Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Nobody bought the three pullets, so they're camping out in the shed while dad and my hubby try to pull the shed over.
I am also the proud owner of three creaky bagpipes
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The man said they're great for deterring predators, and of course they eat ticks by the bucketful.

Oh no! Chicken math strikes again! Congrats!

 

[BY Bob]

Porcini clearly went to modeling school - look at that posture!

Yes indeed. That is very good. Excellent form!

 

[BY Bob]

Found the nest! Under the rosemary next to the house. She’s never laid on the ground before. BUT this is a nice moist, cool spot (due to the garden irrigation), and we have been having very hot weather. View attachment 4178351
Sneaky sneaky

Oh my! That's a lot of eggs!

 

[BY Bob]

I think I found the pattern and it's free.



https://easycraftspatterns.com/crochet-chicken-egg-basket-free-pattern/

Thank you so much! This is truly appreciated

 

[BY Bob]

No fireflies.

Maybe I should send you some to reseed your property.........

 

[Marie2020]

Oh no! Chicken math strikes again! Congrats!

She needs to have a chat with @Ponypoor

Second thoughts that isn't such a good idea

 

[BY Bob]

She needs to have a chat with @Ponypoor

Second thoughts that isn't such a good idea

You called it Marie. Not good to put 2 enablers together.

 

[bgmathteach]

FBA chicken's weekly synopsis
13 - 19 July 2025​

Link to last week's synopsis by @SimpleJenn .

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@BY Bob​

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Smart Sydney is starting her moult now, so she can be done when it gets cold !​

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A Monday mug for Hattie's fanclub.​

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Weather wise teenagers won't go to bed !​

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A very happy day at Fluffy butt acre : Hattie turned 7 ! She may be the oldest chicken that ever lived at FBA. Happy hatch day to Hattie !​

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Another milestone for the Phillystines that made Mrs By Bob very happy.​

And ...some tips on how to tell them apart !​

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@ChicoryBlue​

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First intermingling between the chicks and the adults, which went rather well overall !​

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@drstratton​

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FBA welcomed back @drstratton ! But, we were all shocked and sad when almost all the flock was killed by a dog that broke in. A sad situation, occurring while they are away for the week. It seems the two survivors Maybelline and Penny are doing good.​

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@featherhead007​

Chick-fil-A, the little dude from the game bird clan is wounded but impossible to catch.​

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Dakota has been feeling a bit unwell, we hope she improves !​

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@Grandma The Chicken​

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Happy memory : a video of the very much missed Grandma eating vanilla cake.​

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@Ikslo​

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Meet Walnut for Monday mug !​

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Curiosity the cockerel is so proud of himself for his half failed attempt to mount Einstein .​

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Einstein may has switched her "laying tree" ? Check this post for an interesting nest !​

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@kattabelly​

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How eggciting... A first egg ! It never gets old .​

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@knoturavggrl​

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The whole flock in picture - that is, until the babies come home next week hopefully!​

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@Ponypoor​

A good coop is one that accounts for the local weather and situation and having the henhouses in the barn is very confortable for Kelly and her chooks.​

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A bunch of her chickens have also started moulting early.​

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Making sure the chickens.stay confortable in horrid weather - thankfully it didn't last.​

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@RebeccaBoyd​

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There will be some decisions to make on roosters for the flock's future ; Rebecca needs time to watch the growing boys.​

Goose's little guy picked himself a name !​

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A wonderful post on handling young chickens with a child.​

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@RoyalChick​

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This week at the palace was all about learning to use the new rat proof feeder. The smaller princesses had to work together ; Tassels was very proud of her success !​

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Piglet had a hard time with the heat. Happy to know she was better as soon as it cooled down!​

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@rural mouse​

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A chick fix video, with some very interesting interactions between chicks and adults : noticeably not all chicks are allowed the same things, and Tuff wasn't allowed near any of them.​

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Another chick video : tiny, fast and bold.​

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Combs explained.​

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Flying ants are a rare seasonal delicacy in the chicken world !​

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@SimpleJenn​

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Mr handsome in black is happy, Delft is back with the flock.​

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Owl is turning into a gorgeous guy.​

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Jenn had an incubator issue but after candling 31 eggs are still good.​

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An escapee had an adventure!​

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@Sylvester017 ​

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Having a weatherproof outdoor coop can be quite a challenge.​

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Mirror mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all ?​

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@TX Chick Noob​

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Look how gorgeous Cotton is ! (Even though some may claim he has nothing to do with a chicken )​

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@TOMTE​

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The two bigger girls have bumblefoot unfortunately. I have to agree with the advice given, please do not attempt surgery unless all other options have failed​

Spoiler: Here is why

Having dealt with bumblefoot over and over again, I followed this thread a few months ago, where a beloved rooster ended up loosing his foot to infection after home surgery, even though their owner had done it several times before successfully on other birds, and even though they had sterilised tools and foot as well as they could. A rare occurrence, but why take the risk ?​

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Thank you @ManueB - nicely done.

Also, so nice to see you again - I hope you are doing well and that your chooks are in good health.

 

[bgmathteach]

Advice and opinions needed. Issues are protein level & moving to non-medicated feed.

The new Buckeyes will be seven weeks old on Monday. Hatch Day was officially Monday June 2 according to Cackle. Though I suspect Shanai and one other are at least days older and could be leftover from the previous hatch week.

Protein:
For a couple of weeks now, since seeing somebody eat a feather, I’ve suspected the 18% protein medicated chick starter I’ve been feeding the Buckeyes has not really been enough protein for them. I wanted higher protein originally but could not find small bags of medicated starter with more. Two weeks ago I discovered Kalmbach makes a 50 lb bag of 20% medicated. In the above Kalmbach conversation the feed store chicks lady said unless you’re growing dual-purpose for meat 18% should be fine for egg producers. So that was an interesting take on it.

Do you feed for potential or not, and wouldn’t that ensure the best developmental situation for a body to produce eggs?

When I saw that chick /pullet eat a small cast-off feather two weeks ago I realized I had hardly ever seen any lying about, yet they’ve obviously changed their fluff several times. I attribute this to these guys, as Buckeyes, needing more protein. I saw lots of little cute feathers about with the Buff Orpingtons. Not here!

Could this behavior in chicks have another origin other than needing protein? Feather eating habit? I believe the last group of Buckeyes, from My Pet Chicken, left more chick feathers about, because I saved some, but I’m not sure how much. With the Buff Orpingtons there were tons of feathers.

I’ve been trying occasional protein supplementation. No-salt sardines seem to be the one they will eat. I found twice they actually don’t really like scrambled eggs. But I think proper protein needs to be a constant thing, in every meal, not a “treat”. I’d like to get a higher protein feed for them.

Non-Medicated feed:
So a non-medicated 24% game bird grower crumble is coming today. Hoping that it’s okay to mix and then switch them to it now. If they’ll eat it right off the bat, just make the switch. Is it a week too soon, or not soon enough? I did put dirt in with them after about ten days, and gave them fresh sod twice. They’ve had a dirt dust bath. That counts?

I have consciously delayed certain milestones, especially any interactions with the adults, by at least two weeks. Reasons: Hazel was actively sick (she’s fine now, her color is back and she’s back to her old self); my past experience with integrating everyone much earlier and Annie then getting so sick has made me gun-shy; and a big one is Isabel/Lizabel appears to be coming along, though slowly, but she is not quite as feathered-out as the others, & she shivers slightly when she’s dozed in my hands outside, and mainly what freaks me out is she displays this confounding “I’m-about-to-die” behaviour. I’m noticing her vision might be a little compromised in pecking accuracy.

They’ve been outside now on dirt occupied by chickens (a year ago, not currently) for a week, with nights back in the brooder inside, and last night was the first night out in their coop. The largest pullets have been more than ready, and wrangling them for transport back inside has gotten more difficult.

Since it was cold I ran power out there so they (Isabel, and maybe her small friend) could sit on a heating pad if they wanted. Everybody started out on the warmest part, and judging by the poops most moved to the cooler part, with some half-off it. The last Buckeye chicks liked to sit with just their breast on the warmth.

My 2 cents: I think what the Feed store person was referring to: I have read that the hybrids/high egg layer breeds have been bred for a better conversion rate, so do not need as high of a protein level. However, the heritage breeds (i.e. un 'enhanced') need the higher protein levels. ( such as 'red star' versus 'barred rock/buff orpingtons). Note that many of the so-called 'heritage breeds' are somewhat enhanced in their breeding, but not to the extreme that say, Leghorns or the hybrids. (There is definite data on conversion rates - i.e. how many lbs of feed needed for 1lb. of bird weight - and breeds such as leghorns and cornishX have a much higher efficiency rate than, say, TRUE heritage BR or Orpingtons). I create my own 'all flock' because I can't get any organic locally. I use a 16% soy free layer, 17% poultry grower, and 21% turkey grower and mix to get about a 19% proteen level. (I don't just use the turkey grower and soy free layer as the turkey grower had a different % of the essential proteins than chicken feed......)

So, in a nutshell, my 2 cents is that I think many non-production breeds need a higher protein level. I also supplement during high protien need times (spring 'flush' & molt time). I also mix my own scratch and the ratios of that mix vary by season as well. More BSFL/mealworms & more nuts (mostly walnuts - yes, I know, expensive!) during those times.

All that said - I have absolutely no relevant studies to prove this need.

Edit to add: I can't find what I read previously (10+ years ago?, but this is what I came across when looking for that

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Hmmm, I didn't know velociraptors dust bathed as well. Clearly this was the 'shake-off point

Great catch being able to get a photo of that!

 

[bgmathteach]

Nobody bought the three pullets, so they're camping out in the shed while dad and my hubby try to pull the shed over.
I am also the proud owner of three creaky bagpipes
View attachment 4178302
View attachment 4178303
The man said they're great for deterring predators, and of course they eat ticks by the bucketful.

I didn't know bagpipes needed to be fed/eat??????