Popcorn used to do. She comes over looking very concerned when Diane starts her whiny keening sound at me. Diane is afraid of her and often retreats.

But Diane is surprisingly tame, she eats pellets from my hands, nicely & well mannered until she's had her fill, which isn't as much as it used to be maybe because of the molt. She doesn't struggle much when I pick her up to examine her. Sometimes when Diane is being a total pain I just carry her around like a football under my arm so I can get something done, even if one-handed. She's pretty compliant. Have I brought this on with my keeping practices? Nobody else here is like this.

I am hoping she will mellow with age, she's 15 months old, but am prepared for what's probably going to be a life of pecked & bitten hands and needing eyes in the back of my head (shout-out to barn boots).

DH calls her "Diane Tire-Biter"
View attachment 3970440

Gosh I remember when they were babies

They sure have grown into lovely hens.

 

[Ponypoor]

Been using an angled mouse w/RGB lighting (pretty & color spectrum rotates) rather than using an uncomfortable flat mouse:
DH got a program to customize the buttons for me ~ doing whatever he can to help my typing w/other hand cuz of regular typing arm broken

Mouse tax

Come on, he's so cute!

Nice try

 

[Ponypoor]

Did you pose Rico on top of the garden light? I love the narrow perches these birds can target!

Nope it was his spot…

 

[Ponypoor]

Sadly I recently rehomed my flock of 5 Isa Browns and one Smokey Pearl. I had two fatal raccoon attacks within one week, we had travel plans and I could not leave someone else with that kind of horror show, you know? I will however show you a pic or two! View attachment 3970670View attachment 3970671

So sorry to hear this, you had a beautiful flock

 

[Ponypoor]

He is as feisty as ever with us humans. Éowyn bullies him at times. He is a joy

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Oh he is a handsome fella look at those feet!

Thanks for the update!