Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[RebeccaBoyd]

Becky, maybe you should get some exotic plants? Meat eating Venus fly trap? I’d love to see a terrarium full of those things.

I can grow flowers outside. I actually enjoy it and worked in a greenhouse for a few years long ago. I'm enjoying my foray into aquatic plants and doing ok. House plants, no, they die. Well, I can keep a spider plant alive but that is about the extent of it. I had a venus fly trap when I was a senior in high school going on 23 years ago. I kept it alive for I think 8ish months before it died. Interestingly enough, while yes they will catch a fly they require more care then just flies.

We used to have beautiful flower beds along the front of the house. My brother and his group of friends along with my sister and her group of friends all playing ball in the yard were death to the beds. Add in the fact that we were spending a small fortune keeping diseases and bugs off our roses. Did not help that my neighbor also had roses who did nothing to hers. They were always infested with aphids which would then come to mine. Never ending expensive process.

I decided if I'm going to spend a small fortune on something, let's spend it on the chickens.

That being said, I'm eyeing something. Been following a page on facebook. They have chickens and donkeys and such. This year they planted dahlia's. This fall they hope to offer some tubers from some of their dahlia's. If I have a weakness besides roses it is dahlia's.

 

[SimpleJenn]

Can you use some 2x4s to reinforce the roof? A couple ground to roof...put it on a flat rock or paver, and you can use one of these at the top to fasten the metal run to the 2x4. Use a couple of 2x4s along the length for support. You can also run a 2x4 the length of the top...fasten the pipe of the run to it, then put a couple 2x4 uprights under it - that would be even better. (I would also suggest a couple of cross bars, but without seeing evertying, not sure how to do that.)

I will see what dad and hubby think.

 

[rural mouse]

Beautiful picture here! Calendar or POW worthy!View attachment 4209312

Done

 

[Ponypoor]

The satin feathers on the silkie body give the Satin Silkie the advantage of the insulation, wind-proofing and water-shedding of regular feathers, a real plus for the chicken.

Kinda get the best of both worlds, the body shape cuteness and then good practicality. Have you trimmed around their eyes? Because they look like they can see better, too.

The feather duster fluff is admittedly very pretty though.

One thing I was just thinking looking at Henny is that even though she has regular feathers she still isn’t a very good flier. She can fly up better than the silkies can, but I think she has inherited those short silkie wings and that stumpy body. It isn’t conducive to flying!

 

[Ponypoor]

Can you use some 2x4s to reinforce the roof? A couple ground to roof...put it on a flat rock or paver, and you can use one of these at the top to fasten the metal run to the 2x4. Use a couple of 2x4s along the length for support. You can also run a 2x4 the length of the top...fasten the pipe of the run to it, then put a couple 2x4 uprights under it - that would be even better. (I would also suggest a couple of cross bars, but without seeing evertying, not sure how to do that.)

What I will be doing with my two fabric covered sheds here is to run a 2x6 horizontally along the roof of the structure, these will be held up with more vertical 2x6 (as posts), every 6’.

Those fabric structures are not built for snow country - and yet they are still sold in these places. Last winter I was going out twice a day for a month clearing snow off them. And the gazebo we put up, it’s just cheaply old flimsy tin on the roof and not at all engineered for snow load. Thankfully I did put a support post and beams under it. But it also was being scrapped of snow daily.

After last winter here, and so many flattened ones, people stopped buying those flimsy fabric and tin structures, and stores have a glut of them now. Even the prefab plastic sheds are not built for snow load. But people forget what a real winter is all about or come up from the city (Toronto) where they don’t get snow like here. Big eye opener last winter for those people!

Building Tax
It’s a lovely Autumn day here

 

[WhoDatChick]

Cute little d’uccles! I got one just like itView attachment 4207907
Love the close up bestView attachment 4207908

I wonder why the second photo doesn’t show? Does anyone else see it?

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

Shrimp update.

I just spotted my berried ghost shrimp momma. She has not released her hostages yet. Those eggs, are definitely fertile and close to hatching though.

 

[RoyalChick]

I wonder why the second photo doesn’t show? Does anyone else see it?

Yup it shows.

 

[Ponypoor]

I can grow flowers outside. I actually enjoy it and worked in a greenhouse for a few years long ago. I'm enjoying my foray into aquatic plants and doing ok. House plants, no, they die. Well, I can keep a spider plant alive but that is about the extent of it. I had a venus fly trap when I was a senior in high school going on 23 years ago. I kept it alive for I think 8ish months before it died. Interestingly enough, while yes they will catch a fly they require more care then just flies.

We used to have beautiful flower beds along the front of the house. My brother and his group of friends along with my sister and her group of friends all playing ball in the yard were death to the beds. Add in the fact that we were spending a small fortune keeping diseases and bugs off our roses. Did not help that my neighbor also had roses who did nothing to hers. They were always infested with aphids which would then come to mine. Never ending expensive process.

I decided if I'm going to spend a small fortune on something, let's spend it on the chickens.

That being said, I'm eyeing something. Been following a page on facebook. They have chickens and donkeys and such. This year they planted dahlia's. This fall they hope to offer some tubers from some of their dahlia's. If I have a weakness besides roses it is dahlia's.

Day Lillie’s are also very nice and there are varieties the flower a couple times in the summer. Not sure if they are poisonous to the chooks but as you’re not free ranging anymore they should be fine.

I am going to move my rhododendrons up here and plant in the ‘Rooster Run’. I think someone here posted that their chooks were hiding amongst their rhododendrons a while back and got me thinking again of moving them here. I trust the chooks not to try eating them!

As for roses, the Japanese beetles have decimated ours. And nothing seems to work at keeping them away. I do collect them for the chooks to enjoy, but there are so many of them. Seems to be more and more invasive species lately. We never used to have possums here, or stink bugs, long horned beetles, Asian beetles…. I am waiting for those Joro spiders to arrive! Wonder what the chooks will think of huge spider !

 

[Ponypoor]

I wonder why the second photo doesn’t show? Does anyone else see it?

I see it fine - love that photo