Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[SimpleJenn]

@SimpleJenn, I sure will miss your boys!

Me too. I asked for updates if she gets a chance

 

[SimpleJenn]

And where will we keep all these chickens?

Spoiler: A chicken mansion in the making

This was my childhood playhouse

Nice porch for the feed and water and chairs

Lots of light
a dutch door!!!
the inside is roomy

I believe the shelves stay, the tables go

And it has tons of roof ventilation and we can hardware cloth all the windows.
The floorspace is roughly 13x9.5
We will be building ladder roosts and have nestboxes and brooder cabinets!

 

[Sally PB]

@SimpleJenn, what a lovely coop that will make!!!

 

[SimpleJenn]

@SimpleJenn, what a lovely coop that will make!!!

Hubby is making plans! Hardware cloth in all the windows and a spinny roof vent, cabinets to store the brooder plates and water tank heater, along with any other equipment.
However, I will be selling some chickens to make money to buy the hardware cloth. I have a few candidates.

 

[Ponypoor]

Today was the day
View attachment 4166481
Bye boys, have fun with your new family.
View attachment 4166483
Here they were cuddling and complaining

I'm not crying, you're crying


Also they gave me nearly 4 DOZEN eggs and want to ship more to me in the fall. Hubby and I thought we were getting a dozen silkie eggs.....
Hubby says he's going to find us a shed for a new coop.

Safe journeys wee fellas.

I think you misread

Chickens that are cooped up and not in a natural state do, in fact, create a pecking order. So you're absolutely right! I never said they didn't.


That's what's been observed of cooped up chickens.


I'm saying mine aren't cooped up and not only do they free range, they have more space than what their natural range would be to be allowed to be chickens in a natural environment.

I observe no pecking order.

Different chickens leave the door in different order every single solitary day. Different chickens dust bathe together every single day. Different chickens eat together every single day. I even feed a mash from one single bowl most mornings and not all chickens can eat from the bowl at once and every day, different chickens eat the mash and there are zero fights. Zero.

Babies scoot in and eat. Teenagers. The 13 week olds. Adults. It's a different group every day except always my cross beak, because that's why I do the mash in the first place.

A pecking order was indeed observed by the fellow in 1912

But it was cooped up overcrowded chickens.

So yes it exists. But it doesn't really exist if allowed to just be chickens on ample, ample free ranging space.

Both things are true.

I also feel it has to do with the number of chooks one has.

I have ample space here but when I had only a few there was definite hierarchy. Now not so much.

This I also observed with the horses. If there were only a few then one would be boss mare, but when in a larger herd it was more fluid. It was like they took turns.

Now I have a few more (ok 43) and there seems to be more of a fluid nature to their structure. I still have the older original gals who have their original hierarchy, and the youngster sub groups who have a bit of a hierarchy. But again it’s like they take turns.

The other thing I have noted is that as they get older, they fall into a more structured group; and some have even added themselves to my old ladies’ group.

I equate this to how us humans are - the elders have their group, but I find as the youngsters get older they associate with the elders more and more.

Very interesting what one can see sitting on a lawnchair.

 

[Ponypoor]

This is a great point as Cockerels and Roosters aim for peace. They don't brook fights or discord.

They have dozens of calls and sounds they make to each other.

We just observed Chuck (our Rooster) stop a fight between two Cockerels through a hardware cloth boundary only. This was just last night.

All he did was say something through the hwc and they stopped. My husband and I just gawped at each other in amazement and praised Chuck. Lol

And yet my older Roo just ignores the younger Roos. Unless they encroach upon his ladies. I have had issues with other young Roos challenging my old boy.

I don’t often see Mr P even breaking up squabbling between the ladies. My observation has been him keeping the younger Roos away from his girls, and looking for danger.

Even my younger Roos don’t get between any squabbles the ladies have. They have their favourite ladies and keep watch for danger.

The younger gals hang out with the younger boys, but I have noted that the older they get the more they hang out with Mr P and the older ladies. Only 2 of the youngsters want to hang with Mr P, Betty and Laverne. But mostly because they want pick at his head feathers - the brats!

Have to say I really really enjoy hearing others experience with their chooks and how they manage them.

And choices for breeds (Bob got me hooked on the Polish ), and hearing about breeds like the Wyandotte and those silver spangles Spitzhauben (I really want one!), gosh I just need to win that lottery for a bigger barn!

 

[Ponypoor]

And where will we keep all these chickens?

Spoiler: A chicken mansion in the making

View attachment 4166558
This was my childhood playhouse
View attachment 4166559
Nice porch for the feed and water and chairs
View attachment 4166560
Lots of light
View attachment 4166561a dutch door!!!
View attachment 4166562the inside is roomy
View attachment 4166563
I believe the shelves stay, the tables go
View attachment 4166564
And it has tons of roof ventilation and we can hardware cloth all the windows.
The floorspace is roughly 13x9.5
We will be building ladder roosts and have nestboxes and brooder cabinets!

Wow that’s awesome! I look forward to the re-build

 

[RoyalChick]

Different chickens leave the door in different order every single solitary day. Different chickens dust bathe together every single day. Different chickens eat together every single day. I even feed a mash from one single bowl most mornings and not all chickens can eat from the bowl at once and every day, different chickens eat the mash and there are zero fights. Zero.

I haven't seen any of the things you list here in my chickens either, but nonetheless I am very clear that there is a lead hen.
At least with mine the pecking order is much more subtle (though how easy to spot has tended to depend on who the lead hen is and her character).
My lead hens have very rarely (if ever) engaged in fighting. Sometimes there is a minor scuffle between two who are lower down and often the lead hen stops those scuffles with a look.
Probably the most obvious sign of who the head hen is comes at roosting time and who gets the preferred spot. Of course to see that there has to be a preferred spot (and of course sometimes the preferred spot changes just to confuse me!).

 

[RoyalChick]

And where will we keep all these chickens?

Spoiler: A chicken mansion in the making

View attachment 4166558
This was my childhood playhouse
View attachment 4166559
Nice porch for the feed and water and chairs
View attachment 4166560
Lots of light
View attachment 4166561a dutch door!!!
View attachment 4166562the inside is roomy
View attachment 4166563
I believe the shelves stay, the tables go
View attachment 4166564
And it has tons of roof ventilation and we can hardware cloth all the windows.
The floorspace is roughly 13x9.5
We will be building ladder roosts and have nestboxes and brooder cabinets!

Wonderful! That is roughly the size of the coop part of the Chicken Palace and I love it and the ability to walk around inside.
This will be great!

 

[rural mouse]

Today was the day
View attachment 4166481
Bye boys, have fun with your new family.
View attachment 4166483
Here they were cuddling and complaining

I'm not crying, you're crying


Also they gave me nearly 4 DOZEN eggs and want to ship more to me in the fall. Hubby and I thought we were getting a dozen silkie eggs.....
Hubby says he's going to find us a shed for a new coop.

Sad to see them go, glad they will be appreciated and glad you're expanding coop space with durable and glad you've got a good relationship with the guys new home.