Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

FBA chicken's
weekly synopsis​

25 october to 1 november.​

Last week's synopsis by @SimpleJenn.

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@BY Bob

It was a very emotional first few days of the week at FBA. After being suddenly extremely unwell, Niamh made a miraculously quick recovery, getting up for the first time on Monday and soon regaining most of her usual spunk, to enjoy the adventures of a house chicken. Finally on Thursday back with her chicken friends!

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@bgmathteach

Raising a pallet on legs could make a great structure for both hiding and perching (second part of the post).
A roosting tree can allow pullets that fly higher than adults or roosters to stay protected. Bgmathteach built one for a friend.

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Welcome to a new FBA visitor !
@Candiru09

Introducing almost all the flock in a picture.
Asking for tips for their first winter keeping chickens in Michigan : helpful answers from Sally PB , rural mouse, bgmathteach and TOMTE.

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@ChicoryBlue

Showing the chicken's setup project and the division of their space.
Some hens are not aware that perches to roost protect them from the rooster ; they seek hiding places and visual blockage.
Beautiful post on loosing a favourite chicken. CB nails exactly how I've felt.

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@drstratton

Sable, a speckled Sussex, is unwell. It seems her crop is swollen. Massages, Ducosate, and coconut oil seem to help, hopefully she will get better.

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@featherhead007

M. Wyandottey has grown to be strong and fast.
Dakota wasn't feeling well on Sunday but she seemed better after getting some special care.
The family has somewhat extended .

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@fuentemoon

Lumi laid an egg after an eggless week !

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@GregnLety

Finally some news : so many pups are the best to help face health issues.

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@kattabelly

An explanation of why Baytril is banned for poultry.

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@knoturavggrl

Sad news - four of the five bantams were killed in an attack. Fly high, Gemma, Gia, Maple, and Oakley.

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@Ponypoor

Kelly's favourite pastime ever ended in tragedy !
Cute video of Petra and Leah.
Update on both mammas and littles (teenagers really).

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@RoyalChick

Poor Mr Chips- while RC is pondering on creating vertical places for scared little hens to hide away from him, he is getting bullied in the middle of the night !

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@rural mouse

Posted some useful observations on mating places and structures that allow smaller and older hens to escape from an overzealous rooster.
The granite boulders are never used to mate.
A video showing the dimensions of boulders and hiding places to get away from unwanted roosters attentions.

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@SimpleJenn

Wednesday photo dump and we have some heroes !

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@Sylvester017

Suzu gets to go to the vet to clean up her nares ! And a reminder that since few vets treat poultry, it's good to check ahead vets in your area that will.
@Labsandchickens8 is looking for tips to help her shy hen get in the coop past the dragon guarding the door : a light might help getting the dominant hens in to roost earlier, as shown here.

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Awesome! Thanks Manue - has it really been a week ?! Time flies and I forgot about those huge boulders of RM’s - I am experiencing rock envy!

 

[Sylvester017]

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).

I was thinking maybe TWO coop doors & ladders, one at each end? Jamie can't block TWO doorways at the same time

In the meantime do whatever necessary to keep them in the coop at night. Drafty night breezes for a bird roosting alone doesn't sound healthy?

 

[featherhead007]

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.

I still think this post sounds more likely a fireworks stand! Ground bloom flowers, piccolo peeps, sparkling crackpots, morning glory feathered fountains among others!

 

[featherhead007]

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.

True that chickens can’t be held to human standards, they are far superior to humans!

 

[Sylvester017]

@ManueB ~ TY synops! I still miss seeing your rural countryside pics

 

[drstratton]

Good morning all!
Just checked my girl. Her crop feels like it is back to normal. She is active and eating and was unhappy I picked her up...
Thankfully I only had to administer one Docusate Sodium 100mg pill and do periodic crop massages. So glad to know what I should try first if this happens again and to know how to find other information of it doesn't work.
Thank you again, for all of the awesome information that was shared, to help bring her back to health.

 

[Sylvester017]

@SimpleJenn ~ HAPPY BIRTHDAY

 

[Sylvester017]

Good morning all!
Just checked my girl. Her crop feels like it is back to normal. She is active and eating and was unhappy I picked her up...
Thankfully I only had to administer one Docusate Sodium 100mg pill and do periodic crop massages. So glad to know what I should try first if this happens again and to know how to find other information of it doesn't work.
Thank you again, for all of the awesome information that was shared, to help bring her back to health.

Nothing more gratifying than seeing a chicken well again!!!

 

[Labsandchickens8]

I was thinking maybe TWO coop doors & ladders, one at each end? Jamie can't block TWO doorways at the same time

In the meantime do whatever necessary to keep them in the coop at night. Drafty night breezes for a bird roosting alone doesn't sound healthy?

For now I'm going to hook the front access door all the way open, and put a table in front to hop up on (although Martina flies really well.) At roosting time tonight I'm going to put some mealy worms on the table. When they eat those I'm going to put some on the floor of the coop. I've trained them to walk up ramps before with strategically placed mealworms.
They will be warm enough with the door propped open I think if my son leaves it open while I'm gone. They're protected on 3 sides and it's not very big.

 

[featherhead007]

Good morning all!
Just checked my girl. Her crop feels like it is back to normal. She is active and eating and was unhappy I picked her up...
Thankfully I only had to administer one Docusate Sodium 100mg pill and do periodic crop massages. So glad to know what I should try first if this happens again and to know how to find other information of it doesn't work.
Thank you again, for all of the awesome information that was shared, to help bring her back to health.

I’m very grateful to hear that!