Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[notabitail]

Who me?

And here she is, the source of my anxiety.
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Agathae sends encouragement to her.

 

[bgmathteach]

The added challenge is getting the chicks to accept her....

I have never had a problem with chicks accepting a momma - but then the oldest ones I think were 6 or 7 days old (TSC 'older chicks' that were starting to hop fly and causing problems - so they were selling them cheap), and i put them under mom at night. They liked the warmth and took to mom right away - especially if she pecked them until they went under her (motherly pecks - 'hey kid - wake up and get with the program', not hard aggressive pecks.). All others were either shipped - so 2-3 days old, or hatched by a broody. I have bought TSC older chicks, over the years, 4-5 times to put under a broody (more than that, but the rest of the times I brooded them myself - too many to put under 1 hen!) and I only had trouble once - with 1 hen, and I just put all the chicks under 1 mom instead of splitting them between 2, as one broody wouldn't accept them. And, that is the only time I have had a broody not accept chicks I put under her.....and that particular hen never went broody again, and didn't end up hatching her own chicks...so IDK

 

[notabitail]

@RoyalChick
Agathae sends encouragement to your broody chicken. Not only that, she asked me to pass this on to her, so...
"Stay Broody. Your human has no choice. They are crazy and do not know our ways. Bite them. Human flesh is yummy from what I hear. The disappointment tastes good too.

Yours truly,
Agathae.
CEO, founder, owner, and Chief Broody of Batty Ol' Hens."

 

[Sylvester017]

Rats are a worry for chickens in general, especially chicks. Every now and then I myself have a rat issue. Thankfully I've never lost a chicken or chick to one. I cannot put out poison as there are too many cats in the neighborhood along with fear of my chickens finding some way to get into it. My rat solution is CeeCee. Forget cats keeping vermin down, nothing beats a good ratter. Rats is not my issue at the moment though, possums are invading again. CeeCee got another big one last night. Darn thing was feasting on eggs dad forgot to collect. I do not know why, but, spring brings those things off the hill and into the backyard.

Vermin issue aside, either breed would do well for you. Whose to say you cannot have both? I have not had person experience with bantom cochins, but I do have the big bowling ball girls. They look huge, but it is a illusion, they are all feathers. They also lay smaller eggs. Not much bigger then a silkie egg which was shocking at first considering their size. My 2 are prone to broodiness, but nothing compared to the silkies, or my Marans or old Momma Hen to be honest. I do hear bantam cochins are worse though. Truthfully speaking, I like my cochins, they are pretty but I spend the majority of the summer ready to strangle them. They are my egg eaters and if Rosie and my grandmother had not fallen for them they would already be chicken and dumplings. Grandma is gone but I cannot make myself get rid of "her" hens. When they are gone I doubt I will replace them though. This just means they will be like the ole bat Momma Hen and live forever.

Silkies, I cannot say enough good things about silkies and I highly recommend them. You want broodies, check. You want child friendly, double check. You want little clowns whose antics will have you laughing....triple check. Silkie zoomies, enough said. When they are not broody they are very reliable egg layers. Broody raised or hand raised even the most standoffish silkie chicks will grow up to be little nosy busybodies who want to be in your business and lap. I have officially now even won over Barbosa and Davy who were not handled that much and skeptical of me when they first arrived. Silkies will need a little more care then a cochin but it is very easy to do. If they free range, they will need their crests trimmed so they can see. People often say silkies are dumb. No, that is very much not true, they are wicked smart. They just need to be able to see. In the winter is when they really need extra care. All they need though is a draft free dry coop. But all chickens honestly need that and should be given that. In the fall just insulate you coop with a tarp and keep it clean and your silkies will be good even in frigid temps. Kentucky can get bitterly cold and mine do just fine. It was my silkies who had a blast in the snow while my other birds protested the white lava and thought it was going to kill them.

TY for that wonderful text on Silkies!!! I couldn't have said it better myself & in the long run we're kinda glad we went w/Silkies instead of Cochin bantams. I've had Silkies since the 1st day we started backyard chickeneering & we sampled a few standard hens as well. But now in our twilight era of backyard birds we're back to an all Silkie flock (w/ one old Dominique leftover from our previous flock).

Our Silkies never failed giving us eggs all thru winter & they are big for a bantam egg 1.25 oz up to 1.75 oz depending on how big each Silkie weighs which can range from 2 to 3 lbs ~ hefty for a bantam, sweet, funny, tireless foragers, people-friendly, can't fly over the fence. But we were choosy not to mix them w/aggressive standard breeds for our own peace of mind cuz one very gentle Silkie soul can be easily taken advantage of & bullied by a big breed. I'm a firm believer that Silkies should not be the only bantam but should be 3-4 or more Silkes to toodle around w/ each other away from bigger breeds. Silkies seem to form a little "tribe" of their own. Can't say enough good things about them!

 

[Sylvester017]

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Chicken in a bucket... KFC anyone?

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It even comes with a toy! Crack it open and see what's inside!

I wish poultry calendars used pictures like these instead of prissy birds w/ hair bows, ribbons, & holiday flags. I mean, they're cute photography but I like the pics that show true chicken environments, spilled feed, poops & all!

 

[RoyalChick]

@RoyalChick
Agathae sends encouragement to your broody chicken. Not only that, she asked me to pass this on to her, so...
"Stay Broody. Your human has no choice. They are crazy and do not know our ways. Bite them. Human flesh is yummy from what I hear. The disappointment tastes good too.

Yours truly,
Agathae.
CEO, founder, owner, and Chief Broody of Batty Ol' Hens."
View attachment 4077042

Ha ha. Tassels needs no encouragement to stay broody. She was in broody jail multiple times last summer - sometimes for up to 5 days - and she still persisted.
But she is a sweetheart and doesn't bite. Rather she tries to pull my hand under her so she can hatch some more fingers for me.
I dragged her off the nest today and she spent about 6 minutes out and about.
Here she is refusing to let me pass by.

 

[Grandma The Chicken]

These two are enjoying a nice day outside. It's currently 72 F.

The best photo I've ever taken of Mozzarella.

Grandma and Parmesan are sitting in the back and relaxing.

 

[Sylvester017]

Who me?

And here she is, the source of my anxiety.
View attachment 4077021

Cutie!

I wouldn't saddle your pet keeper w/ chick care while you're away. The keeper will have their hands full just making sure the broody gets out of the nest a couple times a day to eat/drink/exercise. That's a big job by itself. JMHO.

More Dominique chick pics ~ grit dish dustbath

 

[Sylvester017]

These two are enjoying a nice day outside. It's currently 72 F.
View attachment 4077080
The best photo I've ever taken of Mozzarella.
View attachment 4077081
Grandma and Parmesan are sitting in the back and relaxing.
View attachment 4077082

Nice calendar worthy pics of how true chickens should be portrayed!

 

[featherhead007]

I have never had a problem with chicks accepting a momma - but then the oldest ones I think were 6 or 7 days old (TSC 'older chicks' that were starting to hop fly and causing problems - so they were selling them cheap), and i put them under mom at night. They liked the warmth and took to mom right away - especially if she pecked them until they went under her (motherly pecks - 'hey kid - wake up and get with the program', not hard aggressive pecks.). All others were either shipped - so 2-3 days old, or hatched by a broody. I have bought TSC older chicks, over the years, 4-5 times to put under a broody (more than that, but the rest of the times I brooded them myself - too many to put under 1 hen!) and I only had trouble once - with 1 hen, and I just put all the chicks under 1 mom instead of splitting them between 2, as one broody wouldn't accept them. And, that is the only time I have had a broody not accept chicks I put under her.....and that particular hen never went broody again, and didn't end up hatching her own chicks...so IDK

“Now what mama wouldn’t accept me?”