Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[featherhead007]

Missy looks more like an overgrown hamster!

No offense!

 

[Ponypoor]

Missy looks more like an overgrown hamster!

She says she eats hamsters.

 

[Ponypoor]

This batch of chicks is a lot slower to free range than the last. Really timid. They come out just outside the gate, then one gets spooked and they all hightail it back to the run. It’s hilarious. Curiosity the cockerel and Angel, our small white Ameraucana, have been the only two so far to venture further out towards the deck.

Our last groups figured out quickly how to use the lawn chairs to hop the fence in and out, which saved us from having to open/close the gate. Probably won’t rely on that this time as we have one chicken with a bum leg who will most likely not ever be able to scale the fence, and I don’t want her (him?) locked in alone.

I don’t have any free ranging pics for this post, so instead here is Beaky instead.
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Middle photo needs to go in the caption contest

 

[SimpleJenn]

WEEKLY SYNOPSIS
This week brought to you by Delft returning to her flock!

This has been an extremely hard week for many of us, with several losses.
Sleep well Poopy, George, Dottie, Spot, Yeti Feathers, and Blue Raptor.

However, lots of good and fun things have also happened this week.

@SimpleJenn
Marble and Nosy Posy moved across state
Nearly 4 dozen hatching eggs? Time for a new coop shed
Saved a very pretty snake

@BY Bob
Aster's first birthday party!
The Phyllistines are gorgeous
Aster is quite a smarty too!

@TOMTE
An adorable Throwback Thursday

@ChicoryBlue
Hazel is healing!
An adorable baby update
 Some Boneless chickens!

@rural mouse
Absolutely gorgeous birds!
Looks like the broodies are sharing!
Another chick update!
Thirsty birds!

@featherhead007
Very pretty birds!

@Ikslo
What a pretty flock!
Curiosity, what a great name

@Ponypoor
Beautiful Thirsty Thursday
Flooded yard is a waterpark!

@knoturavggrl
Floating caterpillar!
Silkie math has hit!

@notabitail
What a cute pic!

@TX Chick Noob
Such cutie patooters

I hope everyone has a good week!
P.s. Periwinkle wants to be broody now too.

 

[Ponypoor]

Good morning everyone.

I am tired. I tried a new method last night of sitting out on the front porch and listening for the chickens to go off. All was silent.

I honestly thought I was dealing with a coyote, and after talking to my next door neighbor now I'm not sure. She came up yesterday and asked me to leave CeeCee out at night. She has camera's and caught someone trying to break in her car Wednesday night on camera's. I had forgotten she has camera's everywhere outside and asked her if they had picked up anything at night near my yard. She will check for sure when she gets the sd card back from the police but she did inform me she has a big raccoon that has been coming onto her back porch. She also picked up a big coyote near her garbage cans 2 weeks ago. I love this neighbor, but good grief you could have warned me about both of them ahead of time. I almost want to leave CeeCee inside just for spite now. Get your own guard dog. I'm not though, I'm keeping her inside while we are waiting for whatever it is to come back, but, when I give up to go to bed she is outside.

I think I need to look into getting a few camera's myself. One on the building facing the hillside and would have view of both coops. Another one placed somewhere in the horse stalls to see if anything comes near them.

This lock down and prolonged cooping them up is upsetting the big girls. My girls who are used to roosting overtop the horse stalls are very very angry with me. Egg production from them has came to a screeching halt. My silkies are the only one's laying for the last 3 days. They are nervous when they are let out, they no longer have George looking out for them. Poor Mrs. E is still looking for him. She has almost turned back feral on me again. Last night I was a hour getting everyone back inside the coop. Lots of chasing some unruly girls. Thankfully Goose and Gryffyn are easy to round up with their chicks. Goose has taken the opportunity to begin teaching her boy to roost in the coop with her. He follows her up and then does not settle until he is under her on the roost. Gryffyn is sleeping on top of the tote in the coop with her two. That is Gryffyn's version of roosting off the ground.

Small update on the chicks as well. Things are still looking good pullet wise for the silkie chicks. The little white one and the other dark partridge are starting to give off pullet vibes now. That is 3 I'm confident in out of the 4. If I question one it is the blue one I held back. Still no wattles, small non-existent comb and really no outward signs to say cockerel. It's just big, bigger then the other 3.

The other 3, well, the rooster fairy still loves me. 2 out of 3 are for sure boys. Gryffyn's yellow chick, yup, George has another son. I think he will end up looking similar to his great-uncle Bert. Georgette is now Orange Juice or OJ for short curtesy of Rosie. We shall refer to him as Juice. I would not call George by the name Adolf which my brother gave him and I shall not call Juice by the name "OJ". She swears she did not name him after OJ Simpson, I do not believe her. They had to watch the OJ Simpson murder trial 4 times in her forensics' class. That name is not a coincidence. Georgina is I think a pullet, but, that could change at the drop of a hat.

I love the names - If he is a she you can always call her Juice Newton

I have Reolink cameras and really like them. No memberships or emails to use to sign up to use them.

I hope you have today off so you can relax

 

[Ponypoor]

WEEKLY SYNOPSIS
This week brought to you by Delft returning to her flock!

This has been an extremely hard week for many of us, with several losses.
Sleep well Poopy, George, Dottie, Spot, Yeti Feathers, and Blue Raptor.

However, lots of good and fun things have also happened this week.

@SimpleJenn
Marble and Nosy Posy moved across state
Nearly 4 dozen hatching eggs? Time for a new coop shed
Saved a very pretty snake

@BY Bob
Aster's first birthday party!
The Phyllistines are gorgeous
Aster is quite a smarty too!

@TOMTE
An adorable Throwback Thursday

@ChicoryBlue
Hazel is healing!
An adorable baby update
 Some Boneless chickens!

@rural mouse
Absolutely gorgeous birds!
Looks like the broodies are sharing!
Another chick update!
Thirsty birds!

@featherhead007
Very pretty birds!

@Ikslo
What a pretty flock!
Curiosity, what a great name

@Ponypoor
Beautiful Thirsty Thursday
Flooded yard is a waterpark!

@knoturavggrl
Floating caterpillar!
Silkie math has hit!

@notabitail
What a cute pic!

@TX Chick Noob
Such cutie patooters

I hope everyone has a good week!
P.s. Periwinkle wants to be broody now too.
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Thanks ever so much for an awesome synopsis! I have just been skipping pages past couple weeks.

Oh Periwinkle! It’s too hot to be broody! You should do what Henny Penny and Georgie do and go broody late fall!

 

[Ikslo]

Trying to clean up my garden a bit before it hits 106 today. Fennel went to seed. I already have enough in the kitchen so I cut off all the heads and threw it into the run. Einstein was pleased. I also cut up some overgrown chard and put it in cold water with some frozen corn and frozen cranberries and leftover popcorn. They seem to be enjoying that. And if it gets extra water into them then I am happy. They seemed okay with the heat yesterday, mostly staying in the shade and dust baths. None were exhibiting signs of heat stress. Yesterday they did get frozen corn and tomato blocks at the height of the heat. I forgot to freeze anything for today. But they seem happy with the cold greens. We’ll see how they look later.

 

[Marie2020]

Oh ya! They love paddling in the flooded ponding and generally making a mess. @RebeccaBoyd has chickens that catch minnows and crayfish.

July 2023, we had a huge thunderstorm with torrential rain, afterwards the chooks had a blast wading in the water catching all the bugs floating to the top.

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Their paradise ️

 

[featherhead007]

My little Elsa, just won’t let it go!
She don’t care that sticky mouse traps also trap feathered creatures too. Took me half an hour to get her unstuck! Now she’s running out in the yard covered in Wesson oil!

 

[Ikslo]

Curiosity just grabbed little Angel, but she’s a fighter and got away. To his credit he didn’t chase her and left her alone. (This is our first time with cockerels so we are basically just observing and not interfering with that which chickens are wont to do.)