Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

Very Late Caturday Indeed...
Here's a throwback.
View attachment 4231183

Such a lovely moggy - and look at those eyes!

 

[rural mouse]

Meant to post this yesterday. When I got home

 

[Marie2020]

Amazing! that must have been an awesome trip!



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.



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.

Meanwhile poor Kelly's nerves are shattered

 

[Ponypoor]

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

Yes I also have a different thought on the whole 'egg song' thing, and studies have been done in that regard and I have read a few papers on it.

I have also seen wild birds that nest on the ground do similar things to 'distract predators' away from the nesting location. Killdeer have elaborate strategies for distracting would be predators from a nest. In the Spring I go around and put in stakes or other makers at their nests so I don't mow over them, also put a 'fence' around them to keep the horses away.

 

[Ponypoor]

Meanwhile poor Kelly's nerves are shattered

Nerves? what nerves? after over 40 years having horses I have no more nerves!

 

[rural mouse]

Yes I also have a different thought on the whole 'egg song' thing, and studies have been done in that regard and I have read a few papers on it.

I have also seen wild birds that nest on the ground do similar things to 'distract predators' away from the nesting location. Killdeer have elaborate strategies for distracting would be predators from a nest. In the Spring I go around and put in stakes or other makers at their nests so I don't mow over them, also put a 'fence' around them to keep the horses away.

I'm with Shad on that. I think it's a "Rooster, come and help!" There's either an issue with the nest or it's I'm done and want to know where the others are. I've seen it happen when they're out of sight of each other, and seen a roo head towards rhe "lost" hen echoing the call until she can see him. Then it's done. When it's an issue with the nest sight, it's usually "the spot I want is occupied. Come and make her move" ( Nellie, Indigo, Rose)

 

[BY Bob]

Like you, I do get involved if there is a lot of harassment happening. usually the mornings are when the real crazy stuff happens. The boys are all frisky and the hens just want to eat, so one gets a clash of agendas. What I do is keep an eye on the boys and tell them to 'cool your jets buddy', they all know when I say that to calm down - and they are not stupid they know what I want from them.

But then I am very hands on with all the barky, meowie, cluckie, neighie creatures!

I'm so happy that for the second day there were exactly 0 pecks before the Cluckle hut door opened. Very peaceful. I feel I will not be too intervene between Niamh and them.

Now Lady Featherington was attacking the fence any time they were close to it yesterday.

 

[Ponypoor]

For Pony Sunday I give you Margo's cow

Never let it be said Newfoundlanders don't have a sense of fun!

 

[Ponypoor]

I'm so happy that for the second day there were exactly 0 pecks before the Cluckle hut door opened. Very peaceful. I feel I will not be too intervene between Niamh and them.

Now Lady Featherington was attacking the fence any time they were close to it yesterday.

I am really surprised at Lady F - I would not have thought she would be so keen to be throwing around her weight, but then having seen Misty (who is generally a quiet no drama hen) take on Raven in a vicious brawl, I guess we really don't know what goes through their minds.

Do you think she is making a pre-emptive strike to ensure that they know their place is below her?

 

[Ponypoor]

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.

Chicken Coops here have in the past been 'walk in sheds' with simple roosts and nest boxes. These days with the popularity of backyard coops I see some pretty fancy coops that are raised off the ground giving the chooks space under the coop to use, along with an open area as a run. Some covered some not. With the amount of snow we get here (and cold) most figure out after the first winter that they need to cover the run or the birds are stuck in a small coop all winter.

My biggest threat for predators would be foxes, coyotes, and any of the weasel family. Birds of prey have zoomed in and a yr ago one attacked my poor wee Clyde the Brave (he was fine I chased the hawk away). I think Raven might make a go at the Silkie chicks so I keep them close by in the Run. We do have Bald Eagles around, those would be able to take a chicken easy enough.

My neighbours all know to keep their dogs contained or they get sent to Animal Control (or shot by any farmer).

Speaking of vehicles, a neighbour up the road had a flock for a couple years when they first moved in, the hens were always in the ditch, on the road... many times I had to stop and chase them off the road. Not sure where the chickens are now but I haven't seen them in over a year.