Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[rural mouse]

Took nieces out to feed leftover pancakes and bananas to all the chickens. Mamas joined in the feeding frenzy (no pics, all hands sticky with mushy bananas). Babies were back and forth all over.

Seems PITA is the most conservative worry wart of a mother. Cardhu is out ranging around. Focus is our into the open some. PITA is staying under the shelter of thick leaves (Russian olives). Babies ranging between Focus and PITA, who tidbits for any chick close by. Cardhu and PITA share sleeping area. Cumulo is universally allowed closer than any other hen except the upper boss ladies, Storm and Pear. Roos (all except Tuff) are allowed fairly close also. Tuff gets a slightly larger space demand.

Nieces: 2.5 year old enthusiastic about throwing food. Any direction is acceptable, but at a bird is better. 5 year old wants to hold a baby. Mamas say NO (PITA rounds out as large as Cardhu does). Need a leash on the older child as she keeps trying to creep closer to birds, particularly mamas and chicks. Both kids have pretty good aim landing food near birds....except when it falls short. That's a bonus as it lures birds in closer.

Tonight's sleep spots

 

[Sylvester017]

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 a Playhouse?! Wonderful for a coop conversion!! I never had a playhouse... neither did my kids. Their Dad chose a pool for them instead!! My one hen died before this pool was installed but we still had Myrtle the Turtle (she was really a tortoise) who I fished out of the pool a couple times. When we moved we gave Myrtle to a neighbor who had a male tortoise.
c. 1972 BFTP way back!

Myrtle on a pool chair w/ my DD & our Persian kitty Scheherazade

 

[Sylvester017]

Safe journeys wee fellas.


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.

View attachment 4166577

Love all Nature's background color ~ green

 

[Ponypoor]

Good morning everyone, another hot one on tap for today, I have the fans going full on, in the barn. I had to laugh at poor Twister who walked in front of my big high velocity fan and almost was knocked over.

Today for Pony Sunday I am posting a link to more information on Fire Flies, I have turned off all the outside lights at the barn and house to do my part.

https://xerces.org/endangered-species/fireflies

Everyone have a lovely Sunday, I am heading out to move hay on the barn mow while it’s still cool (23C at the moment), I am getting my new hay this week.

Have a great day everyone!

Dorothy hogging the box fan last night.

 

[Ponypoor]

Love all Nature's background color ~ green

Mosquito haven

 

[BY Bob]

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've got you then. My chickens don't have enough free range space. Otherwise they would not have a pecking order.

As I said, we will not agree on this.

 

[Ponypoor]

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!).

This morning I remembered that I don’t really have much squabbling unless it’s one of the ladies going broody, and have seen my silkies get into some vicious fights when they are starting to go broody.

And the silly girls go out of their way to pick fights with hens way bigger than they are. I watched wee Georgie march all the way up the barn aisle and go into a stall, march up to someone like Misty who was just digging around, and Georgie proceeded to beat the crap out of her!

Normally Georgie is placid and just minds her own business, of course Misty is three times Georgie’s size so Georgie is the one who loses. When I see someone who is going broody I keep an eye out to see if they will become one of those tiger ladies.

Crazy hens! There is something to be said for those breeds that don’t tend to go broody.

 

[BY Bob]

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!

That will be amazing!

 

[BY Bob]

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!

The ability to walk around the chicken palace is amazing. I highly recommend that. So much easier to do things than in my coops.

 

[RoyalChick]

Baby zoomies for Pony Sunday.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...-yellowstone-national-park-video/84445324007/