Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[RoyalChick]

Tassels went to roost at the end of her day release. And Sylvie figured she could avoid sharing a roost with anyone else but still sleep inside the coop.

 

[ManueB]

I trained my Leghorns with food. Mostly cheese its crackers. They had to take them directly from my hand. I use blueberries more now.

You might try doing the same thing every day. Like blueberries at 6:00 pm every day. They will get used to the routine and start seeking you out at that time. That can be the beginnings of a changing relationship.

That's a great idea, thank you so much !
It's funny I didn't think of it at all, because I've done exactly that with Chipie, but for another reason. A few months ago she began to have strange fits thrashing and throwing her head backwards all the way. I thought maybe it was a form of wry neck and since she is so tiny and bullied by everyone, maybe she wasn't getting enough nutrition. So I began giving her special food every morning; I lock her up in the coop while I clean it, just after opening for the chickens, and she gets a small bowl of scrambled eggs, almonds and peanuts, whole rice for selenium.
First I did that because it was the only way to give it to her since she is such a wild little thing. But she has gotten really used to it and now she follows me around whining really annoyingly in the morning if I'm not quick enough to give it to her !

She has also become much more familiar. I appreciated that when I had to catch her a few days ago because she was pecked in her right eye. And she hasn't had any more fits so hopefully it helped.

So I think it's a great idea for Alba and Nieva. I am going to start in the evening when they are all on the roost. That way I won't be swarmed by the other chickens and I hope it will teach them to be less afraid if I have to catch them off the roost. Blueberries are hard to come by here and we don't eat cheese crackers but I'm sure I'll find something .

Each of mine is handled the same, and they all have differing levels of interaction with me. Some don’t want anything to do with me, and others are all over me all the time, getting underfoot tripping me up, flying up on me with poopy feet.

The ones that don’t like being handled I deal with at night, like Mr P who screams like he’s being murdered otherwise. But I do make a point of picking each one up whenever I get a chance just to make sure they are used to being handled so that they don’t freak out too much when I need to deal with something.

One thing I have noticed is that usually when they start laying the pullets usually settle down and I am able to handle them more. Usually.

But then there are some who just don’t like to be handled no matter what. Bert is one of those, but each night I pick him up and haul his butt over to Hen House B and put him with the Azurs along with anyone else who I can drag over to help thin out the crowd in Hen House A.

He doesn’t like it and screams just as much as his Dada, I just ignore him. He is getting better. Last night the hardly screamed at all - or maybe I am now just deaf in that ear….

We're pretty stand offish and don't handle them unless necessary, but if I get more chickens one day maybe I'll do like you. I have one chicken, Laure, who is even more afraid than the leghorns, bigger, and more feral and I dread the day I will really need to handle her.
Yes, it's amazing to me how different they are in their relationship to humans. In our last batch of chicks, there were three true sisters, raised by the same human weary broody. Mélisse is really familiar, will easily jump on us for food and doesn't mind at all being handled ; Lulu likes us, hangs around talking with us, but hates being picked up, and Annette is very aloof and hard to catch. Genetics and environment are identical and yet they have really different temperaments.
I've seen chickens change both ways throughout their life. Some became closer to us and some who were very sweet and funny as youngsters became afraid getting older.

Getting back to the discussion about eating chickens, this realisation made it hard for me to eat any meat, even farm raised- I keep thinking if my first hens who came out of a battery had such strong individualities, and develop specific relationships, why would a cow or a pig be different ?

I really need to rehome Bert, having to move two flocks around is not working - I am not set up for separate flocks. And I don’t want to be. The two Roos are still fighting, through the fence now. Darn that Bert, and darn Mr P.

Is this what I will have to put up with when Mr LC come of age? How is it others have multiple Roos that get along? What on earth set Mr P and Bert off anyways? They were getting on really well. And it was like a switch went off. They just started fighting

I have kept two roos who don't get along, Gaston and Théo, in the same coop, and at some point in the same yard, although now Théo free ranges. It was hell for months, then it worked out nicely for about a year, and now it has been getting really bad again since about three weeks.
For it to work, one roo needs to accept that he is not dominant.
When Théo finally understood Gaston was stronger, he conceded and did not try attacking anymore and Gaston more or less tolerated him.
This may mean they have to fight until one cedes. But it's hard as you do have to separate them if the wounds gets too bad or they risk a heart attack.
In my case, what triggered Théo again to attack is that three hens started free ranging with him outside, and his ego went straight to the roof. He has somehow become obsessed with Merle and when she decides to go back with Gaston, he goes crazy and will go attack him.
Maybe Bert has been having some success with the ladies, maybe he got to Mr P.s favorite hens...

Part of the aggressive behaviour is ritual. Fence fighting involves a lot of pretending. I think it really depends on the roosters temper. Théo has a bit of game blood I think and he is extremely aggressive. Gaston would let him go even though he is way bigger and stronger.
Mr LC is so small he likely plays in another category and should quickly realise he can't fight with Mr P.

My cockerel Pied Beau, who is now a bit older than one, has been rehomed in a multi rooster flock and they don't fight because Pied-beau is at least twice the size of all the other roos and he has been dominant as soon as he arrived. There are six males there now. The two bantams stick with one another, there's a lone shy Araucana who has just two hen friends, and two cockerels. Sometimes these two fight one another but never really seriously.

If I could find a nice home for Théo, maybe I would think of rehoming him. But he is too unfriendly to humans and people around here would quickly have him for dinner.

Piou-piou hangs out with Théo but these days he has only eyes for Merle.

 

[BY Bob]

Auntie Sydney is not Your Friend

I now know why the mums don't want Sydney near the littles.

 

[SimpleJenn]

@Sylvester017 you've received some good answers on the heater. Brood plates are pretty unique in how they heat, the babies need to press against it to get warm. Thank goodness haha, I have OCD and check everything for safety multiple times a day!

The babies had their first night outside, and did well. They were huddled away from the brood plate BUT it wasn't so terribly cold last night and I went outside after it had started to warm.

Shep has some hint of maternal instinct, she peeped at the babies through the mesh and, possibly on accident, dropped some tiny seeds in there while eating breakfast. I will not be letting her in with them but it's cute to see the ladies all greet the babies and Shep especially talking to them.

Broodies are good, I'll go out in a bit during their daily off nest time and see how they react. Hubby is worried they might try to adopt the chicks instead of sit on their eggs.

 

[SimpleJenn]

Auntie Sydney is not Your Friend

I now know why the mums don't want Sydney near the littles.

Aww Aurora did such a good job settling her back down though! And seeing her get shot down by both mamas was pretty satisfying...

 

[Ponypoor]

She does have great camouflage right now. Aster really sticks out wherever she goes.

View attachment 3896060

Fluffy sure stuck out last night ! out pranced this fluffy white blob - WTH! Now if it had been one of the grey or black hens likely I would have not seen it so fast and ran to fast! It's like the horses Truly and Lulu I can spot immediately in the field, but Reenie being dark takes a few seconds longer to see.

 

[Ponypoor]

@Sylvester017 you've received some good answers on the heater. Brood plates are pretty unique in how they heat, the babies need to press against it to get warm. Thank goodness haha, I have OCD and check everything for safety multiple times a day!

The babies had their first night outside, and did well. They were huddled away from the brood plate BUT it wasn't so terribly cold last night and I went outside after it had started to warm.

Shep has some hint of maternal instinct, she peeped at the babies through the mesh and, possibly on accident, dropped some tiny seeds in there while eating breakfast. I will not be letting her in with them but it's cute to see the ladies all greet the babies and Shep especially talking to them.

Broodies are good, I'll go out in a bit during their daily off nest time and see how they react. Hubby is worried they might try to adopt the chicks instead of sit on their eggs.

My brooder plate warms the ground and anything under it very well. The babies don't need to press their bodies into it. Which is what I was worried about last night, they looked a bit warm under it. But they can move if they wish. Thankfully it didn't get as cold as they were predicting. I will likely leave it off tonight.

 

[Ponypoor]

Hi! Im new to this fourm, do we just tell stories from our flock? If so I have got a few!

Greetings welcome! As the others stated we love to see photos of everyone's chooks, whether babies, hens, Roos - we love them all!

Here is the link to By Bob's primer which will tell you all about his chickens and rules for this conversation thread.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/fluffy-butt-acres-a-primer.77796/

Again welcome! We can't wait to see your photos!

 

[Ponypoor]

TY for the info. I always wondered about anything connected to an electrical outlet especially with a heat source -- coop lighting, heated waterers, brooder plates, humidifiers, electric fencing, coop fans/heaters, etc. So it's always nice to get firsthand experienced safety info about these options.

Thankfully we've never needed these helps yet the safety issue always nagged at the back of my mind. As always I applaud the owners who use caution and common sense in whatever they do for their setup.

Here, we need ways to keep water from freezing, lights when it's really dark (half the year hahaha), and ways to keep warm. I am extremely fortunate that I have a barn so it's easy for me, I have power out there.

 

[Ponypoor]

Tassels went to roost at the end of her day release. And Sylvie figured she could avoid sharing a roost with anyone else but still sleep inside the coop.

View attachment 3896135

Yay! gosh these chickens give us fits don't they?

That's a great idea, thank you so much !
It's funny I didn't think of it at all, because I've done exactly that with Chipie, but for another reason. A few months ago she began to have strange fits thrashing and throwing her head backwards all the way. I thought maybe it was a form of wry neck and since she is so tiny and bullied by everyone, maybe she wasn't getting enough nutrition. So I began giving her special food every morning; I lock her up in the coop while I clean it, just after opening for the chickens, and she gets a small bowl of scrambled eggs, almonds and peanuts, whole rice for selenium.
First I did that because it was the only way to give it to her since she is such a wild little thing. But she has gotten really used to it and now she follows me around whining really annoyingly in the morning if I'm not quick enough to give it to her !

She has also become much more familiar. I appreciated that when I had to catch her a few days ago because she was pecked in her right eye. And she hasn't had any more fits so hopefully it helped.
View attachment 3896170

So I think it's a great idea for Alba and Nieva. I am going to start in the evening when they are all on the roost. That way I won't be swarmed by the other chickens and I hope it will teach them to be less afraid if I have to catch them off the roost. Blueberries are hard to come by here and we don't eat cheese crackers but I'm sure I'll find something .

We're pretty stand offish and don't handle them unless necessary, but if I get more chickens one day maybe I'll do like you. I have one chicken, Laure, who is even more afraid than the leghorns, bigger, and more feral and I dread the day I will really need to handle her.
Yes, it's amazing to me how different they are in their relationship to humans. In our last batch of chicks, there were three true sisters, raised by the same human weary broody. Mélisse is really familiar, will easily jump on us for food and doesn't mind at all being handled ; Lulu likes us, hangs around talking with us, but hates being picked up, and Annette is very aloof and hard to catch. Genetics and environment are identical and yet they have really different temperaments.
I've seen chickens change both ways throughout their life. Some became closer to us and some who were very sweet and funny as youngsters became afraid getting older.

Getting back to the discussion about eating chickens, this realisation made it hard for me to eat any meat, even farm raised- I keep thinking if my first hens who came out of a battery had such strong individualities, and develop specific relationships, why would a cow or a pig be different ?

I have kept two roos who don't get along, Gaston and Théo, in the same coop, and at some point in the same yard, although now Théo free ranges. It was hell for months, then it worked out nicely for about a year, and now it has been getting really bad again since about three weeks.
For it to work, one roo needs to accept that he is not dominant.
When Théo finally understood Gaston was stronger, he conceded and did not try attacking anymore and Gaston more or less tolerated him.
This may mean they have to fight until one cedes. But it's hard as you do have to separate them if the wounds gets too bad or they risk a heart attack.
In my case, what triggered Théo again to attack is that three hens started free ranging with him outside, and his ego went straight to the roof. He has somehow become obsessed with Merle and when she decides to go back with Gaston, he goes crazy and will go attack him.
Maybe Bert has been having some success with the ladies, maybe he got to Mr P.s favorite hens...

Part of the aggressive behaviour is ritual. Fence fighting involves a lot of pretending. I think it really depends on the roosters temper. Théo has a bit of game blood I think and he is extremely aggressive. Gaston would let him go even though he is way bigger and stronger.
Mr LC is so small he likely plays in another category and should quickly realise he can't fight with Mr P.

My cockerel Pied Beau, who is now a bit older than one, has been rehomed in a multi rooster flock and they don't fight because Pied-beau is at least twice the size of all the other roos and he has been dominant as soon as he arrived. There are six males there now. The two bantams stick with one another, there's a lone shy Araucana who has just two hen friends, and two cockerels. Sometimes these two fight one another but never really seriously.

If I could find a nice home for Théo, maybe I would think of rehoming him. But he is too unfriendly to humans and people around here would quickly have him for dinner.

Piou-piou hangs out with Théo but these days he has only eyes for Merle.

Theo is a beauty, such a lovely little roo.

Well Mr P's ladies detest Bert and all hang around Mr P. There is very rarely any interaction with the older ladies and Bert. The younger hens go where they want, but Bert does have his harem that he sticks with (the Azurs, Tippy, Betty, and Eli-too), the other hens go back and forth and I don't see Bert wanting to hang out with anyone in particular.

Yesterday they were attacking one another through the fence - the feathers were flying! This morning Mr P snuck out through the door way of the Summer House and he and Bert got into it again, I watched to see if they would stop but after a couple minutes when neither would back down I went and caught Mr P who was getting quite breathless, he is not a young roo.

Auntie Sydney is not Your Friend

I now know why the mums don't want Sydney near the littles.

Wow HRH sure did put Sydney in her place and separated the mamas from her. Well done Aurora

Well I will check in later on - I want to mow the grass in the run its getting long again! all this rain....