Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[LhickenChicken]

Here is my tax.
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Aww cute chickens

 

[GregnLety]

She’s looking for a mirror. She wants to see herself

The guineas are narcissistic. I was sitting on the other side of the sliding door when the guineas sounded their alarm. Thinking that they found a snake i went to investigate and there they were looking at their reflection

 

[TX Chick Noob]

I am 300 pages behind, but wanted to post a link to a thread I just made about Speedy. Pretty sure she has an infected earlobe.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-earlobe-looks-similar-to-bumblefoot.1596281/

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Photo Shoot
 Phyllis was a true model today with a professional photographer. She rode beautifully in the car.

Here she is with her props.

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Here are the results. It was difficult to pick prints as they were all amazing. The photographer said the camera loves her. She rocked her photo shoot for sure. No surprise there.

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She was a hit all over tractor supply. Everyone wanted to meet her and pet her. Phyllis was most interested in some barred rock chicks.
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When we returned home she received payment.
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She was truly magnificent. Even taking time to poop in front of the photographer.

I love all the pictures, the relaxing and high-stepping, standing looking around, all glamour poses!

Eggcellent idea, and you can have visitors but you need to make sure it’s an area that doesn’t get winter snow!

Did you notice the snowy mountains behind the ducks? There’s a big mountain range between Italy and France you know….

Oh I see what you mean.
Technically from 3 weeks they were free to come and go as they chose - but I don't know that they spent that much time on the coop floor until about 4-5 weeks - but then they definitely did spend time on the old litter.
I think the theorists would say that the ideal thing would be to give them exposure in small doses rather than a full onslaught - so they can develop their immunities. Practically that might look like running around for a few hours during the day but still having their own environment for the rest of the time. I have never heard of anyone doing that in practice but it probably is the ideal 'integration' into their new microbiological environment!

When I’ve had them outside they’ve been on ground the Buckeyes have been on, but it’s not the “load” they would encounter on the run litter.

Well, with broody raised chicks (at my place, anyways), once momma takes them out of the nest box (1-2 days), I put them in a plastic dog crate or my mobile broody house [Edit to add: my coops are raised, so really young chicks can't get back into the coop once momma takes them out - hence the dog crate and or broody pens - that are on the ground]....and erect a wire dog pen around it for a few days...so they have clean bedding in the dog crate, but the regular bedding from the run in the pen. Once they all 'have their legs under them ( just another day or two after moving to the crate), I open the pen gate and observe to see if momma can/will protect them. Sometimes they end up in the 'see don't touch' for another week (depending on mom, how many chicks she has, and when they hatched relative to the weekend (i.e. when I can observe))

After that, one of two things happen - they are free to interact completely with the flock, or a create a 'creep' at the entrance to the pen, so they can go in and out at will, but the bigs can't fit in (this also means mom is stuck inside the pen/crate complex - which I don't like, so I ONLY do this if I need to for the safety of the chicks - which is not often relative to the number of mommas with chicks.

I do make sure the run bedding isn't disgusting....like after a number of rainy days...but otherwise, I think it is good for them in the sense of building their immunity. In the wild they would be with the flock as soon as momma left the nest. The only difference being that there is not the concentration of chickens per space in the wild like there is in our penned flocks...meaning there is the potential for higher pathogenic load.

So far, I haven't lost a chick to illness/failure to thrive - other than ones that passed within 24 hours of hatching because they were weak or something was wrong with them. I have lost a couple to momma (see this week's synopsis) and a couple this summer to rats (No, I haven't managed to defeat them - in fact, I am sure they are growing in number, as I now see them - usually younger ones - out during the day. )

So, I suspect that the best strategy is somewhere between mine and Bobs???? I really don't know.

Thank you for explaining your approach and concerns, it’s very helpful. Sorry about the chick! But even more sorry about your difficult rat situation. I don’t know what you can do about that. Maybe consult the local AgTech people for ideas?

I might wait 2 more weeks myself.

When you're not sure if you have a health issue you should not mix them together. I would quarantine and keep them separate until I knew what was going on. Is it that hard to keep them separate?

I was not looking at the whole picture and the possibility what’s going on with Butters or somebody else being infective to others, thank you very much for that reminder! Yes, wouldn’t want the chicks poking around in infective poo, or breathing the air in close proximity. I think waiting is good.

At six weeks, how far apart should they be when outside, if I still don’t know what’s going on with Butters or anyone else? An entirely separate coop and run at least 30 feet away?

I can give the chicks outdoors time now pretty separately, keeping the Bigs away more than I have been doing. But for them to have tons of outside time without me it needs to be a more secure area. I’ve got this second run in two halves, ready to put together, but if it has to be pretty far away I’ll need to move it again before I connect it together.

I can make the indoors Chickatraz better for their growing wingspans in the meantime, also keep them occupied….more sod or something, they need continuing projects and are getting bored making license plates (plus they tell me that’s not real job training for chickens)

Picture from an upstairs window. The new run is close to the older roofed run, ready to push closer and attach. I just finished prepping the original run for the attachment.

So after six or more weeks without better info on illness I could haul the two halves as far away as possible, and set it up still within the electric fencing, which is moveable…..close off the Bigs access with plastic fencing…..bring the pullets inside to roost at night….or get a second coop? …if I try for more Buckeyes next year that would be the direction to go anyway….but I may wait a year, and it feels like too much to think about right now!

My buddy is back for Pony Sunday. I love his ears - they are constantly on the move.
I guess that is why he is still with us.

Those ears are like independent periscopes!

Sydney!

I wasn’t thinking of virulent pathogens (though infective dose is relevant even in Marek’s and Mycoplasma). I was thinking more along the lines of babies developing immune systems.
This is one example. The piece of sod in the brooder to get used to local strain of coccidia is another.
https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2012.10294

Microbiology tax
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Yes, I understood how you were thinking of it. Interesting article!

 

[featherhead007]

@featherhead007 is this your giraffe!?!
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Funny looking gremlin!

 

[featherhead007]

Not mine.. Maybe Featherheads’ giraffe! Or maybe his Planes’ giraffe

I ordered a carafe from Amazon. Maybe they got the order wrong?

 

[featherhead007]

Now if there was a chook looking at me like that, I would say that that is my chook. Sadly, that is not a chicken and is unfortunately a giraffe and so I would say, no, it is not mine.

Chicken in the passenger seat of my car
( not the airplane)

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

Good afternoon everyone. Well, morning for me, first cup of coffee. I am exhausted. I was right, my horseshow watching days are over. I am now firmly back in the concession stand. I dreamed of chili cheese fries and catfish when I finally fell asleep around 5 this morning. Rosie was upset because she was not even allowed to come down and watch it. Sorry girly, you are staying inside until you have had 72 hours of antibiotics in you. She did get catfish and chili cheese fries sent home to her to make up for it. Next weekend is the 2 day labor day show she can come watch that one. Russ's show season is possibly done this year depending on what happens tomorrow or Tuesday morning. His limping was due to a stone bruise and he is over that finally. He also has to have his teeth floated, detected a large spur on one of his molars. Our farrier last year went and took the training and got certified to float teeth. He checked him when he reshod him Thursday. He checked him for us and found the spur, he also thinks and Russ would not cooperate to confirm he spotted a broken tooth. That will probably need pulled. He told us if it is broken, and the roots are dead he will pull it, if it needs cut out the vet will have to come out to do it. Either way, if a tooth gets pulled a bit is not going back in his mouth until he is fully healed. Rosie has everything crossed there is not a bad tooth but we will see. Frankly if she were not sick, she would have rode him down to the show to watch last night. He would have been bareback with the halter on and 2 lead ropes attached. Russ does not need a bit to ride, I just do not want her in the show ring without a proper bridle. I am not worried about Russ, I am worried about the other horses and want Rosie to have some control if another one acts up. I am also back to breaking up a broody. Perdita is broody again. I feel for her, she got cheated when her sole chick passed but it is just not a good time for more chicks. High 90s with killer humidity is not the time to be sitting on eggs. She is stubborn though. We should get a break in the killer heat in about a week. If she is not broken up in the back of my mind I may let her have 4 eggs. Marans eggs that is, a few marans chicks running around in a month could not hurt.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Tax for getting involved with giraffe talk (for me... you have to pay tax yourself @Gigachad poultry)
Whole bunch of meat chickens
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Sally
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Who's that with the white meat chickens?

 

[knoturavggrl]

For a legbar, Glynda looks a lot more like a leghorn. She's beautiful.

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Gosh, she really has turned into a gorgeous chicken. Glows white and her comb gorgeous . Best of all though she seems to have at least some interest in being a lap chicken.