Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[featherhead007]

Another missed breed mention is the kid-friendly, unafraid, people-friendly, calm adult temperament, good flockmate chick/adult breed is the smaller medium size Dominiques. Barred Rocks are similarly reported in temperament; however are a slightly larger size breed than Doms.

I’ll add that to my documents thanks

 

[featherhead007]

So that means the geese will think you're "cracked"?!

That thought has circulated around for years.

 

[bgmathteach]

I can attest to Buff Orps being super friendly. My knee caps also attest to this. They get very jealous when I don’t pay them any heed. Brats!

Speaking of this, @ChicoryBlue , how is it going with Diane Ida-Biter? I'm hoping she continues to improve with her response to you. I really do think she is just mis-understood and feels under appreciated. Hopefully with time she will show her love/need more appropriately!!

 

[Ponypoor]

Windy day today.

 

[Sylvester017]

I laugh at the one crow ls here - it likes to come swooping in start cawing like crazy then perch in the tree and watch the chooks run for cover - it then gives a series of 4 or 5 caws when they are all under cover, and flies off. Don’t know if it’s laughing or telling them off.

My older chooks ignore it. They know the difference between its harassment and when it is serious about a predator.

Different bird species recognize each other's speech ~ our chickens recognize the Sparrow alerts when there's a hawk or a creeping cat , or recognize Sparrow happy chitters when all is well, & ignore a Crow's caw at the top of the telephone pole cuz he's just talking to his fellow Crows in the sky, etc. When the wild green parrots fly overhead constantly cawing w/o stop our hens don't even look up anymore. But....they will suspiciously eye any silent floating party balloon till it disappears from sight!

 

[ValerieJ]

Windy day today.

That was so cute!!! Zoomies!!!

 

[rural mouse]

Caturday adventures

Are exhausting

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

Windy day today.

I have been very confident from the start Holly was a girl. I still am. Jolly was a little questionable early on. Looking at Jolly now, and I am basing this off the shape and neatness of their tails and pompom on the head, pullet. Pay attention towards the end of the video when Momma Georgie walks by them both, their tails and pompoms are a mirror image of hers.

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

I’m doing my research, but I’m getting the same results every time I look.View attachment 4079832

You can resist as long as you like. You can call them feather dusters until the end of time. It will not change the fact that silkies are one of the friendliest, in your lap snuggle buddy breeds of chickens. They are clowns.

I'm telling you right now if you let yourself give one a chance you will be hooked. Nothing will ever replace Jaffar, or my Branch. Look at Barbosa now. He came here at 5 months old, not frequently handled and very untrusting and skeptical of me.

Look what happened the other day....

He willingly jumped into my lap and buried his head, started purring and went to sleep.

I have done nothing special to cause this. I simply did what I always do, I gave him time. The first week I was very much hands off. I then worked on him eating out of my hand. He then started shadowing me, developed a love for shoelaces. I let him come to me on his own terms and when he gave me the opportunity I massaged his crop. Imagine if I had hand raised him myself from day 1.

You have stated it countless times. "all roos need love too." Let yourself love a silkie roo.

 

[Sylvester017]

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.
View attachment 4079769

You do have a special circumstance having an oncologist (especially if he has associate referrals you could see should he not be available) so plan around his region. There are property choices for residences w/poultry allowances & researching locations now will give you peace of mind. You might decide a move is easier now rather than later. Just some thoughts since we went thru similar dilemmas planning our retirement options.

Health issues are never fun but inevitable. Our birds have all been raised around my quad canes & gardening tools for many years & now I'm getting them accustomed to my outdoor rollator. Because of chicken poops I have one rollator for outdoors & a cleaner one for use indoors & travel.

Our lives for the last 15 yrs have been planned around our chickens & our health issues. We've been so glad our ordinance allows only 5 hens/no roos or we could easily have gone nuts w/chicken math overload. Chickens are so wonderful it's easy to get overrun w/them. As it is we are one hen over allowance w/ 6 hens rather than the allowed 5 (but Silkies only count as 1/2 a chicken, right?)