Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[featherhead007]

Oliver!

That's what I heard too ~ using metal stainless steel Brillo scrub pads to plug up small holes or cracks. Probably best not to get the brands w/soap in them. I wonder how safe around curious chickens would be to peck at them?

Is beak polishing a new trend?

 

[BY Bob]

It's this pile of prefab crap. Too small for anything other than a small wall mounted heater.
View attachment 4252535

I'll probably go with one of those wall mounted Cozy Coop heaters because they're relatively cheap compared to other options and I can just pick one up at FF&H.

I have 2 of them and love them. Nice and safe.

 

[BY Bob]

How sad & frustrating too

It sounds so much like neurological Marek's disease. Mareck's breaks my heart & we learned it the ever-so-hard way. Yrs back we had it w/ 2 separate birds shipped to us from private breeders who didn't believe in vaccinating. Mareck's is long-lingering w/ moments of showing up-n-down weeks & then the last week rapid decline. The vet sent us home hopefully both times saying he had seen some chickens recover... but rarely.

We returned to the vet to euthanize both birds when they stopped taking nourishment. It is not a quick disease like bird flu... Mareck's is a weeks-long suffering ~ it makes me so mad w/ private breeders who play Roulette thinking AC vinegar & garlic is a holistic cure or prevention for all chicken ailments cuz they don't want to spend $$$ to vaccinate (it's not cost-effective for small flock breeders)

After experiences w/ non-vaccinating breeders we never bought birds after that unless they were Mareck's vaccinated (which is probably why those birds are more expensive to buy from private rather than hatchery).

We also practiced quarantine of new chicks/juveniles longer than a couple weeks. We'd wait 6 to 8 weeks or more before integrating & it's been a boon to do that as ailments have been caught before integration... it happened we quarantined avian leukosis shipped birds early before integration (breeder unaware of it till later).

So sorry for anyone who has to go thru non-vaccinating sources to obtain chicks/chickens cuz it really is a time bomb. One sick bird can infect a flock... doesn't mean the hardy flock will ever show symptoms but they become latent carriers & during another compromised ailment or low immunity can have Mareck's flare up.

Our Taffy was shipped in 2013 w/her sister chick unvaccinated. The chick died the 1st month but Taffy did not finally come down w/ symptoms till she was 2-1/2 yrs old & the vet had hopes but she had to eventually be put down at the vet.
2015 ~ sick Taffy
View attachment 4252582

Another shipped unvaccinated bird had to be put down for Mareck's within the 1st 2 weeks we got her. The weak legs, loss of balance, falling on weak legs, the leg sticking out when sitting, so heartbreaking to remember back in time .
2015
View attachment 4252586

Chickens are such wonderful sweeties but w/ so many health challenges to be aware of. They keep us on our toes... like marriage, not to be entered into lightly

Joy tested negative for Mareks when I screened her. Blood test.

 

[BY Bob]

Mugs Monday

Winds sre gusting to 30 mph. I think i will roost here.

She's in her nest again.

 

[featherhead007]

A new record for persistence, awarded to my CeeCee the EE. She wanted some of my lunch and she got it. Salisbury steak with gravy. She wouldn’t leave me alone, until she had her fill.

 

[Ponypoor]

It's this pile of prefab crap. Too small for anything other than a small wall mounted heater.
View attachment 4252535

I'll probably go with one of those wall mounted Cozy Coop heaters because they're relatively cheap compared to other options and I can just pick one up at FF&H.

I have one and my gang likes to snuggle up to it. You can get two and put at opposite sides to help warm things up. Help keep the water from freezing also.

 

[Ponypoor]

Mugs Monday

Winds sre gusting to 30 mph. I think i will roost here.

View attachment 4252691

She's in her nest again.

Like how you have the step stool ready to roll.

Cash tried to roost in the Summer house with Mr P. She’s tried this all last week too. But the silkies freak out and she tries to beat them off. For a big bird she rather low down the ladder, so she gets picked on in the Hen House, but chooks half her size!

Do you think she feels like she has less drama if she is outside?

 

[Ponypoor]

And now that they're coming into molt, I'm not getting as many eggs. I think Gytha has all but stopped laying. Magrat and Esme give me one every 2 or 3 days. Sybil is still laying near daily.

Here's one week's worth of eggs. 6 Sybil eggs, 3 Esme, 2 (or 3) Magrat, and 1 (or 0) Gytha eggs.
View attachment 4252549
It's easy to tell Sybil's apart, and usually Esme's too because hers are the largest and sometimes have a pink hue with white speckles, but Gytha and Magrat can be tougher. Usually Magrat's eggs have little purple spots (like the bottom right egg), but not every time. Otherwise they're the same shape and size as Gytha's eggs.

Molting Monday Mugs!
View attachment 4252550
Sleepy Sybil

View attachment 4252551
Crabby Magrat, proud Esme, and poor uncomfortable Gytha hiding below

View attachment 4252552
Pretty Gytha... With a poopy butt

View attachment 4252553
Raggedy Sybil butt

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View attachment 4252555
Attention hog Esme

View attachment 4252556
My Wyandotte twins

I have poor Butters who is rather bald, I had to buy a new one of those cozy coop panels as mine won’t start. Poor thing, I have been closing up my Hen House at night due to all my bald moulting chooks. But I want to get her a heat panel for her to snuggle up by.

 

[Ponypoor]

Well...the dog used to be allowed in our yard when Gramma lived here. Also dad gets distracted doing stuff and doesn't keep an eye on Baxter.
I told him the bb gun will be used if he's in our yard again.

My parent's dog. They have an e-collar for him but of course the time he attacked was the day it hadn't been charged.
They are working on boundary training and looking into an invisible fence.

Yep can’t ‘make the parents dog disappear’ bad optics there!

 

[Ponypoor]

How sad & frustrating too

It sounds so much like neurological Marek's disease. Mareck's breaks my heart & we learned it the ever-so-hard way. Yrs back we had it w/ 2 separate birds shipped to us from private breeders who didn't believe in vaccinating. Mareck's is long-lingering w/ moments of showing up-n-down weeks & then the last week rapid decline. The vet sent us home hopefully both times saying he had seen some chickens recover... but rarely.

We returned to the vet to euthanize both birds when they stopped taking nourishment. It is not a quick disease like bird flu... Mareck's is a weeks-long suffering ~ it makes me so mad w/ private breeders who play Roulette thinking AC vinegar & garlic is a holistic cure or prevention for all chicken ailments cuz they don't want to spend $$$ to vaccinate (it's not cost-effective for small flock breeders)

After experiences w/ non-vaccinating breeders we never bought birds after that unless they were Mareck's vaccinated (which is probably why those birds are more expensive to buy from private rather than hatchery).

We also practiced quarantine of new chicks/juveniles longer than a couple weeks. We'd wait 6 to 8 weeks or more before integrating & it's been a boon to do that as ailments have been caught before integration... it happened we quarantined avian leukosis shipped birds early before integration (breeder unaware of it till later).

So sorry for anyone who has to go thru non-vaccinating sources to obtain chicks/chickens cuz it really is a time bomb. One sick bird can infect a flock... doesn't mean the hardy flock will ever show symptoms but they become latent carriers & during another compromised ailment or low immunity can have Mareck's flare up.

Our Taffy was shipped in 2013 w/her sister chick unvaccinated. The chick died the 1st month but Taffy did not finally come down w/ symptoms till she was 2-1/2 yrs old & the vet had hopes but she had to eventually be put down at the vet.
2015 ~ sick Taffy
View attachment 4252582

Another shipped unvaccinated bird had to be put down for Mareck's within the 1st 2 weeks we got her. The weak legs, loss of balance, falling on weak legs, the leg sticking out when sitting, so heartbreaking to remember back in time .
2015
View attachment 4252586

Chickens are such wonderful sweeties but w/ so many health challenges to be aware of. They keep us on our toes... like marriage, not to be entered into lightly

My Peavy mart chicks were vax for that and coccidiosis. Here though the hatcheries don’t sell vax chicks and they couldn’t give me a good reason why! The vaccine isn’t all that expensive, about $90 for 2000 doses.

The factory farms vax for all sorts of things with their laying hens. But backyard flocks nope.

Of course it’s too late for me to do anything with my gang now.