Got us some ex commercial hens. <3

[Perris]

I’m glad yours do! She sure looks happy

me too. She's a picture of contentment.

 

[ChikaInu]

I’m glad yours do! She sure looks happy

Me too.
I love the chill time. Everyone gets excited when I arrive and they get their goodies, but once the hype is over and everyone is going back to whatever they were doing is just the best.
Beaky usually hangs out with me but all the rest are scratching, flirting, chasing flies... doing chicken things, and it's lovely.

The ducks always go all sleepy and get themselves to bed like they've had a Christmas dinner even if I just bring weeds.

 

[ChikaInu]

The ducklings started out in the little pond.

 

[ChikaInu]

But soon advanced!
The flock is still being very good with the new additions and leaving them alone.

 

[lindy]

so your birds were free range, indoor birds? they dont look too old?
there is a small egg producing farm that free ranges his birds. used to be cow fields, but he bought it and fenced it in better and moves the trailer around for the hens and lgd's, he sells them on the 2nd year for like $10 bucks. i think they are sex links and look really good. i thought that was a good price for organic raised hens, but i dont buy adults or hatchery birds, so i dont know.
So does the farm you got yours from just offer them up every few years? your enclosure looks so nice !

 

[ChikaInu]

so your birds were free range, indoor birds? they dont look too old?
there is a small egg producing farm that free ranges his birds. used to be cow fields, but he bought it and fenced it in better and moves the trailer around for the hens and lgd's, he sells them on the 2nd year for like $10 bucks. i think they are sex links and look really good. i thought that was a good price for organic raised hens, but i dont buy adults or hatchery birds, so i dont know.
So does the farm you got yours from just offer them up every few years? your enclosure looks so nice !

Yes, they came from a large commercial barn, nothing like a small local eggfarm.
Normally I think they start laying at around twelve weeks and then get processed/slaughtered at around eighteen months if they are not picked up by a rescue... so they should be a bit over two years old by now. I picked these girls mainly because they were in pretty good condition since they were going to stay at the hotel, there were a lot of birds in worse shape than them at the rescue, though the really bad ones usually don't get adopted out at all.
The rescue collects them from egg farms all over the country and have reasonably local "adoption sites" where you sign up for as many birds as you like with some basic info about your setup, and then pay a small fee before picking them up.

I hope that makes sense!

Your local farm seems to have something really good going on!

 

[ChikaInu]

All the ladies are still doing fab by the way, though the whole group has been molting. I bring them greens every day!
The baby duckies are now big enough to quack!

 

[BDutch]

Its been a while since you posted. I wonder. How are your ducks and ex commercial hens doing? Any new developments?

 

[ChikaInu]

Its been a while since you posted. I wonder. How are your ducks and ex commercial hens doing? Any new developments?

Sorry for the long radio silence. I lost my dog and then sort of tapered off... but all the animals are doing very well indeed! Mostly wet and a bit miserable the last few weeks and there has been less regular laying but that's to be expected.
The ducks are laying like mad though and the same female as before has decided to sit on eggs again - Honey, it's NOVEMBER.
We're going to have to take them away.

Romeo finally decided to molt and has no tail.

Also, speaking of irregular laying I found this Monster of a duck egg:

(It was a triple yolker)

 

[ChikaInu]

...and then this tiny chicken egg the same week.