Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[ChicoryBlue]

Day Late Mugs Monday, the miracle bird

Isabel's /Lizbel's eyes & face are striking in the difference between right and left, I realized a few weeks ago each side is different. She has much less or almost no blood flow to her right side at times. It sometimes looks better, here it is in-between, though you can see how grey her eyelid is, but sometimes she looks very ashen, she's usually closing her eyes at those times. It's changeable, when she's hepped up it flushes some but never as well as left left side. Her comb is always getting good blood flow I think.

Right side

Left side

 

[featherhead007]

And then there were seven.
Another baby chick has gone missing. There were eight at count last night. It’s been raining very hard all night and thru this morning the chicks are still small enough to slip through the chain link, so I leave the run door open for mama to watch her chicks. It’s still raining, so I opened up the coop and let the roosters out to run the yard. The girls decided to stay in the coop where it’s warmer. Smart girls.
I have plenty of cover for the birds apart from the coop.

 

[notabitail]

And then there were seven.
Another baby chick has gone missing. There were eight at count last night. It’s been raining very hard all night and thru this morning the chicks are still small enough to slip through the chain link, so I leave the run door open for mama to watch her chicks. It’s still raining, so I opened up the coop and let the roosters out to run the yard. The girls decided to stay in the coop where it’s warmer. Smart girls.
I have plenty of cover for the birds apart from the coop.

 

[featherhead007]

It tugs my heartstrings when this unexpected and unfortunate thing happens. So many uncontrollable emotions.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

And then there were seven.
Another baby chick has gone missing. There were eight at count last night. It’s been raining very hard all night and thru this morning the chicks are still small enough to slip through the chain link, so I leave the run door open for mama to watch her chicks. It’s still raining, so I opened up the coop and let the roosters out to run the yard. The girls decided to stay in the coop where it’s warmer. Smart girls.
I have plenty of cover for the birds apart from the coop.

Feral cats?
It's very painful. I'm so sorry!

 

[Ponypoor]

One sandwich short of a picnic?

A bit of drama yesterday. Cookie couldn’t find her way into the coop. When I got home from dinner with a friend she was all hunkered down in a corner of the run. Not too exposed but it was a cold and windy night with driving rain.
My cameras failed me. The last they recorded was her pacing back and forth peeping while Tassels called from inside.
For context I closed the people door so the chickens have to come in and out of the chicken door and use the blue stairs.
View attachment 4232370

In summer I leave the people door wide open to maximize air flow. But in winter I close the windows in the coop and the people door to reduce any wind or driving rain. When it gets very cold I close the chicken door too, but no need for that yet.

Cookie has used the blue stairs many times. It is a convenient way to get at the hanging waterer. She even poses on them for photo shoots.
View attachment 4232376
I have never seen any evidence that she can’t see to jump up on things - actually she is like Geronimo and tends to go up on stuff.

Anyway she was huddled in that corner to the right of the people door.
View attachment 4232381
I picked her up and she screamed blue murder which caused Tassels to come out of her cardboard box and call for her. She also struggled like hell.

Even though I have lots of evidence she can see just fine, I grabbed a pair of scissors and snipped her head feathers on the spot. May have done a real hack job. We will see if that makes a difference, but I am left wondering if she was just too dumb to go in a different way from the one she is used to.
Here she is this morning after my snipping.
View attachment 4232385

Likely just got caught out and about after dark.

I see the Noirans (and other chicks) that have been caught wandering around when it became too dark for them to get back to the roost with mum.

When I go out at 8pm to do evening chores I chuck them back up onto the roost.

 

[Grandma The Chicken]

On this fine Tuesday...
Raven laid her first egg. However, she might've laid it yesterday and I found out about it today. Consider this a Twofer Tuesday as well.

 

[Sylvester017]

My pain continued for weeks after. So just be prepared and take good care of yourself

TY for the heads-up about pain. So far just the mildest twinge but not real pain. Cuz I'm not on statin, steroid, or diabetes meds, it was easy for the Dr in surgery. Funny thing though... I think I swallowed the packed gauze w/my tomato soup yesterday but there was no bleeding so never repacked the sutures. Us fortifying w/vitamins/minerals must really work on this old body... probably why Dr's & Vet's say to fortify ourselves w/ vitamins & stay away from sugar. Every vet visit our vet reminds us to give the chickens vitamins!

My last hurrah meal the day before surgery ~ DH's homemade soup from scratch.

Sneak that nap in when ever you can.
I don't want you getting ill

You are such a caring person about others, Marie... I look forward to your kind (& funny) posts to us all

 

[Sylvester017]

Now that I'm not so loopy from surgery I can thank you all for your kind thoughts

 

[knoturavggrl]

Is Thyme a SFH? He looks a lot like one of the recently departed cockerels who might've fertilised the eggs I'm still thinking of setting - mine came to me as a BYM but I know quite a few folk here keep SFHs.

Yes, all my full sized chickens are SFH’s. His color is Black Snöleopard. Many BYM’s have similar colors because the breed is a landrace breed and has no set colors. The only real constant is that they always have speckles(flowers).