Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[featherhead007]

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

If it’s the cats and I can prove that, I will be going cat hunting

 

[Ponypoor]

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.
View attachment 4232583

Congratulations! Fresh eggs again will be lovely!

She’s a young lady now.

Are the older ladies still laying?

 

[Ponypoor]

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
View attachment 4232518
View attachment 4232520

Left side
View attachment 4232519
View attachment 4232521

She looks lovely anyways Love her colouring it’s so rich and beautiful.

 

[Ponypoor]

It's a lot of work digging up those rocks/boulders... our soil is full of them. Had to soak places in the yard to shovel out rocks... sometimes really stubborn but I had to level out soil somehow to lay paver stones in front & back yards.
View attachment 4232592
View attachment 4232593

I didn't have the heart to throw away some of the smaller rocks in a pile... I'll find use for them somehow.
View attachment 4232594

Backyard paver stones... surprising how much more time the hens like standing on pavers rather than standing in dirt.
View attachment 4232595
View attachment 4232597View attachment 4232598

They are playing hopscotch

 

[Ponypoor]

Now that they can see better, more opportunity for ADVENTURE (or trouble)

And flying everywhere! Up on me, they run back to the feedroom at night and have figured out the screen (thank you Tippy…), they would fly up on the feed bin to get in their crate if I let them!

 

[kattabelly]

Oh don’t go down that road - it can lead to bad things….

Mr P has been bald for the better part of almost 2 yrs, and it’s a few of the hens picking at his pin feathers - they bleed like crazy! Him being white-ish the blood shows up like a call sign for ‘free food’! And then everyone is wanting to pick at him.

This is the main reason he is stuck in the Summer House with his harem. That and he fights with Mr LC.

But now his topknot is growing back finally! And I aim to keep it that way!

I've shooed her away when I've seen her doing it so far, but not sure how much that will do to actually stop it.

So flighty as in prone to flying. Not bat crap crazy spooky like my mare Truly.

I have a lot of ‘flighty’ brats!

Prone to flying and tree roosting too, but I've seen lots of people say they can't get anywhere near theirs. It sometimes takes a few attempts to peel mine off me.

I thought we already decided you were going to hatch those eggs.

Hop to it!

Oh wait - gone midnight there now. Ok wait till morning then hop to it!

If I wait until late morning I'll probably have an even dozen of eggs I know for sure are all the most recent ones and have been turned daily.

 

[Ponypoor]

Well this is unexpected.
Roosting this evening started out going to plan.
Mr. Chips roosted on a roost around the corner from the main one - he has tried that every night for days now.
Tassels hopped up and sat next to him and 'had a few words' so he flew down and went into the cardboard box.

Geronimo tried (and failed) to get up to the rafters and settled for a very high up roost opposite the main roost.
Tassels flew up and sat next to her for a few minutes and Geronimo flew down and went into the cardboard box with Mr. Chips and Bucky who was already in there.

Poor Cookie was pacing back and forth outside peeping. The issue was at least in part that Calypso was standing guard at the door. Tassels drove Calypso away from the door and after some hesitation Cookie went up the blue stairs and ran into the cardboard box.

Tassels then went into the cardboard box with her 4 Littles as usual.
So I went outside to lock everything up and much to my surprise found this.
View attachment 4232794

Wait, what?!
Yup, that is 5 big chickens on the main roost. Tassels has taken up her prime position on the main roost leaving her littles in the cardboard box!
I was totally not expecting that - I thought eventually she would roost with them, but instead she tucks them up in bed and goes to sleep in her own bed.
I can't say I blame her as it was getting very crowded in the cardboard box!
They are 10 weeks and a day old.

She has hung on to them longer than Georgie and Holly did.

And also Whiskers has partially ditched her kids, she still snuggles them at night though. They are still small enough to snuggle under her. But during the day more often then not she leaves them and no longer calls for them. Even if they scream for her she ignores them.

 

[Ponypoor]

I've shooed her away when I've seen her doing it so far, but not sure how much that will do to actually stop it.

Prone to flying and tree roosting too, but I've seen lots of people say they can't get anywhere near theirs. It sometimes takes a few attempts to peel mine off me.

If I wait until late morning I'll probably have an even dozen of eggs I know for sure are all the most recent ones and have been turned daily.

Sounds like a plan!

What on earth are you doing up at this hr?!

 

[rural mouse]

Well this is unexpected.
Roosting this evening started out going to plan.
Mr. Chips roosted on a roost around the corner from the main one - he has tried that every night for days now.
Tassels hopped up and sat next to him and 'had a few words' so he flew down and went into the cardboard box.

Geronimo tried (and failed) to get up to the rafters and settled for a very high up roost opposite the main roost.
Tassels flew up and sat next to her for a few minutes and Geronimo flew down and went into the cardboard box with Mr. Chips and Bucky who was already in there.

Poor Cookie was pacing back and forth outside peeping. The issue was at least in part that Calypso was standing guard at the door. Tassels drove Calypso away from the door and after some hesitation Cookie went up the blue stairs and ran into the cardboard box.

Tassels then went into the cardboard box with her 4 Littles as usual.
So I went outside to lock everything up and much to my surprise found this.
View attachment 4232794

Wait, what?!
Yup, that is 5 big chickens on the main roost. Tassels has taken up her prime position on the main roost leaving her littles in the cardboard box!
I was totally not expecting that - I thought eventually she would roost with them, but instead she tucks them up in bed and goes to sleep in her own bed.
I can't say I blame her as it was getting very crowded in the cardboard box!
They are 10 weeks and a day old.

She's weaning. They'll go to bed...then move to a roost soon... if not simply stay on the roosts. Storm held on to her littles until the littles walked off themselves....around 3-4 months....

 

[rural mouse]

I think you need to practice your counting skills - all had 3 things in it except for the last!

There were 2 cockerels (and a pullet), 2 babies (and an adult) etc. Besides with the babies, having an adult with them helps show how much they've grown/have to grow.