Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

I would LOVE to let mine roam "the side yard." But I see/hear hawks, daily. I see raccoons at least weekly. Then there is the neighbor's dog (he's gotten "a couple" of their chickens), and our dog would probably try to go through any fence we could put up. I can't be out there for hours; most of my outdoor chores are out of sight of that area. Then there's the wild bird population, including ducks, geese, and cranes, and the possibility of AI.

I would feel I had failed them if I let them out and something got one or more, or I let a serious disease vector in.

I feel badly that they're enclosed, but the balm to my conscience is that they're safe.

My hat is off to anyone who lets their birds range, even part time.

It is not an easy decision to let them roam the yard. I will say that since the last round of hawk attacks they do not use the entire yard anymore. Only the portions that are covered by trees and netting. I rarely see them cover the open ground to reach the butterfly bushes.

 

[BY Bob]

I was about to reply on your Trisha picture but the pages skipped me out again

What were you going to say?

 

[BY Bob]

It's happened again. Page changes.

How old are they? They look so cozy together

That was their first winter here and our first year with chickens. That was back in 2013.

 

[bgmathteach]

2fer

In today's Tuesday 2fer, Aurora is actually being nice to Hattie and cleaning off her beak. It doesn't happen often but this proof that it does occur.

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Who are. you kidding? She just wanted more of whatever Hattie had eaten, is all!

Actually, isn't it amazing how tender and sweet they can be - even the hard-core/stern ones - at times!. [Don't tell Aurora this, but it made my heart melt!]

 

[BY Bob]

tax tax TAX!
I can hear Her Royal Highness' IRS banging at my door. So here is the demanded tax payments:
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[BY Bob]

So sweet

She has her moments. But don't tell her I shared that!

 

[BY Bob]

Who are. you kidding? She just wanted more of whatever Hattie had eaten, is all!

Actually, isn't it amazing how tender and sweet they can be - even the hard-core/stern ones - at times!. [Don't tell Aurora this, but it made my heart melt!]

It's a really sweet moment between 2 chickens that have been fierce rivals for years. I'm lucky to have captured it.

 

[BY Bob]

Gosh! Look at all those spots coming in!

Lady Featherington had gotten a lot more white on her neck this molt. She continues to "spot up". I'll try and get a good photo.

 

[BY Bob]

Hey, hey, US citizens, I found an easy solution to all of your voting anxiety. I know that every TV has vote results spitting everywhere.
All of the woohoo can be quenched by watching The Red Green Show. It’s Canadian, so it’s a safe bet!

And hysterical!

 

[BY Bob]

You still have a disc drive?! Wow!

Speaking of moulting - Rose started to moult last night. Prior to this I told her that I couldn’t wait for her to start moulting so I could get rid of those two tail feathers growing at an odd angle.

Seems she plucked them out before I could! She must have found them more annoying than I did for this past year!

I have a functioning Okidata 320 printer as well.

Printer tax