Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

I’m wondering why we chose chickens for pets? They seem to be dinner for just about every other animal on earth

It is true. Most predators eat chickens.

We chose them because they are amazing animals who entertain and beguile us.

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

I was not already looking at all the colors they come in .. I wasn't .. honest .. you believe me right??

oh my friend join me down the rabbit hole of silkie colors....

black
blue
white
splash
chocolate
buff
red
paint
red pyle
cuckoo *in so many different colors*
partridge *again, in so many different colors*
lavender or self blue

There are more that I have forgotten or do not even know exist.
Then there is the showgirls or naked neck silkies in all those colors as well. Showgirls are not for me, but they may be for you.

Yes I believe you were not looking for other colors. If you believe I am not setting the incubator in about a week and a half with as many silkie eggs as I can collect. I am also not planning on holding back a blue chick or two to grow out for myself if I get a couple.

 

[rural mouse]

It’s hilarious isn’t it? They have the same feed in their feeder no doubt but the garage feed is better right?

Their feed is out in the coop. The scratch is all over out there....having to go hunt for it.....please, Ma, throw us some more!

I think it's why I got the Pied Piper effect the other day, too

 

[Sylvester017]

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!

How funny...& I think you have the chicken haven! We don't dare grow the sweet stone fruit trees you have cuz rats, rodents, ants, wild birds, June beetles, etc, are all year-round pests here that destroy those varieties in our yard. I used to grow berry bushes decades ago. I had a thornless Boysenberry patch; however it eventually sprouted thorny vines anyway so I pulled them & settled for thorny dwarf citrus trees cuz easier to prune, the super thick fruit skins are too hard & bitter to attract pests, & the bushy trees provide fuller aerial cover than the sparser berry branches. Once our chickens have lived out their lives & gone the trees will continue to serve us fruit which we exchange w/neighbors for their fruit varieties.

The Pomegranates have such thick hard skin the rats, ants, birds don't bother them.

The Dwarf Meyer Lemon blooms a couple times per year & butterflies & hummingbirds & bees come around. There's a teeny tiny orange butterfly on the middle blossom.

Dana chillin' between a wall & Pomegranate tree.

 

[featherhead007]

They are adorable so much fluffiness!

It’s hilarious isn’t it? They have the same feed in their feeder no doubt but the garage feed is better right?

They really are, we have a large murder here and I don’t mind all the cat food they steal at all. They are hands down the best arial defense my chickens have. It’s a fair trade for sure.

So then, you have a murder that says meow?

 

[featherhead007]

They are so adorable. I could stare at those little not-a-chickens all day long.

They may not be real chickens but lets give a year, two at max. Half your flock or more will consist of fake chickens.

I’m glad that you acknowledge the fact that they are not real chickens. Her Royal Highness Queen Aurora, might find favor in this attribution of yours.

 

[TOMTE]

I went to my mom's on Friday, stayed the night, got back home yesterday afternoon. Mom's been making a LOT of sourdough bread, so we got a loaf started for me. Oven is preheating now! I'm excited to see how it turns out (even though I don't really like sourdough).

View attachment 4091506

I have a feeling it might be too dense... It didn't want to stretch when I was working it. At least I have more starter in the fridge so I can try again if this one fails

The chickens were excited to see me when I got back home. They all ran up to the door of the run and were yelling at me... I was only gone for a day! 24 hours, a little more! And they were telling me off! But I got some good cuddles from Esme and Magrat. I think they forgive me.

Tax:

I let the girls out for about an hour... But I got hungry so I got them back in the run so I could have some bread (I was right, it's a little dense/doughy in the middle but not undercooked. I like it!)

No pics of them outside (phone was charging) but here they are begging to go out again just now

...And Gytha.

 

[knoturavggrl]

oh my friend join me down the rabbit hole of silkie colors....

black
blue
white
splash
chocolate
buff
red
paint
red pyle
cuckoo *in so many different colors*
partridge *again, in so many different colors*
lavender or self blue

There are more that I have forgotten or do not even know exist.
Then there is the showgirls or naked neck silkies in all those colors as well. Showgirls are not for me, but they may be for you.

Yes I believe you were not looking for other colors. If you believe I am not setting the incubator in about a week and a half with as many silkie eggs as I can collect. I am also not planning on holding back a blue chick or two to grow out for myself if I get a couple.

So .. I will definitely NOT go look at any of those on your list and you will definitely NOT set any eggs. Perfect agreement.

So then, you have a murder that says meow?

Ha! I give them peanuts on occasion but they have decided that tribute they require is cat food. I don’t set the rules, I just abide by their decree.

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View attachment 4091644

Tax:

I let the girls out for about an hour... But I got hungry so I got them back in the run so I could have some bread (I was right, it's a little dense/doughy in the middle but not undercooked. I like it!)

No pics of them outside (phone was charging) but here they are begging to go out again just now
View attachment 4091651
View attachment 4091652
...And Gytha.

What a gorgeous flock you have, happy and healthy. The bread looks amazing.

 

[Sylvester017]

oh my friend join me down the rabbit hole of silkie colors....

black
blue
white
splash
chocolate
buff
red
paint
red pyle
cuckoo *in so many different colors*
partridge *again, in so many different colors*
lavender or self blue

There are more that I have forgotten or do not even know exist.

I once saw a Tortoiseshell Silkie!

I always planned to stay w/ the SOP APA colors cuz I was afraid all the crossbreeding to get other colors might change the natural good docile temperament of Silkies. Already there are great discrepancies nowadays in Silkie sizes alone.

We naturally love our 3 newest Silkies but they are different sizes/weights & not all are quite the same sweet temperament of my original Silkies from 14 yrs ago ~ only our one Blue Silkie has what I would call the original docile sweet temperament & like our original Partridge from decades ago has the smarts to avoid tangling w/ any assertive personalities. The Blue has been the smartest since a chick. I have always loved BBS varieties best in other chicken breeds too.

Blue Silkie "Betta"

 

[Ponypoor]

First impressions of Silkies from a Bantam newbie:

These chicks are so tiny, I’m pretty sure a good sneeze could launch them into next week!

They’re sharp, though. Showed them food, water, and the heat plate with a couple finger taps, and they strutted off like they’d just aced Chicken 101.

Friendly? Curious? Oh yeah. They don’t just not run from us; they come right over and say hello giant human. It’s cute as heck, but also, predator awareness seems set to “low priority.” They’re three days old, still sporting the egg tooth, so maybe the survival instincts just haven’t arrived quite yet?

@featherhead007, I’m starting to think you’re onto something—Silkies might not be chickens, they’re just feathered extroverts. But the silkie fans are right too: these fuzzballs do seem to be basically friendship in bird form.

Oh don’t worry they can fight! Marty is a tyrant! And then Clyde the Brave fought off a hawk attack last Autumn.

And wee Georgie seems bent on beating up hens older and 4x he size/weight! Needless to say Babe clobbered her well and truly. Had to rescue her so she wouldn’t get hurt!

But yes they are for the most part very friendly, and they get right under foot - I am forever tripping over and trodding on the toes of them. They just want to be part of the gang.

A couple years ago I fostered 3 silkie chicks and one of my chicks onto Curly and Fluffy as co-broodies. They raised those 4 chicks together. My chick was twice their size and flew really well at 3 weeks.

Well one day all of them were outside and the big chick walked up to the roost and flap/hopped up, one of the silkie chicks walking behind him did the same thing - flap/hop….. epic miss haahahahaha didn’t even get close to that roost. But after it missed the roost, it just kept right on walking didn’t even miss a stride didn’t faze it in the slightest.

All the silkies soon learnt to use some steps I built for them to hop up onto the roost, it only about a foot high, and had no issues flapping back down. By the time they were weened they were easily flap/hopping up onto anything around 18” high. They learn fast when given the opportunity, just keep their head feathers trimmed up so they can see.

Which reminds me, need to trim the dumplings again!