Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

Leghorns require patience. They can be great lap chickens but it is on their terms. You have to earn their trust. I have found them to be very smart, curious, and escape artists.

For reference, the term "flighty" is also used to describe Polish.

Be interesting to a leghorn and they will be fascinated by you.

View attachment 4130776

I agree with this, the Azure girls (leghorn x Auracana hybrids), are very lovely girls but they want it on their terms.

They are all three friendly and very nosey, they have to see what you are up to. They will be sneaky Watch your every move, and then run over quickly to see what treats I may have uncovered.

Topsy

Edit: they are not my best fliers however, in fact I would say they are poor fliers. Likely a combo of the Araucana breeding and being factory raised - I bet they didn’t have roosts, stall doors and walls, and people to fly up on

 

[SimpleJenn]

Yeah, they're all very pretty birds... but Periwinkle is special. Is her gold collar a Copper Marans gene?

Not sure! Her dad is cream legbar silkie, and her mom is from a breeder up north who has a "blue egg satin" pen. Most of my marans have the neck markings too, but theirs are less bronze and more red.

 

[SimpleJenn]

Barnevelder or Wyandotte mix? ~ really pretty
My guess if the tail curves downward & they're growing in at different lengths, & the tail feather tips are more pointy rather than rounded... perhaps a male?

Nosy Posy is a "polkie" half silkie half polish.

 

[Ponypoor]

Ooo thanks for the advice! They don't necessarily fear me, they just have way more things to do than spend time with me. I was able to give chest scritches to two of them this morning when I filled the feed and water. The legbar though, she is scared.

As with any and all living creatures, some require desensitizing, my chicks that are the least outgoing and nosey/friendly are the ones I will get hold of daily and handle when they are babies. It doesn’t matter if they seek me out for attention, I just make sure they are used to being handled so when they are older they don’t freak out when I need to do something.

Like Mr P - when I got him he was wild! Wouldn’t come near me at all. I made sure to handle him as often as I could. Now he doesn’t run off from me, and this morning he popped into the feedroom with me alone. And last night I was pretty much able to trim his spurs and nails with out too much fuss.

He will never be a lap chook but he has learnt that I am not going to murder him!!!

 

[SimpleJenn]

Is that the tent? That is what I used as a broider last time too.

It is a "portable dog pen" but yeah, it's basically a tent.

 

[Ponypoor]

Caturday

Now that Mama Robin’s nest is empty Missy is now able to sleep on the bureau while looking at the rabbits in the backyard.

 

[Marie2020]

What did you see?

Sunshine on the Leith
It was IMHO a really good night. The audience loved it as much as I did.

There's an Eagles tribute band I would love to see next month, but no one wants to go. I might bite the bullet and have something to eat before the show and go on my own. Then arrange for a taxi home. People I know are so stuck in their way's. They don't like shows. Well I do and I want to live

 

[Marie2020]

I was going to post later today, unfortunately something got at the nest and they are gone. Maybe a coon or maybe Jays - they take babies.

So I have the empty nest syndrome now
View attachment 4130283

I love Robins
I'm so sad to read this

 

[Marie2020]

When I opened the coop this morning, I found Blanche had passed. She had been up on the roost last night. She had been a little off for a bit, then perked up, then gone. Also reproduction issues: soft shell here and there. She would have been 4 end of the month, along with Cheetah, Nellie, and PITA.

Last pic of her, taken WednesdayView attachment 4130139

I'm so sorry

 

[Marie2020]

Poor things, and poor mama and papa robin.

See if anyone comes back to use that spot again this season or next year. Might be worth it to build something there, like a birdhouse or a hardware cloth cage, so predators can't get to it so easy!