Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Happy Monday.
I loved this Tassels & Geronimo mugshot sequence.
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And of course, there are always more mugs!
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Beautiful family.

 

[BY Bob]

The Littles all went down for the count in the sun.
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No amount of encouragement from Tassels could get them back on their feet.
So she joined them.
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There are worse ways to spend your time Tassels.

 

[BY Bob]

Chippy tried to roost on the big roost this evening.
This was not what Tassels had in mind.
Chippy got brought into line quite unambiguously and is back tucked into the cardboard box with the others.

Momma knows best.

 

[BY Bob]

Well, babies are scheduled to be picked up tomorrow night. Catching them after dark (or at least 3/4 dark) is going to be an adventure.

Mugs

View attachment 4209302Violet

View attachment 4209303babies have learned well about the assorted uses of the half-barrels

View attachment 4209300Focus and Shan (hold still girl!)

View attachment 4209301and Lark (Shan still in motion, gets that from her daddy, Cheetah)

View attachment 4209299Maizie, playing Jungle Chicken

The babies are getting big! I guess they are ready to go.

 

[Ponypoor]

Everyone, I need some help.
So, all of the chickens are currently in this area of the yard.
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However they cannot get along. Tony is attacking them as well as Parmesan and I need them to get along because I plan to put them in the same coop together when the weather gets colder. The problem is because the coop (AKA shed) is small and I can only imagine them fighting non stop during the cold season. These little ones are like wild birds, always running around, getting scared and all that. Can anyone give me any tips to calm the little ones down and stop Tony and the twins from attacking them? It's getting to a point... I know that Ancona chickens (Raven) have an active temperament. Ameraucana chickens (Hawk) tend to be curious and calm. Hawk seems to show the curious part but the calm part, not so much.

Ok well, I have 43 chooks running loose in my 30’ x 60’ barn, most would say that’s not enough room for that many chooks. But the big difference is there are rooms (stalls, hen house, unused portion of barn…) that are all places the chooks can run to, hide in, and dig around it. They can also get up on things. It’s very 3 dimension here, there are squabbles but very minor - everyone can get away from whomever is irritating them.

If you can put up some barriers so they can break eye contact and get out of sight that will help, also put in more things to hop up on, it needn’t be high. I have an old chest I use to store horse blankets in, and that is a huge favourite to hop up on and roost on. I gave up trying to keep it clean, it now belongings to the chickens. If you can find/buy a sheet of plywood, you can cut it lengthwise and fasten the top long edge to make an ‘A’ frame that then can run under as a tunnel and hop up onto, a 4’ x 8’ sheet of plywood cut lengthwise will give you an 8’ long tunnel about 2’ high. Just make sure to not have any gaps along the top they can catch a toe in.

There are lots of ideas out there for creating barriers and play areas.

 

[BY Bob]

And the parentals
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2 mauve eggs from Ethel
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1 blue from Roadrunner
View attachment 42112042 light pink from Chocolate
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1 from Delft

And the daddies?
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Quartz
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Riddick

Going to be some beautiful babies.

 

[BY Bob]

Oy vey... Well... Let's see if I can hold myself together.

About an hour ago Aliss fell asleep. Within minutes she was gone. I don't know what happened. She was doing so well today. I was about to give her a piece of my dinner and she was just lying there, her comb was starting to turn pale, she was still warm. She must have just passed. I held her and rocked her and kissed her over and over and cried. I had to bury her by myself, my dad is sleeping. I'm just stunned, and my heart is broken. I don't know what happened. I'm just glad she went in her sleep. I hope she wasn't in pain. And I'm happy her last day was good. I'm just so... More than sad. I don't know how else to put it, just heartbroken. I didn't expect it. I didn't think it would hit me so hard.

I'm so very very sorry. It's never easy to lose them even when you know their time is near and you did not have that warning.




Please feel free to post a tribute here if you would like.

 

[BY Bob]

Some old twofers
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Sybil has been doing just fine without her bff as far as I can tell. The flock definitely feels different... But I can't tell how much of that is just me. There's definitely a tangible hole where Aliss was. I know there's four but I still want to look for five. I look at the spot where I buried her, in the ferns where they all liked to chill out during the heat of summer, and half expect to see her standing there. She isn't there at my heels anymore while I walk around the yard. She doesn't come running like a bat out of hell when I call for treats. I wonder how deeply the girls feel her absence? She was their leader. She was at the center of everything in their world. From my outside perspective it looks like they're all taking it in stride... But they don't seem to be as together throughout the day. Like their glue is gone. It's a strange feeling.

Thank you everyone who has sent kind words, and advice. I appreciate each and every one of you. I'm too overwhelmed to respond to everyone individually but just know I'm really grateful for your support

It can take weeks for a flock to settle after the loss of one, especially there leader.

 

[BY Bob]

Kids are Up to No Good

The girls have been up to mischief recently.

You didn't really want those petunias did you? They did leave the dandelion though.

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This is how they eat an apple. I expect that Mrs BY Bob will be peeling the apples for them soon.
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And this morning, the Sweet Williams!

 

[BY Bob]

Everyone, I need some help.
So, all of the chickens are currently in this area of the yard.
View attachment 4212068
View attachment 4212070
However they cannot get along. Tony is attacking them as well as Parmesan and I need them to get along because I plan to put them in the same coop together when the weather gets colder. The problem is because the coop (AKA shed) is small and I can only imagine them fighting non stop during the cold season. These little ones are like wild birds, always running around, getting scared and all that. Can anyone give me any tips to calm the little ones down and stop Tony and the twins from attacking them? It's getting to a point... I know that Ancona chickens (Raven) have an active temperament. Ameraucana chickens (Hawk) tend to be curious and calm. Hawk seems to show the curious part but the calm part, not so much.

Is blood being drawn or are these pecks to the back? The type of "attack" is important. The chicken being pecked can make things seems much worse than they are with their reaction. Pay attention to the peck itself.

Usually the best thing to do is to let them work out out themselves. It eventually settles down.