Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[kattabelly]

A Nestera Coop? Is it still in decent condition? What size/model is it? Worth saving? & I agree that UK chickeneering is different from other parts of the globe

Medium lodge. I bought that as a temporary fix while I sorted other spaces.

 

[Sylvester017]

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.

They've probably all been run over by cars!!!

 

[featherhead007]

Now I know for sure that it’s not the treats I give my birds, rather it’s the love and attention that really matters to them. They really love their chicken daddy. I started petting Coco in the coop, and her eyes just started to sparkle and she sat down being talkative and comfortable. The other Rocks gathered around me also.

 

[Sylvester017]

Medium lodge. I bought that as a temporary fix while I sorted other spaces.

Very nice! Should be more durable than wood... especially since your climate near the sea has a lot of moisture. Wet atmosphere plays havoc on wood, etc. I had relatives who lived a couple blocks from the beach. The air always smelled of heavy moisture. She said mildew was a problem for her & that things like drapery, pillows, etc, had to be replaced often cuz of the heavy moisture in the air.

Nestera lodge coop

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[Ponypoor]

They've probably all been run over by cars!!!

Nope, never saw any dead birds or feathers on the road - I drive it twice a day.

Most likely they sold them as ‘too much work’.

Or maybe they are out the back in a run. I must be nosey and drive slowly by there on Tuesday

 

[Ponypoor]

The deed is done….

Spoiler: Sorry Bob but it had to be done

Spoiler: And now they can play on the pile of branches!

Before

After!

 

[bgmathteach]

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.

Honestly, what troubles me more than Shenani harassing her is that two of the pullets are also now joining in. I wonder if you can 'correct' their behavior a few times if it will subside? I suspect it has something to do with Shenani being 'their' tribe and 'supporting' him??? I haven't ever seen this behavior before with the pullets cooperating with a rooster to corner a hen!!!! I wonder if you can do the 'sweep with the foot' that Shadrach described for a rooster - but on the pullets??? Since they aren't hormonally driven like him, if a few corrections (paired with a word/phrase, like 'no' or 'cut that out')...if a few times like that, if just the words (and maybe a start to approach) would end their efforts? I wish Hazel would just put one in their place (I know she isn't a fighter)...then at another time, the other...and it would end their collaboration. The poor dear......I do hope that it calms down once the pullets start to lay, but I feel like there needs to be correction for the pullets sooner rather than later - or they may continue to harrass Hazel - particularly as she ages.....

and virtual hugs for dear Hazel, as I know she doesn't like actual ones.


I also suspect that @Ponypoor 's suggestion of asprin or tylenol (suspect aprin or another NSAID like Ibuprofin, being anti inflammatory due to age and probably arthrstis would be better) may help her some since she is being forced to be overly active by this. I would suggest trying it and seeing if it seems to help her movement any...and maybe have to keep it up for a bit until things settle down? (maybe once a day in the morning???)

Just a thought on that - but it may make her feel more comfortable...and be able to tolerate the nonsense a bit better, physically. You have had a fair amount fo medical experience (unfortunately) with your tribe - do what you think is best....I'm just thinking out loud, and not really sure if it would make a difference or not - well, noticeable difference, that is.

 

[bgmathteach]

This is all making me very nervous indeed! Poor, poor, Hazel - I really hope it gets better for her.

Well, with the dynamics in your flock, I have no fear of any of the young pullets joining in and attacking an older hen - your older girls are all 'strong' in their own right, unlike Hazel who was always a bit of a wall-flower until she became queen by default due to her age and status. Each flock is different, but @ChicoryBlue 's present dynamics are very, very unusual in the sense that pullets are joining in with a young roo's marauding!!!!

 

[featherhead007]

I figured that I needed a nice cup of Coco, so I went to the coop, and brought her into the house. She is enjoying a nice cob of corn all for her.

 

[bgmathteach]

Questions no one else has asked! Good ones.

Chicory blue explained that earlier. The BOs will fight back/go after him, Hazel doesn't - she just screams and runs away.