Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[featherhead007]

Hello friends,
I missed you all! I got so busy getting ready for my big faire in July and then was so behind... Any way, busy summer.

We are minus one, plus one in the cat department. We lost our oldest Puff in a horrible and tragic way, to a dog attack.
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Another neighborhood cat has adopted us, she is a funny older girl that wants constant physical contact. Not that we needed more cats! There are currently 7(! )I consider ours.

In chicken news things are same as ever. Rosie screamed all summer as usual and laid at least three eggs a week April-last week. Pretty good for an 8 year old lady!
Between her and the speckles we got 2-3 eggs every day. Rosie and Alinta each had a broody spell, but only one each.

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There is no way I will catch up with all I missed (at least not soon) but i will try and pop back through the synopsis posts. And I will try and pop in more often.

Welcome back

 

[GregnLety]

And reminds me we haven’t seen @GregnLety in quite a while.
Hope they are doing OK.

Hey yall . Still alive but it's been a challenge. I can highly recommend not getting salmonella. I seriously thought I was going to die. For 18 days I couldn't keep any food or liquids in me. Took my entire April from me. Lost a chunk of my ear to melanoma and have a couple procedures coming up. In between that I still work as much as possible. I pray that all my terrific friends here are doing well.

 

[RoyalChick]

Hey yall . Still alive but it's been a challenge. I can highly recommend not getting salmonella. I seriously thought I was going to die. For 18 days I couldn't keep any food or liquids in me. Took my entire April from me. Lost a chunk of my ear to melanoma and have a couple procedures coming up. In between that I still work as much as possible. I pray that all my terrific friends here are doing well.

Oh my, you have been in the wars. Glad you are still with us!

 

[GregnLety]

I know it's not Saturday but I'm working tomorrow and want to share this pic. Coco and Mau are inseparable. They are 2 peas in a pod.

 

[GregnLety]

Tax for the pet pic. I need to get more chicken pics on my next day off

 

[Sylvester017]

It finally happened!
Yup. Roosting.
Sylvie and Pooh retreated to another roost away from all the fuss.
Calypso stayed on the main roost but as far from Tassels and the Littles as possible.
Piglet stayed in her usual spot.

But not all the Littles roosted.
Who stayed in the box?
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Well it wasn’t Cookie - she seems very snug and happy next to her Mom.
To the right of Mom are Nutmeg and then Geronimo.
And all alone in the cardboard box is Mr. Chips. Poor little guy, all on his lonesome!
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He may be alone... but he looks cozy

 

[Ikslo]

Well it turns out Mrs. B was an easy broody to break. I took her eggs. She huffed at me then went out to hang with the rest of the gang. I guess being by herself during the cold nights/mornings was more than she was willing to do for babies.

Not Mrs. B, but her sister Lacy, quite cozy on our friend’s knee.

 

[notabitail]

Fluffy Butt Friday.
Of course Felicitas decided moulting now is a good idea.

 

[Sylvester017]

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I know it's not Saturday but I'm working tomorrow and want to share this pic. Coco and Mau are inseparable. They are 2 peas in a pod.

So-o-o CUTE

 

[kattabelly]

Apples need a good freeze cycle, but there are varieties that do well with minimal or no freeze, I believe @GregnLety has an apple variety that grows in Texas where he resides. A variety like that may do fine where you are.

Which reminds me, I must get some apples for the chooks before they all fall and rot, apple trees grow wild here.

Meeting chill hour requirements for apples isn't an issue anywhere in the UK, though I expect there'll be a move towards growing more low chill varieties in milder areas in the coming decades. They don't actually need really cold temperatures though; a few degrees above freezing is fine, so long they get enough time at those temps. Southeast England - the county of Kent in particular, 500+ miles south of here - is known for the apples grown there and volunteer trees often thrive in the wild without any care once established.

The wind is the issue here. Small trees or trained forms in a sheltered spot can survive and bear fruit, but they never do all that brilliantly even with a lot of care and they'll never be anything like as productive as a mature half or full standard tree. Warmer climate fruits like peaches, grapes and figs are actually easier because you can grow them in a polytunnel or polycrub without the summer heat being a problem.