Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[knoturavggrl]

Two of my favorite fluff breeds... can't wait to see the cuckoo adults

Me too! I am hoping they will flock with the silkies for the most part. They are slower like the silkies but they can see(no head floof) so maybe they will give the silkies a heads up? I know we can only guess and try but that’s my hope anyway.

I brought the chickens out in a crate the other day and introduced them to the main flock. The SFHs looked and then mostly ignored them but Nyx was entranced by them. Pebble hung close to them as well but I think he just didn’t want to leave Nyx lol.

 

[RoyalChick]

Me too! I am hoping they will flock with the silkies for the most part. They are slower like the silkies but they can see(no head floof) so maybe they will give the silkies a heads up? I know we can only guess and try but that’s my hope anyway.

I brought the chickens out in a crate the other day and introduced them to the main flock. The SFHs looked and then mostly ignored them but Nyx was entranced by them. Pebble hung close to them as well but I think he just didn’t want to leave Nyx lol.

View attachment 4203333

Adorable!

 

[rural mouse]

If you keep another cockerel & pullet, what will be your overall ratio? I know you tend to have a higher cockerel to pullet ratio due to the free ranging with no pens for safety......but you are already keeping one cockerel, correct, as a replacement.

It would put me at 36 birds, 5 of which roos. Ratio would work out to about 6 hens/1 roo long term.

How many generations of just your chicks do you have (weren't your initial starter flock from your mother-in-law?). I'm asking for genetic diversity - can you keep cockerels that you know are from her/FIL's flock - and how much genetic 'fresh genes' would that introduce. I no longer remember the lineage of all of yours, and know you have given them some of your chicks, too.....

Silver was the last of the seed start, but some of her sisters are still running around at the in-laws. Cheetah has 4 daughters here and 4 there. Whiskey is from there. Tuff is Cheetah's grandson, with his mother from there (but living here). Nellie and Thing are/were the only 2 with offspring there. There's a batch of new blood there that I don't know what they are (blue/black with blonde hackle/saddle feathers, green/moss/mint eggs). There's also the Bielefelders of which I've never gotten offspring from.

That said - if your flock will tolerate an additional cockerel without undo stress/fighting, I would say DO IT. Unfortunately, you have a lot of risks, and having an extra Roo as both a look-out and a defender is a good thing. It would mean each roo has to 'look out for' fewer hens, and allow for the flock to still be in a variety of places and still have a roo ( or two if a larger selection of hens) to be on the look-out.

Before making the decision on Hector (mostly based upon hen reactions to him), I had been planning on keeping 1 cockerel, putting my total at 5. Cheetah is 4, Whiskey (and Hector) 3, Tuff is 2. At this point, every year with Cheetah I consider a bonus. I don't know the lifespan of the Hamburgs so . I'm pretty sure pretty boy is a bielefelder mix so definitely new blood. The buff boy is probably a BO mix of some sort (quite a bit of that line there, Pippa, Maizie, Whiskey have it, and Tuff through mama Pippa/Maizie). There's the blue boy which MUST be from there as none of mine could produce the light edging on his hackles (would be red or black). There's the 1st to pop wattles boy who looks like a mini Whiskey. He could be Whiskey's son, or more likely full brother from there. Last one is a black boy with a dainty build. I think he is either Cheetah's son from Hetty/Nimbus, or Cheetah's grandson from Thing's daughters, so a male there. He doesn't have the 5th toe or the crest, nor has he popped any leakage yet which makes me think he doesn't have red in him (the red shoulders roo stuff), making the Thing possibility higher.

My 2 cents. You do what you feel you have space for (in the coop) and what the flock will tolerate and live peacefully with, while still maintaining enough genetic diversity. (and, maybe, help allay the urge for physical/color diversity in your flock.)

Middle 30s is about the limit. I'm wanting to keep 3-4 pullets. I want the Colombian marked, the Thing blue girl, and the splash girl. The other females consist of several golds, a couple of black, a couple of brown, the 3rd blue, and a couple of brown-dusted black. There's an assortment of feathered feet, beards, clean legs, no beards.

The golds I'm planing on sending there. A couple have that alertness/slim build that could be hamburg, leghorn, or something else which would be valuable there just for survival skills.

The darker toned chicks.....

upper right are the Bielefelder x and the splash. The heavy laced blue in the middle is the crested. The rest are some of the assorted, including the black cockerel.

the Whiskey mini, one of the Golden Girls, and some of the dark ladies.

more assortments (front trio: splash, crest, Colombian)

One of the dark, marked pullets

The lightest of the chocolate

Tailless blue boy

he's got to be from the blue boys there or the female version of those, or both, making him entirely new genetics. He's also a chunky boy.

Whiskey mini

the Bielefelder mix keeper.

I think it's safe to say there's enough variety in both flocks (mine has the brahmas, RIR, partridge rock....there has the green egger (some feathered feet, I swear there's black skin in some of these), buff orpingtons, Bielefelder...both have wyandottes, barred rock, EE (who knows what), australorp, and offspring from both sides.....and some offspring of offspring....

 

[Ponypoor]

We must all be sexagenarians to octogenarians (w/ an occasional thirty-something whipper snapper) on this thread to have so many health issues

Prayers for you, good fella

I’m only 19

With about 45 yrs of falling of crazy horses!

 

[Ponypoor]

She could if I asked her. Honestly, she is the only one I really trust with my camera and she can use it just as good as I can. I may be a bit overprotective of it if I'm honest. My family jokes that camera is my baby and I see where they come from. It will be hard to replace though. I've had it 14 years and I paid over $900 for it back then. Other then the quality of night photo's going down it still works like a dream. That does not bother me as it's not like I'm out at night taking pictures anyway.

Rosie has been taking lots of pictures of and with the chickens lately, all on her phone. I've been going out at night with her to do the final check on everyone and I've been having her use her phone for a flashlight. She gets sidetracked taking selfies with Mrs. E and Juice.

Rosie and I would be in good company….

Laverne came for a visit while I was having my tea, and of course she side tracked me with wanting selfies… bad Laverne!

Not sure if it’s my teeth or ear rings she is eyeing!

Oh hey! Look! It’s me!

Don’t worry I did get some work done today - mowed the grass/weeds/dead grass, cleaned and bedded down the stalls, cleaned the aisle floor sick), threw down hay, thinned the tomatoes…..

 

[Ponypoor]

Baby tail stubs crack me up... so cute

They all have a different stage of tail growth. Being a hybrid they each are different, but they all have these pink toes!

 

[Ponypoor]

Thank you.

I may have been against it when virtual was suggested for her this year by her guidance counselor, but it has turned out to be a blessing. Not only has she done her school work without me nagging her, which I really thought I would have to do. She is already 2 weeks ahead in all of her classes. She actually could be further ahead but she has to wait for them to be unlocked. She also has been watching me like a hawk to make sure I do not do nothing I should not be doing. If I need help with something she does it and has not uttered one single complaint. Now, she did leave me stranded in the recliner for about 20 minutes last Friday. I thought I was shouting for her, but when dad came in and let the recliner down he claims I was barely making a sound. It's possible, I was still very much out of it then. After that though when I'm in it I do not put it in the reclining position anymore.

Oh I sorry to laugh. I know that thinking you’re screaming but only grunting… I was the same when I had my wisdom teeth out.

I was sure I was yelling!

Silly me tax

Marty making sure everyone is behaving.

 

[RoyalChick]

I think Tassels is beginning to lose control.
There are only four - but somehow there are chicks everywhere! They don’t stray all that far from her but they are definitely no longer glued to her side and she is constantly needing to call them back when they get too far away.
Sometimes she calls and they flutter down from on high because they are definitely enjoying climbing up into branches.
Here are the spots I was seeing on Chippy.
View attachment 4203282

I take it back. Tassels is still very much in control.
The hawk flew over and she summoned them with one command. You never saw something move so fast as those chicks diving into the Chicken Palace and safety.
They are back out again now causing mischief.

 

[Sylvester017]

PONY...ERR...PUPPYSITTING SUNDAY DD's Golden Retriever & Pit ~ by DH today

Jackson

Quincy

 

[Ponypoor]

I take it back. Tassels is still very much in control.
The hawk flew over and she summoned them with one command. You never saw something move so fast as those chicks diving into the Chicken Palace and safety.
They are back out again now causing mischief.
View attachment 4203509

Had an eagle soar over earlier - wow - where did all the chickens go?! They scattered everywhere to safety.

Mamas and babies ran and hide deep in a tangle of goldenrod and burrs. They huddle in there not making a sound!

Later on I went to check them and Holly and Georgie came running and yelling at me! Babies in tow, them followed me back to the big blue spruce were everyone was staying.

Had a few other moments where they all scattered, they are definitely on high alert today. Everyone is quite antsy.

Even Whiskers was going bonkers more than her normal broody self. She and Ruth got into a huge row and Raven had to go and break it up. She ran Ruth off and gave Whiskers a small peck on the back as of to say ‘get a grip girl, go get some food’.

I made her go back on her nest she was just not calming down.

I checked P1 again and I feel a bit better about it, it’s not as big as the other egglets, it doesn’t fill the egg as much as the others do. But she is moving around so I’ll take it. This time next week they should all be hatched.

Time flies…..