Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Sorry, @BY Bob I should know better!

No worries. I understand how it can happen.

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

I knew this year was going by too smoothly as far as broody hens goes. I brought out the camera for fluffy butt shots. Instead I got a educational video for some of you all. I've mentioned warning signs that a hen is gearing up to go broody. Some girls, some girls are sneaky and very subtle.

Raven here is a prime example of subtle warning signs. I was trying to identify which cochin was actually broody, which I did. It is Gryffyn now that I saw Flurry out strutting around. While focusing on Gryffyn I heard it, and it was so low I almost missed it. No shriek, no flaring up while I was messing with Gryffyn next door but the very faint subtle broody clucks. She was mostly silent in the box until I messed with her in the video I took. Raven has given me her warning however slight. I know this girl, I will not get another one until she is full on screaming demon and sitting. Knowing Raven, probably by Sunday. Of course she is choosing the vacant nest box. Does not surprise me one bit, she has used that side 3 times now.

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

When I first went out I went to see if my cochin girl was still on the nest and I found this.

That is Gryffyn squished in there. Flurry is out and about and living her best life.

I then went in to check on the silkies. Did my removing the eggs cause Reba to get off the nest.
Of course not.

Turkey then decided to show off for me and pose. She allowed me to touch her for all of 2 seconds before flying away....Progress!

Fluffy silkie butt

Broody silkie butt, and I saw Reba was panting and it is not even warm in the coop.

To her great dismay I removed her from her box so she could eat and drink. She stayed pancaked to the ground for 5 minutes before she snapped out of it and went and got a much needed drink.

I am going to have to keep a close watch on Reba. Being a first timer I do not know yet if she has the instinct to get off the nest to eat and drink on her own. Silkies are their own breed of stubborn. My other girls have this and will take care of themselves without my intervention. Once she finally snapped out of it she did go get a good long drink, had the horrible poop and was stuffing her face when I left the coop. She was also sitting on another egg which I removed. I'm sure by tonight her sisters will have offered up more for her.

I then went back to see if there were any eggs under Gryffyn and found this.

Poor Owly needs to lay and Raven had kicked her out of the box. That is not unusual with Raven. If she wants a spot she will boot almost any hen being the queen of my flock. It was when Owly stretched her neck to peer into the box that I heard the first soft broody clucking which I thought was coming from Gryffyn.

Owly then changed boxes and I heard more soft clucking, definitely not coming from Gryffyn.

Poor Owly just wants to lay her egg in her favorite box and now Raven is about ready to take it over.

When Raven commits, even if she is sitting on nothing, the Queen will not allow this. NO ONE is allowed in her box or spot when she is broody.

Gryffyn and Raven, you two are going to throw a wrench in where the girls lay. Right now, I only have to check these nest boxes, the silkie coop and the other coop. I have not had to play "find the easter egg" since everyone started back up. Brats, both of you.

 

[Sylvester017]

Do you think maybe a sprain? A 1/2 tab aspirin a couple of days might just help.

I think he said she had a broken toe at one time & limps on that foot?

 

[Chickin Fairy]

So sorry to see Chickenlandia lose her precious Buff Silkie roo & thinks it may have been an injury to his delicate head. (Polish & Silkies have those open skulls prone to injuries). If you cry easily you may not want to watch but I find her videos helpful.

She has been a wealth of knowledge to me over the past 3 or 4 months and I am glad I just discovered her. It's sad to watch her be so vulnerable, especially when a lot of us have been there. Rest easy, Bubba.

 

[Sylvester017]

When I first went out I went to see if my cochin girl was still on the nest and I found this.
View attachment 4101139View attachment 4101140
That is Gryffyn squished in there. Flurry is out and about and living her best life.
View attachment 4101141View attachment 4101142
I then went in to check on the silkies. Did my removing the eggs cause Reba to get off the nest.
Of course not.
View attachment 4101143View attachment 4101144
Turkey then decided to show off for me and pose. She allowed me to touch her for all of 2 seconds before flying away....Progress!
View attachment 4101147View attachment 4101149View attachment 4101150View attachment 4101152View attachment 4101153View attachment 4101154View attachment 4101155View attachment 4101156
Fluffy silkie butt
View attachment 4101157
Broody silkie butt, and I saw Reba was panting and it is not even warm in the coop.
View attachment 4101159View attachment 4101161
To her great dismay I removed her from her box so she could eat and drink. She stayed pancaked to the ground for 5 minutes before she snapped out of it and went and got a much needed drink.
View attachment 4101164View attachment 4101165View attachment 4101166View attachment 4101167View attachment 4101168View attachment 4101169View attachment 4101170
I am going to have to keep a close watch on Reba. Being a first timer I do not know yet if she has the instinct to get off the nest to eat and drink on her own. Silkies are their own breed of stubborn. My other girls have this and will take care of themselves without my intervention. Once she finally snapped out of it she did go get a good long drink, had the horrible poop and was stuffing her face when I left the coop. She was also sitting on another egg which I removed. I'm sure by tonight her sisters will have offered up more for her.

I then went back to see if there were any eggs under Gryffyn and found this.
View attachment 4101173
Poor Owly needs to lay and Raven had kicked her out of the box. That is not unusual with Raven. If she wants a spot she will boot almost any hen being the queen of my flock. It was when Owly stretched her neck to peer into the box that I heard the first soft broody clucking which I thought was coming from Gryffyn.
View attachment 4101175
Owly then changed boxes and I heard more soft clucking, definitely not coming from Gryffyn.
View attachment 4101176
Poor Owly just wants to lay her egg in her favorite box and now Raven is about ready to take it over.View attachment 4101178
When Raven commits, even if she is sitting on nothing, the Queen will not allow this. NO ONE is allowed in her box or spot when she is broody.

Gryffyn and Raven, you two are going to throw a wrench in where the girls lay. Right now, I only have to check these nest boxes, the silkie coop and the other coop. I have not had to play "find the easter egg" since everyone started back up. Brats, both of you.

Broody Silkies will sit on the ground for a while when taken off nest & when they sort of wake up they head straight for water. We always remove a broody Silkie from her nest a couple times daily to drink/eat/exercise cuz they are such determined setters we make sure they stay hydrated.

A regular non-broody Silkie will usually head straight for water & feed too...right after laying her egg.

Some owners/breeders of Silkies say sometimes they have a roo who will bring food to his setting hen & even set/watch the nest if she leaves for a while. Silkies are a rare breed in every sense of their being

A broody Keiko on a side table trying to figure a way up the outside of the coop nestbox. We had to move the table away so she wouldnt try jumping & falling.

 

[Ponypoor]

There is no hiding from this lot

 

[Ponypoor]

I knew this year was going by too smoothly as far as broody hens goes. I brought out the camera for fluffy butt shots. Instead I got a educational video for some of you all. I've mentioned warning signs that a hen is gearing up to go broody. Some girls, some girls are sneaky and very subtle.

Raven here is a prime example of subtle warning signs. I was trying to identify which cochin was actually broody, which I did. It is Gryffyn now that I saw Flurry out strutting around. While focusing on Gryffyn I heard it, and it was so low I almost missed it. No shriek, no flaring up while I was messing with Gryffyn next door but the very faint subtle broody clucks. She was mostly silent in the box until I messed with her in the video I took. Raven has given me her warning however slight. I know this girl, I will not get another one until she is full on screaming demon and sitting. Knowing Raven, probably by Sunday. Of course she is choosing the vacant nest box. Does not surprise me one bit, she has used that side 3 times now.

It’s contagious! I have a couple thinking about it also. I pitched them outside, no babies this year!

(Edit - unless it’s Sophia)

 

[Sylvester017]

She has been a wealth of knowledge to me over the past 3 or 4 months and I am glad I just discovered her. It's sad to watch her be so vulnerable, especially when a lot of us have been there. Rest easy, Bubba.

It was hard to see her emotions as we've all been there losing a beloved animal.

I like that she is a dedicated chickeneer & gives the kind of knowledge we can benefit from whether we are a suburban flock or a large farm flock, from DIY holistic methods or traditional non-organic methods. She doesn't limit her methods to just one kind of chickeneer.

I liked this video cuz we live on the west coast of SoCalif where we get bad Santa Ana Winds:

 

[Chickin Fairy]

It was hard to see her emotions as we've all been there losing a beloved animal.

I like that she is a dedicated chickeneer & gives the kind of knowledge we can benefit from whether we are a suburban flock or a large farm flock, from DIY holistic methods or traditional non-organic methods. She doesn't limit her methods to just one kind of chickeneer.

I liked this video cuz we live on the west coast of SoCalif where we get bad Santa Ana Winds:

Oh, man, I can relate to that video so much, too! We live in Michigan and had intense wind storms a few weeks ago (the northern part of Michigan got ice storms, then wind, and it snapped the tops of all the trees off). So many trees down around me, too, and found a shed hanging from some power lines. Yikes!