Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Mother of Chaos]

She needed her flaps down and pull back on the speed a bit.
(Just saying)

Gotta stall it in there, girl!

 

[notabitail]

Synopsis of chicken news for the week to October 18th
Thank you @knoturavggrl for last week's synopsis which can be found here.

@BY Bob
The big news from FBA this week has been the integration of the little Polish super-models. Their first introduction was on Saturday. All went well, but at night it was clear that they are not yet besties.
The pattern repeated the following night, but there is some progress, and tomorrow is a very big day.
Everyone got a check up from Dr. Bob.
And he remembered Phyllis the party girl.

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@ChicoryBlue
There is a difficult situation developing with regard to the lovely Hazel who is being harassed by the young cockerel Shehnai and now picked on by the young pullets. It is distressing and Chicory is maintaining her calm astonishingly well while others here are offering sound advice (while @RoyalChick stands by in horror at what may be coming her way as Mr. Chips grows).
As they say on the news 'THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY' ......
Here is the situation last Saturday, and thinking on Sunday.
Some advice from @bgmathteach.
And some perspective from @ChicoryBlue on what is causing the difficult dynamics.
An idea from @Ponypoor.
And more thoughts from @rural mouse.
By Monday poor Hazel had withdrawn from the situation entirely and setting up a separate space for her and some of the BOs may be necessary.
@rural mouse shared some relevant experience.
The Hazel saga has many moving parts.
Now on to the planning stage.

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@featherhead007
Had a scare when Dakota went missing, happily she has now returned, but sounds like she may have a hidden nest.

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@Ikslo
Brought leftovers, and the poor pups got mobbed.
And integration of Dusty is going well, though it is possible he was kept in less than ideal conditions and needs to get used to a better life.
Is experiencing a broody hen for the first time in a less than convenient spot.

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@Ponypoor
Oh no - Reenie trod on one of the Silkies - amazingly the little one is fine, I'm not sure we can say the same for Pony's heart!
And we learned that Kelly has Sweeney Todd somewhere in her family tree! Now that they have been to the barber, they are able to see well enough to escape when Kelly tries to catch them. No good deed goes unpunished!
Kelly is getting on top of the wheezy chickens - Patches is the latest to be afflicted, and hopefully they will all soon be well again.

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@RoyalChick
Has a honker.
She also fears that Cookie may have feathers in place of brains.
Tassels read her chicks a bed-time story, and then left them in their brooder box so she could reclaim her favorite roost spot.
Finally the Littles figured it out (well mainly), and in the middle of the muddle, somehow a chicken got a name.
RC also took a wander down memory lane.

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@rural mouse
Treated us all to some clown car videos.

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@SimpleJenn
Has found a home for Delft's chicks, their move went smoothly.


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Days of the week

Caturday
@BY Bob brought us wild water, and @Ikslo shared jungle kitty.
@Grandma The Chicken brought us a throwback Caturday.
@rural mouse contributed a late Caturday.
@Pebbles25 posted a great Caurday picture on Wednesday (I seriously cannot keep up!).
@GregnLety at least seems aware that his adorable Caturday picture was a day early.

Pony Sunday
@kattabelly introduced us to their 'ducks'.
@Marie2020 posted something that was not really about ponies (or 'ducks') but is well worth watching.

Mugshot Monday.
@kattabelly posted a simply stunning mugshot and some Zebra boys they swapped.
@Ikslo got Lacy to pose.
@Ponypoor shared several mugs - including the recently shorn.
@RoyalChick posted a picture of a very large crop with a goofy mug attached.
@knoturavggrl has joined @notabitail in day of the week confusion, but posted some lovely mugs.

Two-fer Tuesday.
@RoyalChick had some twofers.
@rural mouse had mathematically suspect twofers.
@Grandma The Chicken had a twofer that was also a first for Raven, and now Raven is up to three.
@BY Bob shared the two new ladies.

Wattles Wednesday.
@SimpleJenn shared some great wattles.
@kattabelly had some windy wattles.
@rural mouse showed some very pretty wattles.
@featherhead007 as always, brought us magnificent wattles.

Thirsty Thursday.
@kattabelly has chickens who appreciate the finest wild water.
@Ponypoor beats that with manure water!
@rural mouse serves rubber water.

Fluffy Butt Friday.
@BY Bob shared some Polish fluffy butts - though in all honesty there is more fluff on their heads than their butts.
@SimpleJenn was able to show us what a real fluffy butt looks like.
@notabitail posted a fluffy butt picture on a Friday (which has now got me all confused).

Thank you for the synopsis.

I think I usually get the Friday post right.

 

[fuentemoon]

I have serious fruit tree envy! Those lemons are awesome, my mum would make lemon meringue pies from those


I think I asked this before, but I want to move my Rhododendron bushes up to the Rooster Run, I do t think the chooks will peck at the leaves…. Anyone have these with their chooks? They would be a great place to hang out under.

Mine loved our rhododendrons, it was indeed a favorite hang out spot. Wish we had them at this house.

 

[Sylvester017]

They are scaring away my tame good layers! Dakota went missing again and now Blue didn’t come home last night either.

Thinking back to your neighbor who owned them... that's probably why he kept them caged to prevent them fighting. Just thinking...you may need to bite the bullet & have a separate enclosure/run for the aggressive breed/birds to save your gentler birds from grief. That will enable you to gather fertile game bird eggs too before they hatch

 

[Sylvester017]

@RoyalChick ~ TY for synops So much goes on in this thread it needs synops to sift thru it all.

 

[Sylvester017]

Made it to my flight (just). Yesterday Cookie managed the complicated task of going South in order to get in the door to go North like a pro.
But this morning coming off the roost she was puzzled and ended up doing a complex in-flight turning maneuver rather than hopping down and turning around.

I fear direction finding may never be her strength.

And those who said I shouldn’t worry about the size difference between Mr. Chips and my small hens because hatchery stock rarely reach full size for his breed (9lb) should look at these two photos.
Now they are roosting I should be able to get a weight on him. I also feel Cookie is not growing as fast as she should though apart from her topographical disorientation, she seems healthy enough.
For anyone confused by the roosting picture. Zoom in to locate little Cookie. She is in between Tassels and (huge) Mr. Chips!
View attachment 4234958View attachment 4234960

From website pics I really thought Cookie was going to get bigger ~ she must have bantam somewhere in her breeding history. She is just too precious to be the only small breed... maybe that's why Tassels watches over her brood to make sure all stay safe around Cookie? In a way its Kismet that Cookie has Tassels for a momma

 

[Sylvester017]

The big deal on rhododendrons is any honey produced from the flowers, that’s been a problem for humans. I haven’t read anything about the bees being affected.

Haven’t seen any hens or chicks eat fresh or old dead leaves here. It’s not likely anyone would want to, as the toxin produces a burning sensation in the mouth. Chickens do sort through the forest floor litter and pick off bugs on the bushes.

Microorganisms, sunlight, acidity of soil, rainfall, etc all have influence on breaking down the toxins in the leaves. Rhodos do have the waxy coating which slows it all down some.

https://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/~paulmay/webprojects2001/gerrard/andromedotoxin.html

Concern about livestock grazing near heat-composting facilities that compost vegetation with various toxins is overblown. The grayanotoxins in rhododendrons have three types and one is not very responsive to the hot composting process, but they conclude it’s not a big deal unless it’s the only vegetation used.

https://u.osu.edu/foley.353/#:~:text=Chemical Composition[2],are symptoms of grayanotoxin poisoning.

Good info... my motto when deciding on safe plants was to use the poultryhelp.com website as a guide for planting since we have a very small yard... we even researched trees & garden & herb plants before deciding... again... only because we have no forest or field vegetation for chickens to choose from. My main concern was Pomegranate leaves/fruit & was delighted it was safe for our hens.

Shade of the safe Pom tree ~ inside the brick circle is a low-hanging Pom fruit that we don't have to worry if the hens peck at it.

 

[Sylvester017]

Yesterday I was so bummed about our friend's passing I totally forgot it was my birthday! But sweet DH didn't forget & got me surprise ~ soft Chinese food & Chinese sweet desert (my dental surgery work last Monday).

Again... my last birthday party I was 21... so that makes me 22 for this year too?

 

[featherhead007]

Thinking back to your neighbor who owned them... that's probably why he kept them caged to prevent them fighting. Just thinking...you may need to bite the bullet & have a separate enclosure/run for the aggressive breed/birds to save your gentler birds from grief. That will enable you to gather fertile game bird eggs too before they hatch

There is a plus side to free ranging my birds. Blue came back this morning, I guess she wanted breakfast.

 

[featherhead007]

Yesterday I was so bummed about our friend's passing I totally forgot it was my birthday! But sweet DH didn't forget & got me surprise ~ soft Chinese food & Chinese sweet desert (my dental surgery work last Monday).

Again... my last birthday party I was 21... so that makes me 22 for this year too?

Okay, if you say so.