Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

Sylvester017 · Jan 17, 2026

featherhead007 said:
I have old tires, but the dog just digs around them

What I don't like is wandering dogs don't poop in their own yard if they can poop elsewhere during their excusions.

bgmathteach · Jan 17, 2026

Sally PB said:
RIP Lark, aged 5-3/4 years old.

Lark is flying high and free now. She was one of my first three hens, a Black Australorp from TSC. She was the first one to peep, so I named her Lark.
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There was a funny wave to her comb, a distinguishing mark when they were growing up.

Lowest in the pecking order, she was the "lounger" when she laid. Two hours? Sure. Maybe there was a copy of PlayHen in the nest, or perhaps she was on BeakBook.

When the next batch of chicks came along, she was The Mean Girl. But that was merely teaching the littles their place and The Way of The Chicken.

In the prime of her life, she was a consistent layer and gave us many beautiful eggs.

Goodbye, Lark. I finally got to pet you last night when you were too weak to move away. I told you that you were a fine hen, thanked you for being a valued member of the flock. I will bury you in the garden when the ground thaws and give you back to the Earth.

@Sally PB

She had a wonderful life with you, and I am absolutely certain she knew she was loved - even if she was a 'no pet' chicken.

Lark, may you sing your song loud and free on the other side of the rainbow bridge.

bgmathteach · Jan 17, 2026

RoyalChick said:
I was planning to weigh her (and Mr. Chips) the night I lost him and haven’t had the heart.
She has put on weight (I can tell by how far the feeder flap opens with just her on the treadle) and I will weigh her again soon. I think she still needs the booster seat so I will leave that on for a while but she is eating just fine. Every day I check she had at least one session at the feeder. She just doesn’t eat that much.
Pooh meanwhile is being a terror on the feeder. I have been problem solving with Al who makes them and am close to a solve. Pooh was the first to learn to use the treadle and now she has learned to reach up and under the feed flow to excavate vast quantities of feed out onto the floor.
She seems to do it for sport because she eats out of it just normally! When I discovered it she had emptied almost an entire bin full. She worked her head sideways and up and under and scoops away at it.
Little wretch!
But she is smart and it is really my fault. She must have learned to do it by observing me use my fingers to bring more food down into the trough which I did to help Cookie reach the feed in the pre booster seat era.

They are smart! And, just like toddlers, watch (and listen to) everything you do or say! (and, in the case of human toddlers, oft repeat said words at the worst possible time!) :lau

Hopefully you do find a fix :fl

, otherwise the rats will just love the rat proof feeder (or love Pooh!) as it will provide a HUGE buffet if Pooh can excavate out nearly a whole bin full! :eek:

bgmathteach · Jan 17, 2026

Grandma The Chicken said:
We've been struck with bad luck this month.
At least anything that has to do with chickens.
First @Pastel the Rooster's BBQ, then @RoyalChick's Mr. Chips, and now my dear Mozzarella has decided to join Grandma in chicken heaven. I think someone else's chicken died and I apologize for not mentioning. Not even 6 years old yet and she's gone. When the year started, I didn't even think for a second as to whether one of my chickens will die this year. Not one thought crossed my mind but unfortunately, 2 weeks into 2026, dear Mozzarella is gone. The last photo I ever took of her was yesterday (pictures below) and she looked so weak and kept closing her eyes. Dry comb and wattles because of how cold it was. I remember buying her and Parmesan way back in March 2020. Two inseparable twins, now separated by death. My dad said Parmesan died but when I went to the coop, I couldn't even recognize which twin was which, then confirmed it wasn't Parm that died it was Moxie. The twin that wouldn't bite a finger. The twin with the floppy comb. I loved that chicken. I thought she was really funny for no reason. Goodbye, Mozzarella. God had other plans for you. At least you'll get to see Grandma. At least you got to enjoy a slice of apple cider donut cake last August.
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Sylvester017 · Jan 17, 2026

ChicoryBlue said:
Thank you, I think your guess is right though, it is very likely fowl pox, and I appreciated everything you wrote. I was just thinking it through. Now I'm looking again at Annie, who I think has had it very mildly for several days, on her comb! They are the only two.

How does one prevent dry pox from going into wet pox? I haven't seen anywhere about that.

I researched it so many yrs ago that I don't remember the details... but I remember the vet looking down my chickens' throats to make sure the dry pox wasn't a wet pox too. Then he gave me the ophthalmic antibiotic ointment to contain any further infections on the faces/eyelids ($25 for a teeny teeny tiny tube!).

We've had pox only a couple seasons & only on 5 birds total in 15 yrs that never had pox before. Our birds that had pox before had immunity & never got it again. Right now our most recent 3 Silkies have never had the pox yet so we'll be watching for it every heatwave/mosquito season we get. It's not a matter of "if" pox will happen but "when" will it happen? Depends largely on heatwave/mosquito seasons here.

More pics of Violet w/ pox & ointment mess