Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[ValerieJ]

Tonight he got into it again with Shirley, I had him out for some sunshine, turned my back for 2 min and they were fighting again; and this time he completely broke his beak off.



On the bright side it likely would have fallen off anyways, it didn’t bleed when the tip fell off. Gosh he is gonna give me grey hair!

Poor guy. Poor you!

 

[Ponypoor]

Fantastic how quickly snow disappears after a warm up!

Warm wind - snow eaters. And rain also. The chooks and horses are so much more happy. Me too, I was stressing about the cold snowy weather.

 

[knoturavggrl]

1. According to Shadrach, any breed can go broody. Whether they choose to or not is a whole other issue.

2. In nature, hens brood chicks on the ground.

3. Would it be possible to excavate the floor of the coop, line it with hardware cloth, then return the dirt to the floor of the coop keeping the rats out?

4. Let the SFH reach adulthood and get through a year as adult, getting to know them. Make a decision about broody hens that fall (maybe pick up POL then) for the following spring.

Yes, I can and did do this when we first discovered them. We excavated the entire floor of the coop. Laid down hardware cloth stapled it put the dirt back. We trap constantly, collapse tunnels. We even have hardware cloth stapled to the ceiling so they cant get in through the attic. It’s unlikely we would have an issue now but I would likely just move the mama and chicks temporarily in an abundance of caution till they are about 8 weeks old or so.

 

[Ponypoor]

Hi all! I’d love advice from those who’ve raised these breeds. As you know I am going to start a flock of Swedish Flower Hens (SFHs) My research shows they rarely go broody, which seems legit across sources.

Here’s my dilemma: when I want more chicks, I could get an incubator or add Silkies (my daughter loves them) or Bantam Cochins (those fluffy butts get me). Both go broody often, which is perfect. But my dirt-floor coop isn’t insulated, and rats have taken chicks before—I can control them somewhat, not fully.

Which breed might handle this better—Silkies or Bantam Cochins or should I forgo these bantam sized breeds altogether to be safe?

I’d try to raise them together as chicks to prevent bullying, but what else should I consider? Thoughts?

As you know I have silkies and BYMutts. Both go broody equally easily.

If you can find some mutts that would probably be a good thing. Right now Whiskers is going around bok bok boking…. She’ll be 4 this year and while I would like to have her be a mama…. No more babies! I am over capacity as it is.

 

[Ponypoor]

Poor guy. Poor you!

I am
Hoping he is ok eating. On the up side his beak is trimmed back! I’ll shape it up a bit on the weekend. I wonder how long it takes to grow out?

 

[knoturavggrl]

Tonight he got into it again with Shirley, I had him out for some sunshine, turned my back for 2 min and they were fighting again; and this time he completely broke his beak off.



On the bright side it likely would have fallen off anyways, it didn’t bleed when the tip fell off. Gosh he is gonna give me grey hair!

Oh goodness, Mr P, stop giving your chicken tender such a hard time. Sending to you Kelly.

 

[SimpleJenn]

Mr P! He's going to give his fangirls heart attacks!

 

[rural mouse]

Yes, I can and did do this when we first discovered them. We excavated the entire floor of the coop. Laid down hardware cloth stapled it put the dirt back. We trap constantly, collapse tunnels. We even have hardware cloth stapled to the ceiling so they cant get in through the attic. It’s unlikely we would have an issue now but I would likely just move the mama and chicks temporarily in an abundance of caution till they are about 8 weeks old or so.

Shadrach knew/knows someone who was working on making dirt nest boxes for the broody hens. Another idea?

 

[SimpleJenn]

Still sick. No fever for a couple days, but the lingering covid is compounding with the stumps where my tonsils were to give me lots of throat pain. Which leads to vertigo, which is annoying. Maybe I should invest in a rollator for when it acts up...

My view from earlier when kiddo and I were outside, before the wind picked up and sent us back in.

 

[Ponypoor]

Beak injuries:

https://poultrydvm.com/condition/beak-injuries