Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[rural mouse]

Beautiful chicken haven, natural cover, property. Amazing what chickens find to forage in the wild. She is lovely. How many roos do you have? Do the roos form their own little groups? We can't have a roo here

4 roos, 27 hens. They all sleep in the coop and range where they like. The hens will drift between roos (or rather the roos will drift between groups of hens) and scream for help/run to another roo for help when one they don't care for tries harassing another.

 

[Sylvester017]

4 roos, 27 hens. They all sleep in the coop and range where they like. The hens will drift between roos (or rather the roos will drift between groups of hens) and scream for help/run to another roo for help when one they don't care for tries harassing another.

I love roo stories cuz it's something we're not zoned to experience here ~ no roos & also not equipped to handle hatching our own chicks. We're zoned for 5 hens/no roos but Shhhh! We have SIX hens!

 

[Sylvester017]

@TOMTE you there?

 

[BY Bob]

Twofer Tuesday

Ruby and Crystal
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Cassie and Ethel
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Ivory and Cassie
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Ivory and Snowball a few weeks ago
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Have I mentioned that I changed Blanca’s name to Cotton? Due to a rapidly growing comb and wattles?
Snowball and Cotton a week ago. His wattles are now three times this size, I need to take another pic.
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Aspen and Cypress taking an afternoon siesta on their feathers pond.
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Great photos!

 

[BY Bob]

We have been having an issue with mice in the coop. Bought some of those big metal live traps. Caught about 10 the first night and hauled them off. Caught a few more the next night. And not a single one since. Not in those traps. Not on glue traps inside plastic containers. Nothing. Sprayed rodent repellent and still have some, I think they must have been inside the coop somewhere. I need to check under everything and spray it a lot heavier. Plus redo
Some traps. I might have to resort to the big electric traps.
Have been locking up/closing off all the food every night. But the chickens leave soooo many crumbs.
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So stunning!

Coco has always held her tail in leghorn fashion, so she must have some of that breed in her )she is an olive egger). And Cassie also does it on occasion, sometimes even in full sail but it is hard to be fast enough for a decent picture.

I’ll have to dig out some old ones of Coco, but here’s one of Cassie that almost caught her with it fully fanned.
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Marvelous! I got a 3/4 Sail this morning. I kept hoping for full sail but it never happened.

 

[SimpleJenn]

@BY Bob how is this for a sail photo? Spotted while washing dishes

 

[rural mouse]

Sail pics this morning, thanks to Nellie

 

[RoyalChick]

I am both sad and happy, young Jolly boy will be going to a new home tonight. Apparently he will become a spoiled pet, and have 10 RIR and a bunch of young chicks to watch over.

I will make sure to trim up his topknot before he leaves so he can see ok!

Awww. I am happy for you, but I will miss seeing pictures of him.

 

[bgmathteach]

I can’t access a burrow to put the smoke in. I can’t try with the burrow I can see in the run but what I learned last night is that is not where he goes to escape. He goes somewhere I cannot reach.


Yes they do! I read about people taking away the food at night but I have been watching this rat for a while now and he never bothers to stretch up to reach into the feeders because there is so much food available on the ground. I think the Princesses prefer to eat it off the ground too so they shovel it out.


I know how to set a rat trap and I will not drown one as it is not a humane way to kill.
When I come to kill him I will use a snap trap or an electric trap.
The point however, is that once he is dead he will not be able to give me any clues as to how he is getting in. I really prefer to exclude before I kill.
Right now I am certain he is on his own - he is under constant surveillance inside the Chicken Palace - but if he has a tunnel in from the outside then something else might come in.

Rat tax: Tassels down!
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The Heart was for Tassels - sunbathing in her glorious sparkling/shimmering green gown!

 

[RoyalChick]

The Heart was for Tassels - sunbathing in her glorious sparkling/shimmering green gown!

She is such a stunner. She napped for a couple of minutes and then suddenly remembered all the eggs (zero) that needed her to keep them warm and rushed off.