Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

Good evening everyone. Sorry I haven't really had time this weekend to respond. I have some projects to finish. When it comes up that I haven't responded, it's usually late at night before I go to sleep. So here's a slightly old photo of Tony that you've might've seen before.
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Wattles comb and zebra stripes

 

[Sylvester017]

Yes, but just like with people, sometimes it seems that personality is only a matter of individuality, and sometimes it's uncanny the way genetics come through and you (rather terrifyingly) find yourself being your mother, or even worse your grandmother .

And while I tend to think that breed and breeding for animals would only play a minor role, I still have found some of the generic statement about breeds to have some truth. For example I can attest as someone who began riding at the age of six that yes, all Shetland ponies are stubborn and very often have a contrary view of what they should do, to that of their small rider .

Roosting is also still quite horrible in my flock. There are periods when the nastiness only occur for five or ten minutes, but sometimes it can last for up to an hour. All the hens have learned this behaviour now - bully, or be bullied. The roosters don't seem to be able to do anything about it.
I've done a lot of moving around with the setting and it helps a bit ; but I think it's very difficult to solve once the hens have gotten used to it.
I'm inclined to think once Aurora is gone, one of yours will take over on the threats.

If you can come up with a backup plan for one of them in case the three roosters can't peacefully coexist, I don't see why not take both ? Would you be able to re-home or sell a young Silkie rooster ?

Portraits of Annette including some mugs.
I was watching her digging alone in the garden today, and I was wondering why she reminded me of that song "Africa" ...the song we either love or hate .
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And I finally got it...

Spoiler

It's the zebra vibe ! Talk about stereotypes !

There would be a lot to say about her personality compared to that of her three siblings Mélisse, Lulu and Laure (who is probably only half sister and the most different in temper) ; they have many common points but also many differences, including their attitude to humans. Annette is aloof but not really afraid ; she loves freedom and will always find a way to get out. But she's also by far the most clever of the four in terms of free ranging, as she has shown several times when she was caught out in a bad storm or locked outside the coop at night. They were all taught to free-range by the same broody and they are siblings, but they don't all show the same abilities and desire for freedom.

Love your pics & stories very much!

 

[ValerieJ]

I think my flock is too small to notice something like this. While Magrat and Gytha (SLW) tend to take naps together throughout the day, they also mingle with the others most of the time.

When we were still free ranging, I noticed that Sybil, the odd one out, was really timid and would hang back while the others went off to a new foraging spot. I'd often have to escort her over to them because she would just stand there calling out to them. Sometimes they would come back for her, but not usually.

Spending quality time with Sybil did seem to help with her confidence though. Also her being the first to lay. Now she's higher in the pecking order and doesn't allow herself to be bullied.

I don't notice any serious squabbles at roosting time. Lots of jumping around and climbing over each other, pecking toes and pulling tail feathers when someone wants somebody else to move over, but no fights or outright attacks. But I don't have a camera in there to watch them after I've closed everything up.

And Gytha is ALWAYS the last up onto the roosts. I need to get video of her in the evening because it's interesting, and very amusing

To me it almost looks as though she's making sure everybody is inside before going to bed herself. But maybe she's trying to negotiate a better spot for herself on the roost. She'll bop around in circles, looking up at the roosts, like she wants to jump up but she just doesn't. She'll peck at toes, making a noise that I've come to associate with urgency (wanting something? Excitement, anxiety?). It's like, "bdrbdrbdrbdrbdrbdr!"

Yeah, some evenings it's 10-20 minutes of this behavior from her, and then she seems satisfied and jumps up and settles.

Does anyone else see this behavior in any of their chooks? Any idea what it's about?

It was my original intention to keep a very small flock, no more than 7. Over the 9 years of chickens, the flock just keeps growing. I found out early on that I would not be able to cull a hen just because she stopped laying. I also can't send them to someone else because they are quite spoiled here. They have a large free range area that is fenced in with hot wire, a large coop, and daily treats. So, here I am. Last year I had 20, but some older and some not so much older passed on, so I'm down to the 13. However, if I don't have a broody by February, I'll be looking at chicks for sure.

This is how I ended up with so many coops!! Didn't know I would ever need such a big one.

I do have a few chickens that will wander around on the floor for a while before they go up to roost. Sometimes they are scratching through the straw and others they are eating, as they have a feeder and water in there as well. If it's a nice evening, they will stay in the outside portion of their coop on perches for a while. They do seem to always be chatting and cooing at roosting time.

ETA: I actually have 15...2 are roosters. I tend to keep in mind how many hens I have compared to how few eggs I get these days.

 

[Sylvester017]

It happens many nights here. Patsy also did this. Daisy, the greatest hen ever, never did that, at least that I saw.

I researched that bullying behavior is a scenario that can pass down thru generations which is why we reluctantly came to the decision to re-home our large heavy Cuckoo Breda Fowl before the other hens picked up her bully habit especially since she targeted the gentle old Silkie which was 5-lbs smaller!

Char was a great people cuddler but she was a horrible flockmate.

Char w/ her new owner

 

[RoyalChick]

Running? like this....

Poor little kid!

 

[SimpleJenn]

@TOMTE sounds like where Liara was in our pecking order. She would do the roost call in the evening and make sure everyone was tucked in.

 

[SimpleJenn]

Eggs are shipped!!!

 

[ValerieJ]

I'm so glad I popped back in here! I love all your chicken stories, photos and personalities!!!

 

[TOMTE]

@TOMTE sounds like where Liara was in our pecking order. She would do the roost call in the evening and make sure everyone was tucked in.

How sweet!!!

 

[featherhead007]

Wattles comb and zebra stripes