Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

I wonder how Laverne likes being bald like she balded Mr P?!

Check out her scrawny Chicken legs

Her feathers have only grown in half way, hoping her fluffy belly feathers grow in soon!

 

[Sally PB]

Fly high and free, beautiful Buffy. Crystal is waiting for you on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge.

 

[BY Bob]

Twofer
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Two calico birdies (and a friend that is a mix of two breeds so she counts as her own twofer)

Beautiful chooks!

 

[Labsandchickens8]

It was kinda the same when we 1st had Silkies... a quest to find gentle temperament standard breeds that weren't aggressive. We found that most egg layers were nasty toward Silkies till we got Dominiques who were introduced young & actually defended older Silkies from other aggressive hens. There's always a pecking order but we didn't tolerate a bullying or over-aggressive hen & sadly rehomed those to friends' layer flocks. I categorize gentle Polish temperaments the same as Silkie or Cochin bantam gentle temperaments.

My old Silkie Violet who toodled around w/ our Dominique Dana
BFTP
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My plan is to get two mille fleur D'uccles and one or two other bantams to keep the two Polish company. Hopefully this spring or early summer. They need some company.

 

[bgmathteach]

No more ISA’s

Hi everyone. I am once again several weeks behind in reading. I know several people have had losses lately, my deepest sympathies to all of you. And now I have also had a loss. Buffy, the last of my five ISA’s passed late Sunday or early Monday.

She was 3.5 years old, and has had reproductive issues for about a year. I had drained her abdomen a few times. The first was many months ago, the last a few days ago. When I drained it that time I could feel a hard lump in her abdomen. She had also started having crop issues that seemed to indicate that things weren’t able to pass through as well. When I did her abdomen I also used a catheter to drain her crop, because when I went to pick her up dark fluid gushed from her mouth. At least she seemed to be a little more comfortable her last few days.

Once she was gone I did a partial necropsy, mainly just opening her abdomen a little to examine the hard lump. It turned out to be similar to a lash egg, which I assume was from advanced infection in her abdomen.

She and Crystal, who I lost several weeks ago, will be laid to rest together. I kept having the feeling that as soon as I buried Crystal, Buffy would go too. So decided to just wait and bury them together when the time came.

Fly high my dearest ones. At least you will now be reunited with Goldie, Sassy, and Hazel.

Buffy from a few months ago, with her last fluffy butt photo.
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I always loved the patterning on her back feathers, that looked almost like lacing or pencilling.
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Memorial photo, and one of the material that wa in her abdomen (since I know some people appreciate things like this of a medical nature).

Spoiler: Buffy Memorial photo

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Spoiler: Abdominal material

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And I don’t think I ever posted pictures when Crystal passed.

Showing off her sunbathing pose
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Spoiler: Crystal memorial

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Lovely memorial photos - It is clear you loved them.

So sad that teh 'oldest' only lived 3.5 years....I know I've said it before, but it is such a travesty what we humans have done to chickens with the breeding!

Sending lots of hugs. May she finally be comfortable and be able to 'free range' in on teh other side of the rainbow - with her friends.

 

[BY Bob]

Someone Needs to Take a Break

Aster has not stopped laying eggs. Even though these are the days with the shortest daylight of the year. I'm not a fan of this. I wish she would take a break.

I found this when I checked the nest box on a whim today.

My little layer.

 

[Labsandchickens8]

I see the two of them are visiting you I love her colouring, both of them are lovely girls, you chose two lovely chickies

Tell me, what is AP?

This has probably been answered, but wanted to approach this from the instructor's point of view. I teach Dual Credit Government and AP Macroeconomics. In the past I taught AP U.S. History and AP Government but switched to Dual Credit where I could.
AP stands for Advanced Placement. Students take a class with curriculum approved by the College Board - the same group that administers the SAT test. In May, the College Board administers AP tests in the states and internationally. Students receive scores on a scale of one to five, and universities give credit as they choose. It can be a very tough test, with an occasional essay question coming out of left field and preventing students from getting college credit after working hard and doing well all year.
Dual credit means the student is simultaneously enrolled in the high school class and the university class. The professor is an employee of both schools, but the university has control of the curriculum and requirements. There is not a giant make or break test at the end of the year, just the normal final exam.
Both classes really help cut down on the expense of college and both help high school students prepare for the rigor of a university. However, not every student needs to go to college, and that's fine. We need to quit pushing kids to borrow $100,000 or more when they would be perfectly happy in a trade or starting their own small business.
Sorry for the rant. I know very little about any science, so all the health care discussions about chickens go over my head.
Hang in there AP students!

 

[Ponypoor]

This has probably been answered, but wanted to approach this from the instructor's point of view. I teach Dual Credit Government and AP Macroeconomics. In the past I taught AP U.S. History and AP Government but switched to Dual Credit where I could.
AP stands for Advanced Placement. Students take a class with curriculum approved by the College Board - the same group that administers the SAT test. In May, the College Board administers AP tests in the states and internationally. Students receive scores on a scale of one to five, and universities give credit as they choose. It can be a very tough test, with an occasional essay question coming out of left field and preventing students from getting college credit after working hard and doing well all year.
Dual credit means the student is simultaneously enrolled in the high school class and the university class. The professor is an employee of both schools, but the university has control of the curriculum and requirements. There is not a giant make or break test at the end of the year, just the normal final exam.
Both classes really help cut down on the expense of college and both help high school students prepare for the rigor of a university. However, not every student needs to go to college, and that's fine. We need to quit pushing kids to borrow $100,000 or more when they would be perfectly happy in a trade or starting their own small business.
Sorry for the rant. I know very little about any science, so all the health care discussions about chickens go over my head.
Hang in there AP students!

Very interesting.

I tell kids (which drives their parents wild), get a Trade, that’s were the real money is. University is for Lawyers, Doctors and Engineers (etc).

A Heavy Equipment operator here makes as much or more money than a Lawyer and has no stress of running one’s own business and working 70 hrs a week.

Go home at the end of your work day and sit on the lawn chair and watch the chickens

Or work in a mine/oil, do 2 weeks on 2 off and sit on your lawn chair and watch the chickens for two weeks…

There’s a theme here I see!

March 2023
Home after being gone all winter up in the middle of nowhere land. Sitting on the lawnchair enjoying the chooks. It’s a good life if you can get it!

Don’t need to be a rocket scientist!

 

[Ponypoor]

My plan is to get two mille fleur D'uccles and one or two other bantams to keep the two Polish company. Hopefully this spring or early summer. They need some company.

I suggest Silkies, if you like fluffy chooks. I am told d’Uccles fly really well! You might find the Polish and d’Uccles up on your back porch

 

[Ponypoor]

Someone Need to Take a Break

Aster has not stopped laying eggs. Even though these are the days with the shortest daylight of the year. I'm not a fan of this. I wish she would take a break.

I found this when I checked the nest box on a whim today.

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My little layer.
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She’s such a lovely girl, and love those black specks - I have a fondness for spotty chooks.