Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Well, that was news to me!! I have raised chicks for 9 years, and except for chicks raised by their mamas, I have never given them chick grit until I introduced other foods besides chick crumbles to them, usually at 7 or 8 weeks. I have even read that if I want to give them scrambled eggs as a treat prior to that time that they won't require grit to digest it.

So far, these chicks are confined with no access to any foods except for their chick crumbles. But, you made me head out and check it out again. I found the following on the Homestead How To site:

When to Start Giving Grit to Chicks​

The need for grit depends largely on the age of your chickens. Chicks do not require grit, so it’s best to avoid giving it to them initially. However, once your chicks eat foods other than crumbles, you can introduce grit into their diet.

Grit should be introduced to chicks usually between 8 and 12 weeks of age. If your chicks only consume crumbles, there’s no need to provide grit.

However, they are a month old now, so I think I will introduce some chick grit to them, based on your advice. I think I will also offer a treat from time to time as well since I know they will have the grit available.

Interesting. I have always provided grit from day 1. But then I have also introduced mine to the outside world at a young age. I call them "field trips" to the yard. Once it is warm enough during the day they will be out in the grass in a run enclosure to meet the bigs and experience grass and bugs.

My mums have always tried to get the chicks out into the world around day 3 or 4. I usually hold them in the coop and porch until they have a full set of wings as the ramp to get back is a challenge otherwise.

So I try to replicate that for the chicks I hand raise.

 

[BY Bob]

A prairie Hawk, while it was migrating, flew into my yard and had my snowy, Australian spotted duck and was trying to eat it.
All the other birds were making so much noise
I ran outside, it saw me and flew away. She had a small spot on the side of her neck, where he started to eat her. We only have trouble spring and fall when they migrat. During migration I don't let them out unless I'm in a lawn chair watching.

Those moments are horrifying. I have had many hawk attacks while I was out with the girls. None successful, thankfully.

 

[RoyalChick]

Pony Sunday

Snowy Owl
16 Feb 2015, I sat and watched while this beauty preened.

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It wasn't worried at all with my watching it, seems it was some sort of celebrity at the feedmill.

Beautiful bird!

 

[Ponypoor]

That is very scary indeed! You have a different climate setup for the type of trees your area supports ~ very tall & some leggy varieties. We've been lucky to have the climate that supports bushy thorny grapefruit, lemon, & pomegranate short trees that don't give flight space to hawks ~ plus we have the two added patio roofs & popup canopies in our small suburban backyard to hinder aerial space. We do get a juvenile Cooper's fledgling or two every Spring but they cry a lot so our hens are savvy to hide when they hear the tell-tail screeches.

We got ideas from reading the BYC thread "post-your-chicken-coop-pictures-here" how large property aerial space owners setup their free range areas w/ huts & other structures or foliage to create retreats in open areas for their foraging flocks. Other chickeneers who had more issues w/ ground predators built totally different from chickeneers who had aerial issues.

Our bushy citrus trees
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3 years ago the trees were shorter in the backyard 2021-22 but have grown as tall as the block wall now. DH & his friend have taken a couple of non-rainy weekends to crop off the tree tops but kept them bushy thru the middle. No pic of their finished work since the trash bin is too full to finish the job all at once.
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It's a chicken haven you have there - I wish I could grow that variety of citrus fruits here. Oh don't get me wrong there are plenty of fruit trees that grow here - and my peach trees are enjoyed by everyone (esp squirrels rotten beasties!). But it is human nature to want what others have, I would love orange and lemon trees, Mango, Persimmon and others. Banana, palm trees... yep I want a tropical paradise in my backyard also. Alas I am stuck with a temperate climate garden of Apples, Pears, Plums, Peaches, Grapes, Goose Berry, Raspberry, Black Berry, Strawberry... all of which the chooks enjoy when in season.

I especially love watching them hop/flap up to get the berries on the Black Berry canes, and the chooks are the ONLY reason I keep those evil plants around. It's also an eggcellent hiding place against aerial predators, the canes bend over and provide some hidey holes for them to get into. But OMG those thorns just seem to reach out and grab at my hands and scratch me up. Also, I have 'lost' many a chook in there during the summer when it's hot as it is a nice cool spot to snooze under, I know to look under them now!

 

[Ponypoor]

Beautiful bird!

Do you get them your way in the winter? I would think you must you're not that far south from me really.

 

[Ponypoor]

That is very scary indeed! You have a different climate setup for the type of trees your area supports ~ very tall & some leggy varieties. We've been lucky to have the climate that supports bushy thorny grapefruit, lemon, & pomegranate short trees that don't give flight space to hawks ~ plus we have the two added patio roofs & popup canopies in our small suburban backyard to hinder aerial space. We do get a juvenile Cooper's fledgling or two every Spring but they cry a lot so our hens are savvy to hide when they hear the tell-tail screeches.

We got ideas from reading the BYC thread "post-your-chicken-coop-pictures-here" how large property aerial space owners setup their free range areas w/ huts & other structures or foliage to create retreats in open areas for their foraging flocks. Other chickeneers who had more issues w/ ground predators built totally different from chickeneers who had aerial issues.

Our bushy citrus trees
View attachment 4091352View attachment 4091353View attachment 4091354View attachment 4091355View attachment 4091363


3 years ago the trees were shorter in the backyard 2021-22 but have grown as tall as the block wall now. DH & his friend have taken a couple of non-rainy weekends to crop off the tree tops but kept them bushy thru the middle. No pic of their finished work since the trash bin is too full to finish the job all at once.
View attachment 4091365View attachment 4091364

What is that your neighbour has in the screened structure I can see over the fence? Does he have birds?

 

[Ponypoor]

Interesting. I have always provided grit from day 1. But then I have also introduced mine to the outside world at a young age. I call them "field trips" to the yard. Once it is warm enough during the day they will be out in the grass in a run enclosure to meet the bigs and experience grass and bugs.

My mums have always tried to get the chicks out into the world around day 3 or 4. I usually hold them in the coop and porch until they have a full set of wings as the ramp to get back is a challenge otherwise.

So I try to replicate that for the chicks I hand raise.

Field Trips - I like that term, yes I do that also. Last year I noticed that the older chooks didn't even give the babies a second look when I put them out for their daily field trip. It was like they couldn't have cared less. Oh the ones who have raised babies were nosey about them, but after they had a look-see they also ignored them.

Mr P was also very nonchalant about them, the chicks would run between his legs and he didn't even bother to look. A few times they would run into his legs and he just raised up his foot gave them the 'watch where you're going look' (which they ignored haha) and he just carried on.

Now Marty, she is a different beast. Heaven help me if I aggrevated those chicks and they got to screaming, Marty would be over at me so fast pecking me and attacking me! And she has never raised chicks - in fact since I got her she has only gone broody once. If she were to go broody I would give her chicks, just because she is old now at 4 yrs, and I wouldn't want her to stress being broody for 6 weeks like Sophia did. Gosh she would be one fierce mama!

 

[RoyalChick]

Do you get them your way in the winter? I would think you must you're not that far south from me really.

I just checked the species list on the nearby wildlife refuge and they list the Snowy Owl as an ‘accidental’ - meaning only seen once or twice. I have definitely never seen one.
They do list no fewer than 11 species of hawk, eagle, and osprey as regular visitors!

Aerial predator talk tax: Little-I-survived-the-hawk-attack-Pooh

 

[BY Bob]

That is so scary to see! Spring is also our most vigilant time watching out for Cooper's fledglings that are still too inexperienced to hunt well yet. We love our neighborhood Crow murders that don't bother our hens but do chase off any hawks.

Crows are a great hawk deterrent.

 

[Grandma The Chicken]

The pursuit of every chicken is to dig holes and then lay flat in the hole

Leghorns love holes! 🕳 🕳 🕳 🕳 🕳 🕳 🕳 🕳 🕳 🕳 🕳 🕳 🕳 🕳 🕳 🕳 🕳

Let's just say I had a hard time getting her out of the trailer. She was scared of the stick but regardless, she returned to her hole. I really should call it a pothole but it's not a road.