Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Sylvester017]

I have 4 Roos - and the hens only ALL have eyes for Mr P!

And he could care less about any of them but the silkies! Seems he is into the exotic look

Everything takes advantage of good-natured Silkies ~ kids, roos, bully chickens, predators, people, etc! Silkies are smart & manage to avoid these obstacles but I figured why put them thru it? It's why I'm happy we're now sticking to an all-Silkie good-temperament flock for them to just enjoy each other's good natures.

Smart Silkies ~ yesterday a juvenile hawk was doing its screeching in nearby maple trees & the little fluffies 1/2 of them hid inside the coop while 1/2 were hiding between the block wall & heavy leafed Pomegranate tree. Every Spring the Cooper's hawk juveniles are abandoned by the parents & we go out to chase them off plus the Crows come around to attack them too. Love love our Crows!

 

[ValerieJ]

Everything takes advantage of good-natured Silkies ~ kids, roos, bully chickens, predators, people, etc! Silkies are smart & manage to avoid these obstacles but I figured why put them thru it? It's why I'm happy we're now sticking to an all-Silkie good-temperament flock for them to just enjoy each other's good natures.
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Smart Silkies ~ yesterday a juvenile hawk was doing its screeching in nearby maple trees & the little fluffies 1/2 of them hid inside the coop while 1/2 were hiding between the block wall & heavy leafed Pomegranate tree. Every Spring the Cooper's hawk juveniles are abandoned by the parents & we go out to chase them off plus the Crows come around to attack them too. Love love our Crows!

They really do look sweet. We love the crows too!!! We even feed them.

 

[featherhead007]

Once the horses are gone I won’t have any more. Too eggspensive, and dangerous as I get older.

Missy will be my last house pet, way too eggspensive these days if something happens to her. I am fortunate my horse bet vaccinates her for me at cost of vaccine mostly. Which fyi is very expensive!

The chooks will be my last barn pets. They are small enough to handle, and easy enough to clean up after. Their eggs mostly pay for their feed, and thankfully vet bills have been almost nil.

Of course if I were filthy rich I’d have a huge big chicken coop

Maybe after the chickens are gone, you can collect lizards Or salamanders?

 

[featherhead007]

Don't get me wrong cuz I love animals. But horses live too long & kids sometimes lose interest in horses & don't have the $$$ to take their horses w/them when they tend to move on w/their lives leaving the equines for parents to continue raising for 15-20 more horse yrs.

However, chickens are easier to handle, have egg benefits, & shorter lifespans to enable an owner to keep bringing in new breeds to sample/hobby/raise on an average every 3-5-8 yrs! Just sayin...my perspective. I saw my farm mom having to care for our pets ~ indoor caged birds, dogs, cats, as sis & I moved out to continue our grown apartment lives. She was really too old & worn to care for our pets in addition to her many acres of citrus, avocado, & fruit groves. It's no wonder she processed or sold the bigger livestock ~ cows, sheep, goats, horse & most of the poultry except for a small group of Toulouse geese (better property guardians than even dogs in her opinion & didn't need fencing cuz they didn't wander off).

c. 1950's
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In our twilight years I'm so glad DH chose pet chickens over a dog or cat for us. He & I aren't young & Silkie chickens are just our speed now & no more annual dog/cat vet visits or licenses to deal with. Yes, we've made vet visits w/ chickens but if we go once in 2 or 3 yrs for a sick bird it's rare compared to dealing w/ kitties or pups w/licenses & vaccinations or penalty deadlines or county locals coming around to count how many dogs we have (?). Loved our past dogs & cats a lot but it would now be a crunch in our senior pocketbook. Even my DD/SIL in their mid-50's say their next pet will be a smaller dog breed as their arthritis & knee problems are hard for them to carry their two large dogs to the vet in an emergency. They have a large Golden Retriever & heavy Pit mix now.

Our friends adopted a smaller pup recently ~ easier for them to handle & carry. 30 yrs ago they had a large Husky, next an Aussie Cattle Dog, then a Toy Poodle, & now this tiny little lap terrier. We laughed how as we all got older our pets got progressively smaller & easier to handle
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You, Andrew and a lap terrier, how terrific!

 

[featherhead007]

What i think about in my older age is that eventually we will move out of this great country setting and get closer to city and medical facilities. (My new doctor is 70 miles away and my oncologist is farther than that!!)

When that time comes, what do I do with my beloved chickens??? I let them retire here. Who will want old retired hens when they didn't ever get to know what special girls they are?

I don't even like thinking of it. And I have new chicks.

Brings me to tears thinking about that scene

 

[ValerieJ]

Brings me to tears thinking about that scene

Yeah, me too. We shouldn't think of such things. My constant prayer is to outlive them, or find a buyer who falls in love with them. Same with our cat and dog.

Ok...no more talk of that. I don't have much for tax at the moment. Here is Dorothy, Blanche and Rose when I still had no clue. 4 weeks I think, still in their own quarters of the coop.

 

[Sylvester017]

What i think about in my older age is that eventually we will move out of this great country setting and get closer to city and medical facilities. (My new doctor is 70 miles away and my oncologist is farther than that!!)

When that time comes, what do I do with my beloved chickens??? I let them retire here. Who will want old retired hens when they didn't ever get to know what special girls they are?

I don't even like thinking of it. And I have new chicks.

Plan ahead & research communities. Many rural or suburb areas nearer cities allow backyard chickens. Read the ordinance parameters before moving. We had to buy in an older established area but it has allowed chickens for decades & our post office has been handling shipped chicks/chickens since we've been here 40 years.

Our old USPS in the same location for decades

And don't get attached to any one physician or specialist. I've lived in the same location 40 yrs w/ the same insurance source I've had for 30 years but the way insurances bounce around reforming coverages I've had 3 different FP's in the last year & 2 hospital changes, & you know, they were all good & the surgeon who did my arm surgery was great.

It's possible to have chickens & still live near enough to senior or medcal facilities if you plan ahead. Townhomes & Condos were never an option for this farm girl cuz that's no life hearing your neighbor's toilet flushing or smelling their grilling smoke ~ so I opted for older property w/ a yard (for chickens & gardening) yet convenient driving distance to medical appts or emergency vehicles like fire engines or ambulances to get to us.

Don't dispair...you'll figure something that will work

Our final 6 forever girls

 

[Sylvester017]

Answer to the riddle:
The guy looks at the mirror, to see what he saw.
He takes the saw, then cuts the table in half. Two halves make a whole (hole) he hops into the hole and he’s out!

Less trouble just walking thru the Looking Glass to get to the other side.....

 

[ValerieJ]

Plan ahead & research communities. Many rural or suburb areas nearer cities allow backyard chickens. Read the ordinance parameters before moving. We had to buy in an older established area but it has allowed chickens for decades & our post office has been handling shipped chicks/chickens since we've been here 40 years.

Our old USPS in the same location for decades
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And don't get attached to any one physician or specialist. I've lived in the same location 40 yrs w/ the same insurance source I've had for 30 years but the way insurances bounce around reforming coverages I've had 3 different FP's in the last year & 2 hospital changes, & you know, they were all good & the surgeon who did my arm surgery was great.

It's possible to have chickens & still live near enough to senior or medcal facilities if you plan ahead. Townhomes & Condos were never an option for this farm girl cuz that's no life hearing your neighbor's toilet flushing or smelling their grilling smoke ~ so I opted for older property w/ a yard (for chickens & gardening) yet convenient driving distance to medical appts or emergency vehicles like fire engines or ambulances to get to us.
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Don't dispair...you'll figure something that will work

Our final 6 forever girls
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It's good advice. I'm not tied to a physician, but there are none available in my area. Any of the ones available right now are down in Vancouver or up in Olympia. I'm half way in between.

There are areas outside of Vancouver that would work, and that's the direction I would have to move. My oncologist is in Portland and that's one doctor I would not trade. His specialty is my rare form of cancer.

But, 16 chickens, including 2 roosters, will not be easy to move no matter where we go. Trading them in for an easier city breed is not an option. We are quite fond of the chickens we have.

Okay, now I have to find a photo.

Have I shared this photo of one of the Australorps? As I've said before, I just call them Wordy, Birdie and Gertie, all at the same time because I do not know who is who. And also like I said, it doesn't matter. They don't come if I call anyway. They are all beauties.

 

[Sylvester017]

We have at least one chick crowing in the house. Hubby is very amused.
Today is kiddo's birthday so I won't be on much!
So here's a couple chicky pics from when we cleaned the brooder.
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Little olive egger
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Leghorn cross...either cochin or marans.
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Goldiebird
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And Breezy boy!

Happy Birthday, little girl