Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[RoyalChick]

Pony Sunday

The geegees are confined to the barnyard until I can get my paddocks cut back and the weeds and white clover sprayed - the clover has developed Slaframine fungus which causes a poisoning of the horses called Slobbers. The fungus causes the horses to salivate excessively.

I mowed the barn yard and tonight I will spray the clover there, it’s not as bad as in the paddocks. The herbicide I use is Dicamba which only kills broadleaf plants (weeds, clover etc) not the grass. Once it dries and the sunlight gets to it the herbicide dissipates and is safe for livestock. Usually about 24hrs.

The heat and high humidity is the big culprit for the clover being infected with Slaframine
View attachment 4161104

Horse disease names are really quite something. Slobbers?!
Sounds nasty.

 

[rural mouse]

For Pony Sunday, I have a fresh ish mountain pic

the snow last week has all melted off, only leaving the remains of the winter snowpack. I've been told that years back (not sure how far back, but within living memory), there were glaciers up there (snowpack that stayed year round). It will be interesting if it stays. Watching glaciers form would be an interesting once in a lifetime. Will keep updates coming.


For @featherhead007

the LARGEST plane I've ever seen. Was at our little airport earlier this month, dwarfed the terminal building (could be seen looming over it), and accompanied Air Force 2 (white tail mostly hidden behind the trees on the right). No idea what was going on. I was gobsmacked over the size of the grey beast. I didn't know the runways were long enough for something that size.


And for animal pics....

a Ling Cod. My dad, brother, sister, and BIL are all in Alaska for my dad's annual fishing trip. This one was 2 inches short of keep length, and at least 50 pounds (it maxed out the scale, which stopped at 50).

The day's keepers

king salmon and black rock fish

 

[Marie2020]

Just a new lurker to this thread and just want to say I enjoy reading everyone's camaraderie immensely - hope it's okay to come in and say hi!

Hello It's good to see you.
Please don't be shy. Everyone here are so friendly

 

[TX Chick Noob]

Breezy had either a heart attack or heat stroke. I got to him right as he started thrashing.

Oh no! I am sooo sorry.

 

[BY Bob]

Here they are again my favourite duo.

I wish I could fly over when you go on holiday so I could have my fix of caring for your feathered and fur family.

You are very sweet Marie. You would love them. They are endlessly entertaining.

 

[BY Bob]

I just wish I'd been able to catch on camera the spats. She puffed up and went for Pippa....theoretically for looking at her. PITA needs babies. She's FIERCE. No babies yet.

Ooooo. That would be cool.

 

[thistlewick]

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone I have a thread, which is more like a blog/journal/record keeping so I don't forget things but people come in occasionally

My flock is new - about 1 year old - I am on rural 24 acres so they are allowed to free range all day. They are incredibly hawk savvy and for some reason, I am nowhere near a predator highway so while I do catch the odd skunk and fox and raccoon on my cameras, they are on the other side of the property and are not interested in the hen house, which sits in a pasture. I'm lucky! I think it's because I live in an area of abundance, they aren't starving creatures. We have had hawk attacks, most of them are unsuccessful. I've got a fine Rooster.

His name is Chuck - there is a story behind his name.

When he was a chick - straight run from Tractor Supply, he was the first one to fly out of the brooder, at only a week old. I named it "Amelia" after Amelia Earhart. Welp, turns out he was a boy -- didn't show it for weeks and thought, hmm... Chuck Yeager! He is sweet and docile and friendly and lovely and very very brave. We ADORE him.

My adult flock is 15 strong, including him. They are all lovely and I am SO attached to them

This was before we had 3 losses. Nothing fancy here!


But we've exploded this year; WAY too many at this point but... who cares.

I have a group of 14 "teens" who are 16/18 weeks old now and big as the big girls and hanging with the big girls now, I can't rightly call them teens anymore, really.

I have a younger group EEs I call the Cracker Jacks 6 of them (long story, story is in my thread) that are 14 weeks old they keep to themselves and haven't ranged out with the bigs yet, only halfway and gentle forays into the 'hedge'

Then I have my perfect 11 Lollipops, a group I hatched myself who are the children of my big girls (and Chuck) and are SUPER friendly and cuddle bugs and I ADORE THEM. From this batch I have Ruby and Whoopie who seek out cuddles and snuggles <3 they are 6 weeks old.

Tilly, a beautful Copper Maran, went broody (LONG story, story in my thread lol) and hatched 8 chicks! They are 4 weeks old. Here they are as hatchlings:

Harriet and Ginger had chicks too - but later.. the story is long and detailed.. but those 5 chicks are brooding with a batch I hatched myself. They are all 1-3 weeks old and in my 'downstairs' brooder.

There are 17 of them down there. I plan to sell these, except possibly for some olive eggers I bred myself from Chuck and Sophia (Maran)


Then, I got a shipment that I had ordered in February ! of 6
(Lakenvelder, Silver Dorking, Speckled Sussex and Golden Campine) and I also hatched out some Welsummer and Ameraucanas like 2 days later, so they are brooding together in our upstairs brooder -

Both brooders are in the hen house, one is just up high to save my back and one is down low for integration.

Looks different now, got a WAY better feeder that doesn't bill out food

Anyway there are TWENTY of those babies in there. I won't be keeping all 20. haha

we want to end up with <70 which works, because of the non-babies we have 54 and it's entirely manageable and not at all trouble.

37 babies and we will be getting rid of a ton of them.

But that's 91 right now hahahah

 

[RoyalChick]

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone I have a thread, which is more like a blog/journal/record keeping so I don't forget things but people come in occasionally

My flock is new - about 1 year old - I am on rural 24 acres so they are allowed to free range all day. They are incredibly hawk savvy and for some reason, I am nowhere near a predator highway so while I do catch the odd skunk and fox and raccoon on my cameras, they are on the other side of the property and are not interested in the hen house, which sits in a pasture. I'm lucky! I think it's because I live in an area of abundance, they aren't starving creatures. We have had hawk attacks, most of them are unsuccessful. I've got a fine Rooster.

His name is Chuck - there is a story behind his name.

View attachment 4161143

When he was a chick - straight run from Tractor Supply, he was the first one to fly out of the brooder, at only a week old. I named it "Amelia" after Amelia Earhart. Welp, turns out he was a boy -- didn't show it for weeks and thought, hmm... Chuck Yeager! He is sweet and docile and friendly and lovely and very very brave. We ADORE him.

My adult flock is 15 strong, including him. They are all lovely and I am SO attached to them

View attachment 4161165

This was before we had 3 losses. Nothing fancy here!


But we've exploded this year; WAY too many at this point but... who cares.

I have a group of 14 "teens" who are 16/18 weeks old now and big as the big girls and hanging with the big girls now, I can't rightly call them teens anymore, really.

I have a younger group EEs I call the Cracker Jacks 6 of them (long story, story is in my thread) that are 14 weeks old they keep to themselves and haven't ranged out with the bigs yet, only halfway and gentle forays into the 'hedge'

Then I have my perfect 11 Lollipops, a group I hatched myself who are the children of my big girls (and Chuck) and are SUPER friendly and cuddle bugs and I ADORE THEM. From this batch I have Ruby and Whoopie who seek out cuddles and snuggles <3 they are 6 weeks old.

Tilly, a beautful Copper Maran, went broody (LONG story, story in my thread lol) and hatched 8 chicks! They are 4 weeks old. Here they are as hatchlings:

View attachment 4161205


Harriet and Ginger had chicks too - but later.. the story is long and detailed.. but those 5 chicks are brooding with a batch I hatched myself. They are all 1-3 weeks old and in my 'downstairs' brooder.

There are 17 of them down there. I plan to sell these, except possibly for some olive eggers I bred myself from Chuck and Sophia (Maran)


Then, I got a shipment that I had ordered in February ! of 6
(Lakenvelder, Silver Dorking, Speckled Sussex and Golden Campine) and I also hatched out some Welsummer and Ameraucanas like 2 days later, so they are brooding together in our upstairs brooder -

Both brooders are in the hen house, one is just up high to save my back and one is down low for integration.

View attachment 4161206

Looks different now, got a WAY better feeder that doesn't bill out food

Anyway there are TWENTY of those babies in there. I won't be keeping all 20. haha

we want to end up with <70 which works, because of the non-babies we have 54 and it's entirely manageable and not at all trouble.

37 babies and we will be getting rid of a ton of them.

But that's 91 right now hahahah

Thanks for sharing! Chuck is very handsome and that is a great picture of him with the fence and the sky - you should definitely submit it to POW.


By the way, don't worry about 91 - if you follow the rules of Chicken Math you hardly have any chickens at all (maybe even no chickens). See here for instructions on properly counting your chickens:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-–-with-quiz.75403/?page=9#ams-comment-527572

 

[BY Bob]

The rat update is not great.
I have confirmed that they are not burrowing in from outside. Have done multiple smoke tests.
They do however march in and out the door when it is open for the chickens to play outside.
In the middle of the day. Bold as brass.
And they have taken up residence under the floorboards of the servant’s quarters where I cannot reach them.
I am deploying rat contraception (no, seriously) as well as a safe rat killer (RatX). They are extremely trap shy and have avoided all traps and bait stations so I am trying to get creative.
Tassels, now she is not brooding, is very aware of them and seems to want to catch them. She has come close a couple of times but no kills so far.

I am buying a rat proof feeder for the Princesses and may start using only the nipple waterer inside the Chicken Palace (though I suspect rats can operate the nipples).

I think water is a big thing. Apparently rats drink a lot, so I need to repair the pipe that the girls dug up. The rats do seem to like that damp area.

Here is one watching me from outside as I fill up water for the Princesses. A minute later it walked in through the door. While it was too wary for me to be able to grab it by hand, it was not nearly as scared of me as I would like.
View attachment 4161117

That is disturbing. Brazen little buggers. This might be a tough fight.

 

[BY Bob]

Synchronized foraging!

The only way they know.