Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Marie2020]

One of the great chicken characters of all time.

 

[Marie2020]

What a jaunty girl! That pose, her step, her comb! She had a good life there, and at her second home with her new friends. You did right by her.

Thank you.

Reading what @Sylvester017 just wrote, on chickens getting ill and vets being away etc. Our vets were four bus rides away. And from what people told me worse than useless. They actually caused deaths.

One receptionist i spoke with was perfect for treating chickens. Their vets wouldn't let her practice. But luckily for me on that day I spoke with her, she was able to give me advice.

IMHO. Wrong people are in the job over here. They just want money

 

[Sylvester017]

All the chooks who were moulting here when I brought Petra and Leah here where the ones who became really sick.

This is another reason I am afraid if the ones moulting now get sick. Add in the cold weather and that is a good amt of stress.

Would electrolytes in their water supply or NutriDrench help get them thru moult w/ less stress?

Our vet loves that we supplement w/ vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, etc, & especially when medically treating an in-house bird.

 

[Marie2020]

Passing on the information I learned this morning about this screw worm

 

[rural mouse]

Yes that’s exactly what I was thinking!

Hahahahahahahaha - ok so I wasn’t thinking that. But yes he throws that orange colouring, and blue.

May 2023
School chicks my niece hatched from my hens eggs and Mr P
All the light chicks turned splash and have the orange ruff around
Their necks
View attachment 4261999View attachment 4262000View attachment 4262001View attachment 4262003View attachment 4262004View attachment 4262006View attachment 4262008View attachment 4262010View attachment 4262013

And Floyd who is a Marty egg, so whatever colour she is an Mr P
View attachment 4262007

I'm going to speculate here....does Marty have some lightish streaks in her dark fluff? Hmmm....Floyd throws a spanner in the works. Going to think "out loud". Mr P has splash so 100% of his offspring should be splash or blue. All blacks should be turned to blue. Floyd has BLACK rather than blue. Somehow he got the black from Marty and the gold from Mr P while NOT getting any of the blue/Dom white/silver. I'm thinking Marty carries a lacing gene which Floyd got, showing as partial (the black spots). If Marty is dark partridge, somehow that overwrote/reset all the "this affects that" stuff?

Have to get ready for work. Now watch. When I'm part way there, driving, and have no signal, something more will click....and by the time I arrive at work, it will have poofed again.

Edit: did Floyd have blue in his tail feathers?

 

[rural mouse]

They can (and have) move away from it along the ledge. I see Curly has moved away and a couple of the Noirans. As the temp falls here they will maybe move back inder it’s effects.

Curly has moved away and Mr P hhas moved a bit also
View attachment 4262030

Looks like Marty under the heater along with someone else. One of the pullets likes to roost on the board wall I have separating the corner - Marty would peck the other off the ledge but the board gives her a space to herself.
View attachment 4262028

Is it that infrared sort of thing or does it just radiate warmth?

 

[RoyalChick]

I'm going to speculate here....does Marty have some lightish streaks in her dark fluff? Hmmm....Floyd throws a spanner in the works. Going to think "out loud". Mr P has splash so 100% of his offspring should be splash or blue. All blacks should be turned to blue. Floyd has BLACK rather than blue. Somehow he got the black from Marty and the gold from Mr P while NOT getting any of the blue/Dom white/silver. I'm thinking Marty carries a lacing gene which Floyd got, showing as partial (the black spots). If Marty is dark partridge, somehow that overwrote/reset all the "this affects that" stuff?

Have to get ready for work. Now watch. When I'm part way there, driving, and have no signal, something more will click....and by the time I arrive at work, it will have poofed again.

Edit: did Floyd have blue in his tail feathers?

This is a whole new field of expertise - reverse engineering genetics.
Lots of folk do the forward version (if I cross A with B, what might the babies look like), but this is waaaay more sophisticated than that!

 

[ChicoryBlue]

I think it’s a new model, I seem to have read that on their site.

The ones I just purchased are also 200watts, but also have a lower 100watts setting.

Yes I have two settings on the ones I have too.

All the chooks who were moulting here when I brought Petra and Leah here where the ones who became really sick.

This is another reason I am afraid if the ones moulting now get sick. Add in the cold weather and that is a good amt of stress.

Possibly you can slow down heat loss and drafts by laying cardboard, a tarp or a blanket over the top of each roosting area, over the tops of the walls, or pinned to the inside and spanning wall-to-wall?

Looks like Marty under the heater along with someone else. One of the pullets likes to roost on the board wall I have separating the corner - Marty would peck the other off the ledge but the board gives her a space to herself.
View attachment 4262028

I like this idea as a little separator, a mental divider, for platform roosting, thanks! Don't need it at this time but good to know. It's just the board on its edge? They can hop over it if they want, correct? Is it a 1x6 or 1x4?

I want to know what this electric baby nail file is!

That's @SimpleJenn 's post

This is a whole new field of expertise - reverse engineering genetics.
Lots of folk do the forward version (if I cross A with B, what might the babies look like), but this is waaaay more sophisticated than that!

It is, isn't it? Having made myself slog through each discussion I can see glimmers of understanding poking through the mud in my brain, at least at the concept level.
Supposedly there are "rules" for each genetic component. What makes either forward or reverse engineering ridiculously hard is that the heritage of each "case" is not fully known, so what might pop up? How many generations of birds does one have to see to approximate certainty? @rural mouse

 

[Ponypoor]

Would electrolytes in their water supply or NutriDrench help get them thru moult w/ less stress?

Our vet loves that we supplement w/ vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, etc, & especially when medically treating an in-house bird.

This might help, but moulting is a stressful time, and add in the freezing cold - poor wee kiddos. What they need is warm sunshine, which of course is practically non existant this time of year here. So the Sweeter Heater it is.

Today I will put up the bigger IR heaters I have, they will appreciate that - and so will I, last winter you would have found me and the chooks all huddled around one to warm up!

 

[Ponypoor]

I'm going to speculate here....does Marty have some lightish streaks in her dark fluff? Hmmm....Floyd throws a spanner in the works. Going to think "out loud". Mr P has splash so 100% of his offspring should be splash or blue. All blacks should be turned to blue. Floyd has BLACK rather than blue. Somehow he got the black from Marty and the gold from Mr P while NOT getting any of the blue/Dom white/silver. I'm thinking Marty carries a lacing gene which Floyd got, showing as partial (the black spots). If Marty is dark partridge, somehow that overwrote/reset all the "this affects that" stuff?

Have to get ready for work. Now watch. When I'm part way there, driving, and have no signal, something more will click....and by the time I arrive at work, it will have poofed again.

Edit: did Floyd have blue in his tail feathers?

I’ll post a video of him later one you can see his tail well in.

Meanwhile here is a photo, Marty has neck shackle feathers that are gold like Georgie does but not as many.

Floyd/Martina
Hatched 14 April 2024

These photos July 2023
And you can see Butterecotch with her orange shackle feathers which I at first thought were dirty hahaha