Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Esme has been pretty consistently having watery poops for a couple weeks now. She drinks a ton of water, and her poops are a lot of urine (not urates, though there's sometimes liquid urates mixed in) and dark colored diarrhea. But other than that she's completely normal. Eating, drinking, scratching around, being bossy and loud, laying just about daily... What the heck is going on with all our chooks here?!

Some of my girls have slightly poopy butt feathers too but not super duper poopy like pasty butt. Not vent gleet either. Is that normal? Should I keep an eye on it? I think it might just be because of the cold so the poops freeze quickly to the feathers... But I worry. Can't wait until I'm a good few years into chicken keeping so I don't worry as much about every little thing

Can you get a float test done? I'm thinking there could be a parasite issue. I will say it may not be anything but I like to check.

 

[RoyalChick]

Tassels went crazy digging in the straw. I think she got frustrated trying to dig in the frozen ground outside. A lot of straw ended up on her back. Also on my pants.

 

[Grandma The Chicken]

I can only dream of 50F (10C), it was a balmy -2C (29F) earlier. Woohoo! That’s the warmest it’s been here in over a month.

Grandma is likely using her energy to stay warm and then is losing weight. Can she stay inside at night?

Unfortunately, no. My father is okay with her being in the house as long as she doesn't walk around. Her designated spot is the kitchen, in front of the stove, but even then, we still can't keep her in the house. Since this whole bird flu fiasco, my dad has been very firm about keeping a chicken in the house. Even if the bird flu wasn't announced, due to religious reasons, we can't have an outside animal in the house. So basically, cleanliness. Not to mention, if she's inside the house for too long, my parents worry she'll fall ill if she goes outside after a long night inside. Didn't mean for a huge response.

 

[BY Bob]

CATURDAY!

What are those crazy chickens doing out there Enzo?

 

[BY Bob]

They were out yesterday. And again this morningView attachment 4055142

You have tough chickens!

 

[Ponypoor]

Unfortunately, no. My father is okay with her being in the house as long as she doesn't walk around. Her designated spot is the kitchen, in front of the stove, but even then, we still can't keep her in the house. Since this whole bird flu fiasco, my dad has been very firm about keeping a chicken in the house. Even if the bird flu wasn't announced, due to religious reasons, we can't have an outside animal in the house. So basically, cleanliness. Not to mention, if she's inside the house for too long, my parents worry she'll fall ill if she goes outside after a long night inside. Didn't mean for a huge response.

What you can also do is get a small cardboard box and put some shaving and straw in the bottom and have her sleep in that, the box will help keep the air warmer around her. I keep Red in the feedroom at night where it’s about 50f, she sleeps in a small cardboard box with an opening she can walk in and out of it. This helps her keep warm even though the feedroom is heated the floor is still cold.

This way Grandma doesn’t have to worry about her body heat escaping in a big open area.

 

[BY Bob]

Fluffy butt Friday!
View attachment 4055144
The girls are all getting their tail feathers. At some point today I need to clean the brooder. I think I have a tote with airholes and a lid they can go in for a few minutes. Dog will need to be crated just in case one escapes.

View attachment 4055147
Fun little drink carrier for them to play on
View attachment 4055146
Seconds after kiddo entered the room, they were calling for her.
View attachment 4055145
They LOVE when she sits next to them. View attachment 4055143
Red wants to try fruity pebbles.

I love that they know kiddo and want to hang with her.

 

[notabitail]

Caturday.

 

[Cynthia12]

Tassels went crazy digging in the straw. I think she got frustrated trying to dig in the frozen ground outside. A lot of straw ended up on her back. Also on my pants.
View attachment 4056758

Beautiful, the back end tail.

 

[Cynthia12]

Caturday.
View attachment 4056808

Are they mousers?