Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Caturday
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I love their coloring.

 

[Ponypoor]

Galapagos ducks!
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Amazing! that must have been an awesome trip!

Exactly my thoughts. I am going to check her either late today or tomorrow, as I'm gone for the rest of the day and will try to get some. I wonder if it would make it more comfortable for her even if she is not losing much feathers yet? I do see a fluff under-feather sticking out here and there after these encounters.

But he is not going at her all day long. She is hiding for two hours in the coop during the morning rush. So far, no pullet has rousted her out of there in the morning.

However yesterday evening he had her three-four times in succession, hunting her non-stop in between. She went into the coop to escape and a pullet followed her in there and attacked her until she came out.

@BY Bob I am sort of interfering, in that I am proactively aiding her in some ways when I'm around, calling her to me sometimes when I'm standing in a spot that would be a better choice than where her panicked brain is telling her to run. She also runs to me as she does to a BO, standing behind me, using me as a shield, and I don't move away when she does that. Only twice I've lifted her up to a spot out of a trap between Shehnai and a pullet when I happen to be there. But I'm trying to let it play out and not appear as if I'm taking sides.

The BO's will hang with her but will also start foraging somewhere they find interesting. So Hazel will follow them. The BO's won't always be together in a tight group, so she has "outposts" she can run to. They also head off and push off the pullets a lot. But Annie was laying yesterday late afternoon, so they had a man down sort to speak, during the height of Shehnai's urges. That was quite a disadvantage for Hazel.

Seeing a pullet roust her out of the coop where she's gone to escape (twice I've seen that) is not fun. Hoping the pullets coming into lay in a few weeks will take the pressure off her. There are no safe zones for her, just places she can run until Shehnai and the pullets stop the spurt of chase.

I also have shut the BO's and Hazel in the big run for a break and left Shehnai and the pullets to the aviary area a couple of times. But I do want the two groups to integrate for winter when the aviary area will be closed to them. I am considering if with the configuration I'm planning I can make temporary divides of the runs and coops in winter if this level of stress continues. Right now the coops are both open to the big aviary area while I'm doing construction on the runs, so she has to have access through there to get to her coop in the evening.

If I feel a Roo or another hen is being excessively mean I intervene, I have picked up both Roos and Hens to stop what I consider bad behaviour. And I have locked individuals away to stop fighting (previous week with Misty and Raven brawling...), for the most part everyone gets along, but like all things there can be times when one needs to step in and calm the situation down.

Basically just complete havoc

Yes - for about 10 or 15 minutes is mayhem, then all of a sudden it will be quiet as everyone goes off and relaxes after eating breakfast and squabbling. They will all split up and go their spots like to hang out in and preen or have a snooze.

 

[BY Bob]

Exactly my thoughts. I am going to check her either late today or tomorrow, as I'm gone for the rest of the day and will try to get some. I wonder if it would make it more comfortable for her even if she is not losing much feathers yet? I do see a fluff under-feather sticking out here and there after these encounters.

But he is not going at her all day long. She is hiding for two hours in the coop during the morning rush. So far, no pullet has rousted her out of there in the morning.

However yesterday evening he had her three-four times in succession, hunting her non-stop in between. She went into the coop to escape and a pullet followed her in there and attacked her until she came out.

@BY Bob I am sort of interfering, in that I am proactively aiding her in some ways when I'm around, calling her to me sometimes when I'm standing in a spot that would be a better choice than where her panicked brain is telling her to run. She also runs to me as she does to a BO, standing behind me, using me as a shield, and I don't move away when she does that. Only twice I've lifted her up to a spot out of a trap between Shehnai and a pullet when I happen to be there. But I'm trying to let it play out and not appear as if I'm taking sides.

The BO's will hang with her but will also start foraging somewhere they find interesting. So Hazel will follow them. The BO's won't always be together in a tight group, so she has "outposts" she can run to. They also head off and push off the pullets a lot. But Annie was laying yesterday late afternoon, so they had a man down sort to speak, during the height of Shehnai's urges. That was quite a disadvantage for Hazel.

Seeing a pullet roust her out of the coop where she's gone to escape (twice I've seen that) is not fun. Hoping the pullets coming into lay in a few weeks will take the pressure off her. There are no safe zones for her, just places she can run until Shehnai and the pullets stop the spurt of chase.

I also have shut the BO's and Hazel in the big run for a break and left Shehnai and the pullets to the aviary area a couple of times. But I do want the two groups to integrate for winter when the aviary area will be closed to them. I am considering if with the configuration I'm planning I can make temporary divides of the runs and coops in winter if this level of stress continues. Right now the coops are both open to the big aviary area while I'm doing construction on the runs, so she has to have access through there to get to her coop in the evening.

To be clear there was no accusation in my comment. I'm sure this was discussed while I was out but if you don't mind, why is he fixated on poor Hazel? What's wrong with the Buff Orps? Does he not like their coloring?

 

[RoyalChick]

To be clear there was no accusation in my comment. I'm sure this was discussed while I was out but if you don't mind, why is he fixated on poor Hazel? What's wrong with the Buff Orps? Does he not like their coloring?

I think they are big and scary!

 

[kattabelly]

I read earlier that you don't have really cold weather there, I take it you are more of a maritime climate there: wet and milder winters, wet and cooler summers. No real extremes like one would get with more continental weather: hot dry summers, cold dry or snowy winters... ?

Do your birds have a covered housing or sorts to roost in at night? What type of predators are your biggest worry?

Low altitude and being surrounded by the sea keeps us (relatively!) warm and damp, plus it's a lot warmer this side of the Atlantic in general than the same latitudes over your way. We get lots of wind and rain but very little snow. There's less than ten degrees' (18 degrees in °F) difference between summer and winter average temperatures but the humidity and windchill can have a significant effect on what that actually feels like - forecast was showing 12C/54F but "feels like" 0C/32F the other day, and that's not unusual. Uphill rain is a thing.

I took over someone else's abandoned setup and I've been busy/lazy about doing all the work I have planned, so at the moment my chickens have a choice of the least knackered wooden coop that was already here, a plastic Nestera coop, and a few other spaces. I think small coops that only have enough space for nest boxes and a roost are more common in the UK in general, partly because of the climate but it might also be a cultural thing (smaller country; smaller properties). Sometimes they choose to roost outside when the weather's good and I don't try to stop them.

We have very few predators here compared to even the UK mainland. Dogs are probably the biggest potential threat but it's a farming area and most people know not to have uncontrolled dogs off-lead anywhere they might get to livestock. Cats, rats, stoats, gulls, ravens and birds of prey might go for chicks or very old or unwell/injured chickens but they're unlikely to try older juveniles or adult birds when there's much easier prey available. My chickens haven't ever wandered that far but I know other people here who've lost more birds to cars and other vehicles than they have to predation.

 

[Grandma The Chicken]

Very Late Caturday Indeed...
Here's a throwback.

 

[rural mouse]

Just read this article, found it interesting:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/13-spooky-chicken-behaviors-that-would-scare-you-if-you-didn’t-know-better.80276/

I have to differ on the purpose of some of the sounds ("Egg song"), but the whole was great!

 

[Ponypoor]

Good morning everyone!

Thought I would give you all a taste of morning chores here.

 

[rural mouse]

To be clear there was no accusation in my comment. I'm sure this was discussed while I was out but if you don't mind, why is he fixated on poor Hazel? What's wrong with the Buff Orps? Does he not like their coloring?

Questions no one else has asked! Good ones.

 

[Ponypoor]

To be clear there was no accusation in my comment. I'm sure this was discussed while I was out but if you don't mind, why is he fixated on poor Hazel? What's wrong with the Buff Orps? Does he not like their coloring?

Likely 'low hanging fruit' that is easy picking. I have noted that the less bold hens steer clear of the boys, they hide out away from their sight. Once the other pullets come into lay Mr S will be more interested in them likely.