#flock talk

[superfluffychickens]

More rooster drama, enough that I’ve decided to just keep the flock separated in two. When I tried to move Wade back in, he immediately started attacking Jack again. Jack fought back, but gave up after a couple minutes, and was a nervous wreck even after Wade walked away. He spent all day hiding in various corners and in the nestbox area.

I asked for some advice on BackyardChickens, I just wanted to know if anyone had had similar experiences with the head rooster being ousted and what happens to him afterwards. The people there seemed certain that Wade and Jack wouldn’t be able to ever live together, which is disappointing. But with Jack’s age and weakened condition, it’s not worth trying if it stresses him out so bad. He should live out his golden years in comfort and safety.

So I’m still working out which hens and which cockerels should stay on each side. The hens aren’t happy they can’t go wherever they please anymore, especially since I put up a barrier to stop anyone jumping over the gate. I’ll have to move their nestboxes around so there’s an equal number on each side, and I’ll put up some extra feeders just to be safe. I’m seeing if Thistle and Lju will be okay living with Jack and his older ladies, since that side of the coop has more room and those two boys get on pretty well. If that doesn’t work - if they’re fighting too much or if they’re bothering Jack, I can try moving Thistle to Wade’s side and bringing Jojo over to Jack’s. The folks on BYC kinda roasted me for having so many roosters, and maybe they’re right, but I love them all so much and I think it’s possible to keep them all while keeping everyone happy.

Jack seems calmer now, he’s stopped trying to hide and he’s even crowing again. He was very tired from fighting and running away yesterday, so I gave him some aspirin. He ripped one of his nails out while he was trying to hide I think, which is almost exactly how he got frostbite on his toe last year. I kept it bandaged for a few days and I’ll keep a close eye on it. Thankfully the weather’s been warmer.

If all else fails, if Jack can’t live with the cockerels for example, I may move him and some of the old ladies back into the little coop behind my house - it’ll be the Old Folks Home. Right now it’s pretty much buried in the snow and not accessible, and I’m sure it needs some repairs after being unoccupied for over a year, but it’s an option. I don’t like that coop very much, it’s pretty small and doesn’t have a good place to hang feeders and waterers, and it’s nice that, with the garage, there’s no rush to open the coop in the morning to let the chickens into the run. But, for Jack’s sake I’ll make the best of it.

[mothmotto]

Prune Juice Again

Please reblog rather than like.

[icannotgetoverbirds]

System Introductions! The Flock

Saw this and thought it might be fun to do - plus, quantifying who's who in a text format that's a little more concrete might be nice.

The host: That's me! I use a pseudonym here, Byrd. I use he/him pronouns, and I'm currently the only one who ever fronts. If there's a core here, it's me.

Caretaker: If anybody's going to be fronting anytime soon, it's the caretaker, with he/him pronouns. He has a name, but it changes (he's something of a shapeshifter for some reason, with no memory of his own of his previous shapes - also, his last and current form are both British for some reason?), and I'm not ready to share that yet anyways, so he just goes by Caretaker for the sake of simplicity.

In addition to being a caretaker, he's also a companion and a soother. Honestly, I made him myself after getting a little tired of my aggressive Worrier's shenanigans (she's up next) to basically talk over her when she can't stop with the intrusive suggestions. I like to think of him as a protector as well, but I'm not sure that label quite fits.

Miranda: Basically the personification of my anxiety disorder with a sprinkling of anger issues. It seems like separating her from myself as her own alter has given her some peace. I think she might also be a little. She uses she/her pronouns.

Mikabi: Okay, so this happened slightly before I learned about tulpas, where I basically just. tulpamanced (I think that's the word)? a character from a friend's story into a companion tulpa? He uses he/she pronouns (we love and stan our tulpa queeng lmao) and has finally gotten a name.

She's kind of a walk-in, though; he's in and out as he pleases. Long car rides and lonely moments are her favorite times to pop in for a visit - she actually started as what's been referred to as a Runalong, though she'd always be flying or hopping from car to car (If anybody wants to send me the link to the original post, I'd love to credit the posters for coining a type name for him).

Honestly, she's pretty chill. He's one of the more defined ones, and since she was made before I realized I was trans, he's got a similar identity to the one I had at the time. Slightly different, but similar. He's an agender aroace fictive. She doesn't mind they/them pronouns, per se, but usually only for people who don't know her pronouns yet. If you know he uses he/she pronouns, please don't refer to him as they/them.

I think I'll pin this post and add to it/edit it as necessary, but for the time being, I think this system will be referred to as the flock (for obvious reasons lmao).

Edit: Mikabi is now named!

[superfluffychickens]

Animal illness TW - she’s ok for now

Cricket has a crop impaction, I’m pretty sure. She’s lost weight and her crop is swollen and feels hard. So I’ve got her in the house with me, so she can fast while staying warm. Have her a bit of olive oil too, and massaged her crop. She still seems in good spirits and even tries to eat, so I’m hopeful she can recover. Cricket is such a darling, it’d be devastating to lose her.

[superfluffychickens]

Ugh, rooster drama. So not only does Wade hate Jack, Jojo also decided he hates Thistle, and actually jumped the fence to beat him up pretty bad. Thistle seems okay, but he was a bit stunned. I’ve been keeping them separated in two groups, which seems to be working okay - except for the rare fence-jumping incident which has only happened once. I’m thinking of covering the bottom parts of the chicken-wire fence with plywood, the boys try fighting “through” it and their combs get all scratched up. But I’m still recovering from the flu, so it’ll have to wait.

Hopefully this arrangement is only temporary, although I imagine during springtime it’ll get worse before it gets better. Maybe once they can go outside again, they’ll chill out. The way it is now, only one half of the coop actually has access to the outdoors - otherwise I wouldn’t mind keeping everyone separated long term.

Oh well, it’s okay for now and I’m sure I’ll figure something out. I can always use the old coop behind my house again, although it’s a pain. Just feeling a bit stressed out and wanted to let out my stream of consciousness.

[superfluffychickens]

The boys are doing well still, I was out most of the day at a doctors appt but I still let them out for a while. Lju’s humping is getting more persistent which is annoying, especially when he grabs me with his beak. Thankfully he doesn’t get mad when I push him away, he’s not aggressive at all. Actually, whenever I have to leave the room when he’s out, he frantically clucks - in the way that roosters cluck to call their hens towards them - by the gate until I get back. He’s just a poor confused Casanova.

Thistle is still being nice, and his frostbite is starting to peel which looks gross but is a sign of healing. Jojo’s frostbite looks better too, and he’s been behaving very well too. He doesn’t have a lot of interest in hanging out with me, he’d rather explore the room or sunbathe.

Everyone else seems okay, the coop is much quieter without the boys there, haha. Bubbles is a great layer, she’s laying those pretty green eggs almost every day. Jack seemed like his foot was bothering him today so I slipped him some aspirin water before bed. The cold is still brutal. I also noticed that someone is chewing on his feathers again. I’ve seen Luna eating feathers and chewing on her flockmates before, I think she’s the culprit so I moved her in with Wade. Jack is an easy target for feather-eaters since he moves slowly, rests a lot, and won’t defend himself against a hen. Poor guy is bald on the top of his head, and his lovely saddle feathers are all chewed off! Hopefully I caught the right suspect and his feathers will grow back soon.

[superfluffychickens]

Ugh, starting off the new year with Rooster Drama™️. As I expected, Jack’s feeling stiff and achy in the cold, and he has a blister on his bad foot - I’m giving him some aspirin and he got new Birdie Booties for Xmas. And Wade has decided that this is the perfect opportunity to make a bid to oust Jack from his position as The Boss.

A coup in the coop, you could say 😂😂😂

Anyway, Wade has been chasing poor Jack around, and Jack has no desire to fight back and has been hiding in the nestboxes all day. He’s making a big show of courting all the hens and crowing nonstop. I don’t know what’s with the sudden change in Wade, he’s usually so passive, so I’ve put him in Jail (the crate in the spare bedroom) for a few days to see if he’ll cool off. I thought about bringing Jack inside instead, since maybe he’d feel better inside where it’s warm, but I think taking him away from his family and weakening those bonds with his hens would make him even more of a pariah, and would be super stressful for him.

Since I didn’t raise him myself I don’t know Wade’s actual birthday, it’s possible that he was hatched at an odd time and is just now turning one year old, so maybe he’s hitting that hormonal period now - the one that most roosters hit during their first springtime, if they themselves were hatched in spring. I don’t know, it’s just a theory, either that or he was just playing nice and has been a scheming bully this whole time, waiting for his time to strike. That’s a joke, I know it’s not his fault. Thankfully everyone else is getting along, although they do seem a bit unsettled.

Anyway, I’ll keep my fingers crossed for peace and harmony in the new year!

[superfluffychickens]

A Boxing Day Miracle!

Yesterday afternoon, when I went to close up the coop, I could tell something was Afoot. Bubbles was super restless and complaining loudly, and both Jojo and Wade were taking turns showing her to the various nestboxes. Her first egg was imminent! I sat for a while and watched, but since it’s still below freezing and I’m fighting a nasty cold, I couldn’t stay for long. So, what do I find in the nestbox this morning? A little egg! But not just any ordinary egg…

It’s green!!!

Looks like her father Jack’s Easter Egger genetics won out! I’m thrilled!

I have a cute video of the roosters arguing over who gets to show Bubbles the nest boxes that I’ll post in a bit, too.