Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

This one gets me - Shanai's expression...she's perching on the coop edge, perfectly balanced of course...she wasn't sure about the commotion behind her...Isabel & another were inching forward to inspect the phone!
View attachment 4212486

Oh that is so caption contest worth!

The expression is soooo rich! Just like her colouring

 

[Sylvester017]

Nothing butt tiny fluffy butts. Arrangement today is dot, dash, dash,
dot, dash, dot. They are trying to speak to me, I know it!
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9/3 we go our first tiny fairy egg from I assume the SFH’s. Silkie eggs are typically more white than this right?
I have gotten three more since then. So, I believe I have two laying so far.
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Pretty eggie

Typically Silkies are late layers... however, Silkie eggs come in all sizes & colors too.

These are all Silkie eggs from our 5 Silkies.

 

[Sylvester017]

Good old horse and cow poop

And chicken poop too

No smelly cow/horse poop in the city but we get enough garden poop from cleaning the coop

Or else... just let them lay the fresh stuff directly into the garden bed

 

[ChicoryBlue]

As long as not hardwood shavings do that. The Power company here was trimming trees and they gave me a load of wood chips - I used them for mulch around the gardens.

Hardwood is fine I think? - but no cedar (which is very rare around here these days) for chicken litter, or walnut if you’re going to throw the old litter on the garden. The walnut is not good wood chip mulch for blueberries, for instance.

 

[rural mouse]

Yep my thoughts eggsactly.

She’ll get all pullets hahahaha. I have all the Roos with the silkies

Then she gets a silkie or 2 to go with all the ladies

 

[knoturavggrl]

well, but I HAVE to hire someone to take the remains of that one and the other one down as it is too dangerous for us to fell it.....and it could do a whole lot more damage than what is already done....with a crane & ropes they will take it down in sections in a safe, controlled fashion....and if the have a commercial grade chipper (which they should), most of the branches would go through that and it would just be a matter of the trunks.


I think that you should add a couple smaller, low roosts. They can be temporary. (I made one out of a plastic 'outside side table') screw a scrap block of wood at opposite, diagonal corners, then screw a piece of 2x2 or 2x3 cut to length to each of those two blocks and 'viola' a lower in height, ~ 2' roost....can be moved later...gives them space to run under plus another roost in the coop. The beauty of this roost is that it is lower than (I think) your primary permanent roosts, so the older/bigs will prefer those higher ones, but this still gets the youngsters up roosting. And, if you no longer need it in the coop later on, it becomes another hide/run under/through/roost on area in the run as both obstacles and enrichment. I got mine for free....you could probably hit a tag/garage sale and find something that would work just as well. ?an old wooden chair (add a roost on the seat to get them roosting) A night stand? (take the flimsy back off if it is enclosed so it becomes a 'run through' as well as a roost on top, etc/, etc., Ohhh...low coffee tables work WONDERFUL, too!

I agree with @drstratton - put it in the run.....also gives them extra protected space for when it rains/snows, etc. That said, does it by any chance have 2 doors/openings? Less likely for them to get trapped in there by the bigs if so.

It’s a pretty good sized space but there is only one way in or out. My plan was to put in some tree log, leans to hide behind, and some things to jump up on, similar to the run. Same with the new coop there is only one way in and out.

 

[knoturavggrl]

Pretty eggie

Typically Silkies are late layers... however, Silkie eggs come in all sizes & colors too.

These are all Silkie eggs from our 5 Silkies.
View attachment 4212684

Oh wow that is more varied than I thought, thank you for sharing that picture. Yeah I would be shocked if it were Nyx, I guess all there is to do is wait it out. The size will tell the difference once they have been laying for a bit.

 

[Ponypoor]

Then she gets a silkie or 2 to go with all the ladies

She free ranges so she doesn’t want anything that is a sitting duck….

But…..

So she has an opportunity to get a whole flock (23 - all ages and genders) of (hold your breath…) d’Uccles - All colours also.

I told her they likely couldn’t be free ranged, I don’t know how well they fly. Also how cold tolerant are they?

Ok so who here knows anything about them? Beside the fact they have fuzzy legs

 

[rural mouse]

She free ranges so she doesn’t want anything that is a sitting duck….

But…..

So she has an opportunity to get a whole flock (23 - all ages and genders) of (hold your breath…) d’Uccles - All colours also.

I told her they likely couldn’t be free ranged, I don’t know how well they fly. Also how cold tolerant are they?

Ok so who here knows anything about them? Beside the fact they have fuzzy legs

So put some of your Mr P likely fertile eggs in too.

 

[Ponypoor]

So put some of your Mr P likely fertile eggs in too.

She’s going to grab the ones in her fridge from her BR.

I have read articles that cooling the eggs can aid in hatch rates if stored over 14 days.

I told her go for it, nothing to lose.