Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[featherhead007]

@notabitail
Does your Legbar give true blue eggs or does mint creep into the tone? One research says they are blue egg layers while another says they are bluish-mint.

I know for sure our Blue Wheaten Ameraucana layed true blue but we never bought more birds cuz their eggs are so huge. They are big birds so I guess big eggs are normal. It's just that one of our Ameraucaunas died young & the other lived only 3 yrs. A third plain Blue Ameraucana pullet was shipped to us ill & we had to put her down at the vet & never got to see any of her eggs.

My Wheaton Ameraucana “Blue” lays the most beautiful blue eggs, and with a size proportional to her body size. I hope to have her around for a long time.

 

[featherhead007]

I think those are those modern game birds. I think that’s what you’re thinking of.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Game

Nacho!!

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

She sure is tiny! She is more like a silkie chick in size, just needed those fluffy feathers and you would be able to tell!

Poppet sure is consistent with her chicks when it comes to passing on her size.

The only thing that gives Turkey away as not being pure silkie is her hard feathering. She even has feathered legs and the double toes. I believe she is going to make a real pretty little hen.

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

That Speckled wing feather pattern is absolutely perfect. Get more of her body feather patterns if possible. She's a beauty!

Poor puppy is buried in snow!

Those Sikies ~ no kind of weather stops them from adventuring!

That is actually both girls Spot and Dottie. The only difference is Spot has the flopped over comb and Dottie's comb is straight. Spot also has more white speckling then her sister.

CeeCee loves this weather, I have to drag her inside. She is in for a few minutes and is back at the door wanting out to play in the snow.

The silkies have became snow birds. The first day they were hesitant and had a little difficulty walking in it. Now that it has a crust on it they are all over the place. Poor George would rather not venture out in the snow, but where his girls lead he will follow.

 

[Desertvalleychickens]

Mugs Monday
Some pics of chooks free ranging

And other photos

 

[featherhead007]

It’s crazy that I can pet Mr Wyandottey on the back all day long, but if I touch his feet he attacks and bites me. I don’t know why. I raised him from two days old. Where would he have picked up such a fear?

 

[Ponypoor]

As you probably all know by now, my coop is a vaulted ceiling that used to be a cow stable until the 50's, and the house is built on a slope, so that both the coop and our kitchen right above it are buried on one side.
I checked temperatures in the coop and outside since we had a bit of cold. The last three mornings, it was -5/23 outside when I opened the coop, and 6/43 inside the coop near the door (which has ventilation), likely one or two degree more at the back which is buried in the ground and where most of the chickens roost.
So it does make a nice difference. The first winter the chickens moved in, we had -10/14 for nearly two weeks in a row and it did fall down to 0/32 at the front of the coop. We had only six chickens then so they produced less body heat.
It stays warmer if I close the second door that blocks the ventilation, but since I've come to understand ventilation is more important than gaining a few degrees I don't do that anymore.
I do think that in colder weather than we have, if you included some kind of heat source inside that type of coop, it would keep the heat better than any other type of structure.
View attachment 4026776
The door is a typical stable door with mesh in the part above for ventilation.
View attachment 4026810
The marten broke in between the upper part of the wood frame and the house's wall.
Sorry for repeating myself but please, everyone, do safety checks regularly. We were sure our coop was super safe and didn't see that the wood had slightly twisted throughout the years.

She was a little runt who was very lucky to survive, and was all crooked and twisted...So no, she was one of a kind !

2024 was a good rainy year, but since november it looks like the drought is settling in again. Makes me so mad that the ski resorts around are all using snow guns. One normal year and everyone forget that we need to be careful with water !

Congrats to Mr LC for winning a beauty contest, whether he's a softer version of an OEGB, or something else ! To me he looks nearer to red jungle fowl than OEGB, but what do I know ?
Well, I do know that bantams roosters with a touch of game blood are obsessed with fighting.
You're talking to me ?
View attachment 4026813

Mugs for Mondays.
Three sisters :
Laure
View attachment 4026780

Annette, who started laying again three days ago.
View attachment 4026777
And Mélisse who started laying again five days ago.
View attachment 4026781
They are all backyard mutts but Mélisse's shape and comb remind me of my leghorns a bit.

And Lilly, who is having health issues again.
View attachment 4026778
Have a nice Monday and a good week, everyone !

Such beautiful hens you have. I love their feather patterns, so elaborate!

 

[Ponypoor]

Bob is gonna kill me for this one!

Yep, you better post some really good tax for that!

 

[Ponypoor]

It's worse than the time someone mentioned roosters have their "parts" under their wing and you said they have their chicken nuggets under their wing. I did laugh at that one.

I must have missed that one…

 

[Ponypoor]

How many acres of land my friend

Land isn’t an issue. I need another barn or two!