Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[janiedoe]

Sadly, she’s dying. I’m in the ER mysrlf and hope to get home in time to cuddle her warm and say goodbye.

I am so sorry

 

[CCsGarden]

Poor baby! Cursed plastic!

Tarps are dangerous too when they begin to deteriorate. Yrs ago our Silkie Violet got hobbled from long stringy tarp pieces. TG I saw her walking funny before she got hurt from it.

Now I get after DH to throw out any tarp that begins the slightest wear! We constantly have to patrol the yard for floating grocery bags, balloons, trash, etc. Our Santa Ana Winds are vicious here & blow stuff into the yard.

When idiot neighbors shoot off illegal aerial fireworks we have to check the yard for their debris in our yard before letting the hens out.

Yeah, I don't have any tarps.

 

[rural mouse]

@RoyalChick this one's for you.

10 stayed inside until after breakfast was delivered.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Run build is ongoing...pavers added on one edge under the posts & wire run supports to keep the swale side of the run from sinking. The ground may have shifted to “fall” toward / into the swale next to it. Not the French drain but a deep swale excavated some years ago that the French drain goes to. You can see the swale stones just beyond the run litter boards

A pullet with the Bigs

Pullets in the pool, might begin dustbathing!

No…a sunbath instead!

Annie looking fine

Hazel is molting; Shehnai clambering on her doesn’t help her comfort I’m sure

She's doing okay dealing with the Hormonal Idiot. Sessions with him, the chase and capture, are not fun. Not visibly injured so far, when she gets caught she positions herself pretty well and is very stable while he fumbles around slipping off her and moving his feet all over the place, figuring out how to do this and stay on her. I saw his foot push out and step on her wing for instance, but I think he mostly stepped on feathers. Mornings, then an afternoon shot at mating her after the midday siesta, usually not too successful, but later he's downright hunting for her in the evening. The pullets are still also mimicking Shehnai giving short chases, and she confronts them, generally flares at them twice before running away.

In between all is fairly peaceful and she relaxes some when she sees from his body language he's on to something else, but she keeps her distance. She doesn't obsess about where he is, it's interesting to watch how "in the moment" she is. If he is out of sight she'll do her regular chicken things. Sometimes she is shocked and surprised when he comes back from a corner he just went around, very funny! He might be learning some about what’s acceptable and what isn’t, his behavior is refining in some vague way, just an intuition on my part.

Shehnai has crowed! He was standing tall as if he had spied something to look out for. Then he got taller and flapped his wings. Then he did it again, with a crow! So far he crows about three times each morning and that's it.

Currently sounds like "Toodle-ee-doo!"
Shehnai preening

Shehnai mug

Hazel is getting pretty good at staying with the orps for protection and hiding from his sight, and the orps might be learning their part too. A couple days ago Diane led her up into the coop to roost early during a lull in the chasing, Hazel agreed and didn’t throw her out. Shehnai didn't try to follow them in there, though the last night he did, causing all kinds of squawking and rummaging sounds. Don’t know if he succeeded in mating her, but he came back out after several seconds. I could see he had had the idea because he jumped up there and looked around while Hazel and one of the BO’s were hanging about the coop door thinking about going in for the night. Then he was chased down, but went back after they went in. I took pics when he got up there and the pullets followed

If the pullets are like the last group of Buckeyes they would lay a first egg in early December, if the light were right. (June 2 hatchday; the last group were hatched July 6 and laid Jan 4th.) Will they be squatting in November then? How soon before the actual egg so their hormones become evident to a roo? Shehnai is sort of grabbling/stabbing them on the neck now, but not trying anything more.
Pullet photo-bombing

Here Hazel’s taking refuge with Annie this morning when she’s in there to lay her egg

For a couple of days I’ve been closing up the wire run with Hazel and the orps in there for about half an hour to an hour while I do chores and hang out before doing run work. They eat and rest and dust bathe and are hidden behind the visual blocking screen. This also gives me time with Shehnai and the pullets to be close with them, undisturbed by the orps. They invariably come over to see what I’m doing and end up chasing the Buckeyes away so this is nice.

I've been concerned Hazel is spending much of her time in the forested aviary area which has a waterer but no feed, though she is getting bugs. When I brought food by hand up there she hungrily ate a lot, and I fed her twice. Might put a treadle feeder up there.

Here's Shehnai seemingly cooling off. He does this, likes to lay on some damp ground. He did some gathering motions while there.

 

[RoyalChick]

@RoyalChick this one's for you.

10 stayed inside until after breakfast was delivered.

Love it. Poor kitty - that was a tad undignified!
I am curious - why do you unlatch the people sized door when the chickens use the little door?

 

[rural mouse]

Love it. Poor kitty - that was a tad undignified!
I am curious - why do you unlatch the people sized door when the chickens use the little door?

So I can get to the metal latch for the bird door. I put that inside because sub-freezing temps, snow, ice, and metal are COLD. I also have the bucket of pellets to take inside, so leaving it unlatched until that's done makes sense. I've also learned to NOT open the big door and head right in. It's like trying to go wrong way on a one way street in heavy traffic.

 

[RoyalChick]

So I can get to the metal latch for the bird door. I put that inside because sub-freezing temps, snow, ice, and metal are COLD. I also have the bucket of pellets to take inside, so leaving it unlatched until that's done makes sense. I've also learned to NOT open the big door and head right in. It's like trying to go wrong way on a one way street in heavy traffic.

Ah. Very clever. Yes, makes sense. Basically the chickens stop the door door latch freezing with their body heat.

 

[bgmathteach]

Thanks. I missed her. I’m being treated for a kidney infection.

Oh, Michelle, I am sorry to hear this. I know you loved sweet Minnie!

I hope you feel better soon, kidney issues are no fun at all - hope the infection clears up quickly and there aren't any other issues going on.

 

[bgmathteach]

She is definitely still mothering them. They are not roosting because she summons them back into her cardboard box each night.
She seems to be doing a slow molt - she lost her tail and is regrowing it. The cardboard box is full of her feathers and she looks a bit thin around the neck - but she is still quite resplendent with fluff, and her main body feathers are glowing.
The only relaxation of control I see is that she doesn't share 100% of the food she finds or the treats I bring. She still calls them over, and she still gives most of it to the Littles, but if they are slow to show up she eats it herself. Apart from that she is still very much large and in charge!

I personally think you can help this along a bit by removing the dog crate with the cardboard box. They should be learning to roost at night now- I think removing that might help getting Tassels to roost in the evening (or, maybe, instead she will nest in a nest box with them - in which case the dog crate would be better so eggs don't get poopy.)

This helps them along a bit as, on a long roost, they can't all fit under momma...and, at the very least, you can reach the outermost chicks and hold them once it is dark. (if the roost is too high where they are, a shovel handle for them to step onto works great). I suspect Mr Chips and Geronimo will be on the outside of the group more often than not, since mom has to scold them into coming to bed with her!

 

[TX Chick Noob]

Hey y’all.

I’m ok. Most of the chooks are ok. Have had some new egg layers and lost one of my first members of my flock. Life has just been crazy. I’m several weeks behind reading this thread, and always hate posting before I catch up to avoid SHRA Tax. Lol. But promise to try to post a better update soon.

PS - @RoyalChick - Not sure if there is a final verdict yet. I was also stressed about having a Roo, ended up with two. So far so good.