Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[ChicoryBlue]

I still think he’s beautiful. But I don’t think he will be wandering off anymore

Oh he is beautiful! Was it @Ponypoor who mentioned Aseel? There is something about him that looks like more than OE game in there. Maybe it’s his young age but he’s so skinny, tall and long-necked. Not like adult game rooster pictures. Hopefully he’ll stick around to show us all.

Sorry I didn’t know Chick Fil-a was the same fellow who got his comb cut off.

 

[Sylvester017]

Yes, they would be, and I've kept in mind your mention of this before, trying to think it through. By my (possibly screwy) thinking they weren't exactly overdue because real exposure itself to the wild was delayed, though they did have some outside dirt with them in the brooder relatively early on (other contributing factors: Hazel sick, Isabel's fainting spells).

Is it chick age conferring resilience by certain weeks of age, or length of exposure to the local coccidiosis strains (I had read two weeks) conferring a level of immunity gained, that is the guideline here? It's not clear to me.
But as RC mentioned, there is the school of thought which throws all that out and says do without and treat if they get sick.
@RoyalChick @rural mouse @TOMTE @bgmathteach

You remind me of...me! I'm a chicken helicopter parent & overthink too...

 

[ChicoryBlue]

I'm not sure on that. With this batch of chicks, they're not vaccinated for anything and they're not on medicated feed. 1. The medicated stuff I could find here has a lower protein content than the all flock pellets I have for the adults. (18 vs 20%) 2. I found all flock crumbles with the 20% of the pellets and I knew I wasn't going to be able to feed separately without some major fence building (don't have the time and negates the efforts for broody raised in the flock).

Currently, what's going in the feed bucket in the coop is a mix of the pellets and the crumbles. I don't have the adults trying to hog the baby food and there isn't "more desirable" food "over there". Mamas will break up pellets if necessary, but so far they haven't needed to that I've seen. During one of my observation periods. I was seeing chicks actively hunting moths who's bodies were similar sized to the pellets. Are full sized pellets more difficult for babies to eat? Yes, if that's exclusively what they eat. Can they eat them? Yes, as long as they have plenty of other options.

They've breeched the Garden fenceView attachment 4178888and are ranging all the way to the woodpile and the slopes below the coop. They're dining on lots besides the 20% protein commercial feeds.

View attachment 4178889somethings on the leaf is rather popular.

Have I done medicated feed before? Yes. Will I in future? Maybe. Depends upon what's going on here and what I can find protein-wise.

Very informative and interesting, and it looks like a great place to be a chick! GREAT pictures, thank you. It is so much more natural to broody-raise. Maybe they don’t become pets for us as much, unless you can spend time as a secondary “mother” to them. But they get such a wider experience to be chickens.

It feels very selfish of me, but I’m in withdrawal now that they’re in their coop, and not sleeping inside with me. So I have the chicks on camera and I can monitor them, but mainly what I’m really enjoying is hearing their cooing and purring and bedtime talk. Miss that!

 

[featherhead007]

Very informative and interesting, and it looks like a great place to be a chick! GREAT pictures, thank you. It is so much more natural to broody-raise. Maybe they don’t become pets for us as much, unless you can spend time as a secondary “mother” to them. But they get such a wider experience to be chickens.

It feels very selfish of me, but I’m in withdrawal now that they’re in their coop, and not sleeping inside with me. So I have the chicks on camera and I can monitor them, but mainly what I’m really enjoying is hearing their cooing and purring and bedtime talk. Miss that!

I miss that also. They coo and purr. As if they were lowing me to sleep.

 

[Sylvester017]

More of the extended tribe:View attachment 4179054View attachment 4179057View attachment 4179059View attachment 4179061

Are you sure these guys aren't storks... or cranes? Those are the longest legs I've seen on any game chicken? Beautiful assorted patterns

 

[rural mouse]

Very informative and interesting, and it looks like a great place to be a chick! GREAT pictures, thank you. It is so much more natural to broody-raise. Maybe they don’t become pets for us as much, unless you can spend time as a secondary “mother” to them. But they get such a wider experience to be chickens.

It feels very selfish of me, but I’m in withdrawal now that they’re in their coop, and not sleeping inside with me. So I have the chicks on camera and I can monitor them, but mainly what I’m really enjoying is hearing their cooing and purring and bedtime talk. Miss that!

That's a good excuse to go out and sit with them.

I'm actually surprised. All 3 ladies will bring their chicks by and hang out. Cardhu wants more distance but still comes in to about 5 feet.

Thanks for giving them babies?
Showing off their family?
Recognizing me as part of the flock?
Responding to my efforts to bring out little humans with yummy goodies?

They're surprisingly willing to let me hang out with the look but don't attempt to touch sort of thing.

introduced the babes to the cherries. I went out, sat on the steps watching for a bit, then realized there were lots of cherries up high, so walked into the bush to help pull them down

within 2 feet of PITA (her normal range is similar to Cardhu) who flared up...until cherries started raining down. I do think if I'd tried to bend down and reach for a baby, she'd have let me have it, justifiably.

Instead...

babies got summoned enmass.

 

[Sylvester017]

They are very lovely. They look more like Aseel than game birds to me.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/aseel...ed-what-you-need-to-know--878483471042286629/

Or a Yamato Gunkei... or just an American Game Fowl? Anyway you see it... they're raised for fighting poor things.

 

[Sylvester017]

That's a good excuse to go out and sit with them.

I'm actually surprised. All 3 ladies will bring their chicks by and hang out. Cardhu wants more distance but still comes in to about 5 feet.

Thanks for giving them babies?
Showing off their family?
Recognizing me as part of the flock?
Responding to my efforts to bring out little humans with yummy goodies?

They're surprisingly willing to let me hang out with the look but don't attempt to touch sort of thing.View attachment 4179329introduced the babes to the cherries. I went out, sat on the steps watching for a bit, then realized there were lots of cherries up high, so walked into the bush to help pull them downView attachment 4179330within 2 feet of PITA (her normal range is similar to Cardhu) who flared up...until cherries started raining down. I do think if I'd tried to bend down and reach for a baby, she'd have let me have it, justifiably.

Instead...
View attachment 4179331babies got summoned enmass.

Those itty-bitty tails still crack me up... so darn cute

 

[Ponypoor]

I'm not sure on that. With this batch of chicks, they're not vaccinated for anything and they're not on medicated feed. 1. The medicated stuff I could find here has a lower protein content than the all flock pellets I have for the adults. (18 vs 20%) 2. I found all flock crumbles with the 20% of the pellets and I knew I wasn't going to be able to feed separately without some major fence building (don't have the time and negates the efforts for broody raised in the flock).

Currently, what's going in the feed bucket in the coop is a mix of the pellets and the crumbles. I don't have the adults trying to hog the baby food and there isn't "more desirable" food "over there". Mamas will break up pellets if necessary, but so far they haven't needed to that I've seen. During one of my observation periods. I was seeing chicks actively hunting moths who's bodies were similar sized to the pellets. Are full sized pellets more difficult for babies to eat? Yes, if that's exclusively what they eat. Can they eat them? Yes, as long as they have plenty of other options.

They've breeched the Garden fenceView attachment 4178888and are ranging all the way to the woodpile and the slopes below the coop. They're dining on lots besides the 20% protein commercial feeds.

View attachment 4178889somethings on the leaf is rather popular.

Have I done medicated feed before? Yes. Will I in future? Maybe. Depends upon what's going on here and what I can find protein-wise.

This is why I also don’t worry about mine, they get lots of stuff in the barn and outside to consume,

 

[Ponypoor]

Or a Yamato Gunkei... or just an American Game Fowl? Anyway you see it... they're raised for fighting poor things.

But not these, they will be cherished eye candy, beautiful lawn ornaments.