Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[RoyalChick]

That will change. It's good he's being required to respect the ladies. The juvenile time is brutal, but let it play out. He'll be better for it.

I resisted hauling him out of the box to let him roost - it really was quite pathetic - but I let him be.
Poor little guy!

 

[rural mouse]

Question: I have 2 Polish who are a little skittish because they can't see well, even when I trim their head feathers. Do the Silkies also have their vision obscured? I am trying to figure out what breed to get them as friends (2 to 3).
I love my Polish but it seems cruel when animals are bred with a genetic trait that makes life harder for them.

Other fully crested birds: silkies, houdans, sultans, crevecoeur, appenzeller spitzhauben, pavlovskaya (the last 2 should have forward leaning crests), owlbeards (newly popular in us, difficult to find). There are a few others even more difficult to find.

Then there's the partial crested breeds like legbars and Swedish flower hens (not all of these are crested)....and all the hybrids/backyard mixes. Any half full crest crossed with no crest are probably going to have the half crest like the legbars and SFH.

Any not fully crested should be able to see without crest trimming. If your polish are still having trouble getting about, more trimming is probably needed. My houdan needed trimming close around her beak and nares so she could see what she was pecking at in addition to trimming WELL around her eyes so she could see directions, including above and behind.

 

[Labsandchickens8]

Other fully crested birds: silkies, houdans, sultans, crevecoeur, appenzeller spitzhauben, pavlovskaya (the last 2 should have forward leaning crests), owlbeards (newly popular in us, difficult to find). There are a few others even more difficult to find.

Then there's the partial crested breeds like legbars and Swedish flower hens (not all of these are crested)....and all the hybrids/backyard mixes. Any half full crest crossed with no crest are probably going to have the half crest like the legbars and SFH.

Any not fully crested should be able to see without crest trimming. If your polish are still having trouble getting about, more trimming is probably needed. My houdan needed trimming close around her beak and nares so she could see what she was pecking at in addition to trimming WELL around her eyes so she could see directions, including above and behind.

Thank you!

 

[RoyalChick]

Other fully crested birds: silkies, houdans, sultans, crevecoeur, appenzeller spitzhauben, pavlovskaya (the last 2 should have forward leaning crests), owlbeards (newly popular in us, difficult to find). There are a few others even more difficult to find.

Then there's the partial crested breeds like legbars and Swedish flower hens (not all of these are crested)....and all the hybrids/backyard mixes. Any half full crest crossed with no crest are probably going to have the half crest like the legbars and SFH.

Any not fully crested should be able to see without crest trimming. If your polish are still having trouble getting about, more trimming is probably needed. My houdan needed trimming close around her beak and nares so she could see what she was pecking at in addition to trimming WELL around her eyes so she could see directions, including above and behind.

Cookie is the first chicken I have had to trim. I have had several Legbars and their little crests don’t get in the way of them seeing - they are further back if you see what I mean.

 

[Ponypoor]

Poor fella. All he does is peep-peep and eat!

Don't feel too badly for him, this is the time for you to step in and become his BFF, I am doing that with Spotty - he runs to me now instead of his mama. And he's the devil for flying up on things! Today he made his way up onto the framing of the Wheelbarrow I had tipped up against the wall. Then he couldn't get down, I watched to see what he would do. He's smart though, he assessed the situation and then found a safe spot to hop back down to a perch I have in place. Then down to the ground. He's teaching his sisters bad habits hopping up on high locations though!

That will change. It's good he's being required to respect the ladies. The juvenile time is brutal, but let it play out. He'll be better for it.

Yes it's good he is being taught the way of the chicken.

Today Spotty and Petra got into a scrap, Petra thumped him soundly and then jumped on top of him for good measure, when he screamed blue murder she let him go. I did not scold her at all, he needs to learn to be a good boy.

I did go and snuggle after a couple minutes, he's a snuggler for sure! Another Mr Little Chicken hopefully!

Question: I have 2 Polish who are a little skittish because they can't see well, even when I trim their head feathers. Do the Silkies also have their vision obscured? I am trying to figure out what breed to get them as friends (2 to 3).
I love my Polish but it seems cruel when animals are bred with a genetic trait that makes life harder for them.

I have both Silkies and Polish and they all run together pretty much. I keep both of them trimmed so they can see what they are doing/going. The biggest issue I have with the fancy coiffeur and beards/muffs is the others over-grooming them. My Polish Roo Mr P has been sequestered in the Summer House away from the main gang for about a year now while his topknot grew back. I have a bunch of young hens (and one in particular - Laverne) who glory in picking at his pin feathers, making him bleed like crazy - that sets everyone off wanting a piece of the yummy meal. He is just now getting his feathers all back in place, but still the back of his head remains rather sparse and I doubt they will ever truly grow fully back with the damage they have done there.

The young Polish chicklets I have now were trimmed a couple weeks ago and it has made a world of difference. They are now flying up on things (like trees - sheesh!), they aren't as freaked out when I handle them and they have been interacting more with the others.

Cookie is the first chicken I have had to trim. I have had several Legbars and their little crests don’t get in the way of them seeing - they are further back if you see what I mean.

That is like my 1/2 Polish ladies, they have fancy topknots but it doesn't affect their flying abilities (right Tippy?), they are quite capable of flying over the 5' fence to go and forage on their own (brats!), they even know to fly back into the run - smarty pants!

In fact I love my 1/2 Polish crosses and really would love to get a couple of pullets from Mr P and the Azures - they would be flying machines with nice topknots to boot. Oh and blue eggs! (bad Kelly!)

 

[Labsandchickens8]

Don't feel too badly for him, this is the time for you to step in and become his BFF, I am doing that with Spotty - he runs to me now instead of his mama. And he's the devil for flying up on things! Today he made his way up onto the framing of the Wheelbarrow I had tipped up against the wall. Then he couldn't get down, I watched to see what he would do. He's smart though, he assessed the situation and then found a safe spot to hop back down to a perch I have in place. Then down to the ground. He's teaching his sisters bad habits hopping up on high locations though!



Yes it's good he is being taught the way of the chicken.

Today Spotty and Petra got into a scrap, Petra thumped him soundly and then jumped on top of him for good measure, when he screamed blue murder she let him go. I did not scold her at all, he needs to learn to be a good boy.

I did go and snuggle after a couple minutes, he's a snuggler for sure! Another Mr Little Chicken hopefully!



I have both Silkies and Polish and they all run together pretty much. I keep both of them trimmed so they can see what they are doing/going. The biggest issue I have with the fancy coiffeur and beards/muffs is the others over-grooming them. My Polish Roo Mr P has been sequestered in the Summer House away from the main gang for about a year now while his topknot grew back. I have a bunch of young hens (and one in particular - Laverne) who glory in picking at his pin feathers, making him bleed like crazy - that sets everyone off wanting a piece of the yummy meal. He is just now getting his feathers all back in place, but still the back of his head remains rather sparse and I doubt they will ever truly grow fully back with the damage they have done there.

The young Polish chicklets I have now were trimmed a couple weeks ago and it has made a world of difference. They are now flying up on things (like trees - sheesh!), they aren't as freaked out when I handle them and they have been interacting more with the others.


That is like my 1/2 Polish ladies, they have fancy topknots but it doesn't affect their flying abilities (right Tippy?), they are quite capable of flying over the 5' fence to go and forage on their own (brats!), they even know to fly back into the run - smarty pants!

In fact I love my 1/2 Polish crosses and really would love to get a couple of pullets from Mr P and the Azures - they would be flying machines with nice topknots to boot. Oh and blue eggs! (bad Kelly!)

Oh poor Mr. P! I had a few minutes of asking myself why I love chickens when my head hen led an attack on my Polish hen Jamie that gave her a concussion and left her bleeding. I got over it as they are birds and can't be held to human standards.

 

[Ponypoor]

Caturday Saturday

I'll just hide here, no one will see me, I'll be able to get that pesky squirrel then....

 

[Labsandchickens8]

One more question: we just finished the coop I'm the Polish run two weeks ago. As I will be out of town for a couple of weeks and my son and his wife will be chicken tending, I have been trying to train the two Polish to go to bed on their own. They slept on outside roosts for 2 months, but it's now in the 40s at night. It turns out Jamie is gate tending and won't let poor timid Martina in at night. See picture below ( I did tell her we built the run and coop just for her after she had to live in a cramped conditions in the run after she was attacked.) So I pick them both up every night and put them on the roost bars.
Questions:
What can I do about the gatekeeping, if anything?
Is it bad for Martina to sleep outside in the (safe) run when the temperature is in the 40s (f)? (By herself - it's so sad).

 

[Ponypoor]

Oh poor Mr. P! I had a few minutes of asking myself why I love chickens when my head hen led an attack on my Polish hen Jamie that gave her a concussion and left her bleeding. I got over it as they are birds and can't be held to human standards.

Poor Jamie - I would trim her up really well so she can see everything. What I do is just leave a strip of the long feathers along the middle of their head to give them a funky look. Just need to be careful around the eyes. With the Silkies I pluck the feathers away from the bottom of their eyes, I go really slow. You don't need to finish it all in one go. Many times I have lopsided chickens running around.


I will need to re-trim my Polish chicklets this weekend, they have been doing their first chick moult and their topknots are growing back.

One thing - you need to be very careful to not cut any pin feathers - those bleed like crazy! I always check to see if there are any pin feathers before I start trimming. If I see some I just don't trim as short. The more you handle your birds the less stressed they will be. and a few Meal Worms doesn't hurt as bribes either - my Polish chickies are now eating out of my hand - they were wild as the wind when I first brought them home.

 

[Labsandchickens8]

Poor Jamie - I would trim her up really well so she can see everything. What I do is just leave a strip of the long feathers along the middle of their head to give them a funky look. Just need to be careful around the eyes. With the Silkies I pluck the feathers away from the bottom of their eyes, I go really slow. You don't need to finish it all in one go. Many times I have lopsided chickens running around.


I will need to re-trim my Polish chicklets this weekend, they have been doing their first chick moult and their topknots are growing back.

One thing - you need to be very careful to not cut any pin feathers - those bleed like crazy! I always check to see if there are any pin feathers before I start trimming. If I see some I just don't trim as short. The more you handle your birds the less stressed they will be. and a few Meal Worms doesn't hurt as bribes either - my Polish chickies are now eating out of my hand - they were wild as the wind when I first brought them home.

Okay thank you will trim again!