Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Sylvester017]

The 2026 BYC calendar chickens have been picked! 3 Polish this time (a gold & 2 buffs) of course a white Silkie, & a stripey chicken, Sussex, etc.

Edit: Oh, not a gold Polish... it's a gold Appenzeller
Winner pics here
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-your-pictures.1662043/page-199#post-28895763

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Yes. He always shared his lunch with the chickens and they knew the sound of his truck (distinct from any other truck) and would rush out to greet him.
Sorry, didn’t mean to drag everyone down.
I think this was the first day in the house that Scott built.
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That’s family by most measures

 

[Sylvester017]

Glad you mentioned BR’s my five are friendly and affectionate. They are beautiful

Yes, totally agree. Over the yrs I have dialogued w/ many different owners & the popular vote for wonderful striped chickens was always BRs & Doms (BRs have shared Dom ancestry).

The ones to stay away from mostly are the cuckoo Malines or Malines crosses which are huge heavy birds not quite on the flock-friendly side. Cuckoo Breda stock originally from the Netherlands was not a flock-friendly bird. Sweet enough w/humans but not other hens. This variety was much larger than the friendlier smaller BBS Blue Bredas we had. When breeds start getting crossed w/ other breeds for color variety you never know which characteristics/temperaments come out in the new varieties.

 

[Ponypoor]

Yes. He always shared his lunch with the chickens and they knew the sound of his truck (distinct from any other truck) and would rush out to greet him.
Sorry, didn’t mean to drag everyone down.
I think this was the first day in the house that Scott built.
View attachment 4245167

I think it’s lovely to think of your friend. There can be no finer thing to do than share wonderful memories of your friends.

And he sounds like he enjoyed your chooks a lot.

 

[rural mouse]

Thank you everyone and especially @ChicoryBlue and @rural mouse for throwing ideas at me for more vertical space for pullets to escape from any unwanted attention.
I am moving away from the cat tree idea (though there may be a place for a cat tree elsewhere) and more towards a ladder.
I already have a ladder that I repurposed (it was ancient and very unsafe). I tightened it up and added rungs. It goes up to a big perch in the run. The perch is a popular preening spot at about 4’ up. Many fly up and down. Some use the ladder. And some sit on the ladder itself.
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With the ladder idea in mind I headed off to the barn to see what I had on hand.
The barn is a big scary place (I think a bear lives in the attic) and it is full of the junk of many prior generations of owners. Of course I love it!
Well, I was looking for scrap lumber, but I found ladders!

The first is one that I don’t think would ever be used in real life. It is 12’ long, possibly more which is way too big, but I could cut it up and game two! The top is up in bear territory and I didn’t venture so for all I know it is 15’. It is the wood one under the more modern metal one.
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The second I could imagine using in real life. It is a small extendable wooden painters ladder. Goes from 7-14’.
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The third is a beautifully made step ladder. It is very, very heavy which makes it less useful in real life. Call me crazy, but I could prevent it from tipping by securing it to the chains I have hanging from the rafters. Those are for hanging feeders that I no longer use because of the rat proof feeders. It might sway if a big chicken launched off the top, but it wouldn’t fall and crush anyone. And I would have it firmly on the ground, not swinging in the breeze. Do you think chickens would use the steps? They are only 11.5” apart - so to fly up to a higher one would require good aim. It is about 6’ tall. I can see them using the first 2-3 steps maybe? Geronimo and Cookie might go higher.
View attachment 4245147

I am leaning towards the step ladder in the open space (secured to rafters just in case) and maybe also cutting up the first one and leaning half of it against the wall by the servant’s quarters.

All thoughts welcome.

I think the step ladder is a great idea with 1 caveat. The angle. If you can remove the side braces and spread it to closer to a 45⁰ angle going up, I think it would work really well. At the current >60⁰ ascent, I think it's a might steep for how close together the rungs are, especially with the sides. Optionally, remove the metal hinge thing at the top also and gain 2 ladders, run 1 from the ground up the wall and the other crosswise above it with the end on the 6x6 and the other end supported by some sort of shortish post (or caught by the chains). The criss-cross gives some of the tree type variety/height while gaining more roots in the same area.

The wooden ladder (15') looks like the rungs are close to perfectly spaced out, and with that length, could make for quite the range of avoiding options, especially if it were angled so the upper end was no more than 6 feet up (or hang in from the chains as a swing)

 

[Ponypoor]

I already have enough money. Maybe speed bumps? Ps. Ide love a gun tower managed 247 with paintball guns?

Seagulls…. Their poop is particularly nasty to remove from one’s vehicle.

 

[Sylvester017]

@RoyalChick ~ I've outlived all my handymen or their businesses. The new ones just aren't the same... or don't have communication skills... or don't show up as scheduled.

DH can use bungie bands, spring clips, & tape things together in a pinch & I appreciate that... but no reliable construction skills . At least he's very good w/our hens He had to take Suzu to the vet w/o me last week & he's been treating her 2x/day, tolerating her 2 week confinement in the kitchen, & taking her out to the coop at night & bringing her back into the house every morning.

 

[Sylvester017]

I already have enough money. Maybe speed bumps? Ps. Ide love a gun tower managed 247 with paintball guns?

LOVE the speed bump idea. They use them as pedestrian lines in Europe so I'm told. Steering wheels make speed idiots out of some drivers!

Not sure what language this is but the face meets my mood re: Calif drivers!

 

[notabitail]

LOVE the speed bump idea. They use them as pedestrian lines in Europe so I'm told. Steering wheels make speed idiots out of some drivers!

Not sure what language this is but the face meets my mood re: Calif drivers!

It's in AI.

 

[Sylvester017]

You can donate the money to community causes or the church.
It would reduce usage and slow people down.
Maybe a coin operated barrier could be found.

Wouldn't work here... they drive so fast they probably would crash right thru it