Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[RoyalChick]

She looks tactical.

She has that look in her eye. I think she has a semiautomatic tucked under her wing.

 

[ManueB]

Why are you thinking about breeds?
A while back you posted pictures of a walk where you passed a number of farms/places that had free range chickens. Go and see the people who own these chickens and get some pullets and cockerels from them.

That would be wonderful but there is no way any of these families would give us (or sell us) two or three adults laying hens, which is what we are looking for.

I agree with you that breed is not what will make a chicken suited or not to their environment. I want to get hens from a breeder at least once, to see how it compares to having ex-batts and hatching our own chicks here. I thought maybe chosing a local breed could be interesting, but if it turns out to be complicated or not applicable I'll just get whatever breed of chickens they have from one of the breeders around us of good reputation.

She has a chicken saddle on her to help her grow feathers back.

She started to lose feather on her back due to our rooster in April of this year. We rehomed our rooster (due to complaints) in April too but she kept losing her feather. We did not want to put a saddle on her though.

Fast forward to maybe Aug-Sep, we decided that we will put a saddle on her since otherwise she pecks away all the feather growth. We could see lots of growth already the next day. A few weeks later, we thought it was good enough and took off her saddle. The feathers on her back were ALL GONE the next day.

So we put it back on and she still has it now.

My husband has recently read online that the feathers WILL come back, with or without a saddle, when she started to molt. But she hasn't started molting yet...

Any thoughts on this issue above from all the wonderful experts here?

We have two 5 months old that we don't expect them to molt this year, among the other 6 chickens, 2 finished molting, 1 is ongoing. The 3 that haven't started are basically the "ex-batts" breeds. Their feathers are so shredded that I really want them to molt.

View attachment 3308704

My ex-batts have not really molted the first fall they were here and only one molted the second fall. It's only this year that I'm seeing real molting from three out of four. The fourth one, Blanche, never molts in the classical sense but in early spring she loses feathers on her back completely and then grows them back three or four later, and her feathers are also very shredded. All that to say, I think their molting is disturbed, just like the fact that they don't stop laying in winter.

 

[BDutch]

Why are you thinking about breeds?
A while back you posted pictures of a walk where you passed a number of farms/places that had free range chickens. Go and see the people who own these chickens and get some pullets and cockerels from them.

@ManueB
Barnyard mixes from people where you live are often the strongest and most fit for you’re climate.
I had 2 Naine de Tournaisis a breed that was almost / was extinct. They came from a small gene pool and were mixed with other breeds to make it possible to create these new Naine de Tournaisis.
The Naine de Tournaisis 2.0 I had both died after 4 years with problems I often hear from ex-bats.

 

[BDutch]

I didn’t realize other countries change their clocks, I guess I just thought it was a stupid American invention that serves little purpose but to cause more traffic accidents and disrupt people’s body clocks. We call it Daylight Savings. Which is a silly name because you’re not saving daylight, you’re just changing when people perceive it. What is the rationale in Europe to have it?

Tax:
Desdemona has really loved the new coop. The front section is her new favorite place to sunbathe.

The year they introduced summertime (wintertime is the standard) was to save electricity in the evenings if I remember right. The introduction was in 1981. since a few years there is a discussion in Europe to stop changing the clock twice a year.

Online info https://www.weeronline.nl/nieuws/zo-zijn-zomertijd-en-wintertijd-ontstaan
The purpose of changing the clock is to better match the daylight period during the year with the times when most people are awake. It would also save energy (lighting), but this effect is controversial.

 

[lightm]

My ex-batts have not really molted the first fall they were here and only one molted the second fall. It's only this year that I'm seeing real molting from three out of four. The fourth one, Blanche, never molts in the classical sense but in early spring she loses feathers on her back completely and then grows them back three or four later, and her feathers are also very shredded. All that to say, I think their molting is disturbed, just like the fact that they don't stop laying in winter.

This is very informative. Thank you. I was really expecting all three of them molt this winter. This is their 2nd winter (20 month old)

 

[no fly zone]

Mr. Bumble!

 

[pennyJo1960]

So tax is 2 photos of 8 or 10 taken today.

 

[Sequel]

So tax is 2 photos of 8 or 10 taken today.View attachment 3309020View attachment 3309021

Love seeing the sun on them!

 

[Shadrach]

I think these lists only mentions breeds that have been formalized into a standard at some points, but not all the very local chickens that never made it to the poultry shows. The Vercors chicken would certainly be very well suited to our place ! I will ask our 96 year old neighbour what kind of chickens they had in farms around here when he was young, and where they came from.

There must be thousands of breeds that are not registered with an official breed standard. It sometimes gets forgotton that the breeds one tends to see on BYC are officially recognised in American and British standards.

 

[Shadrach]

She has a chicken saddle on her to help her grow feathers back.

She started to lose feather on her back due to our rooster in April of this year. We rehomed our rooster (due to complaints) in April too but she kept losing her feather. We did not want to put a saddle on her though.

Fast forward to maybe Aug-Sep, we decided that we will put a saddle on her since otherwise she pecks away all the feather growth. We could see lots of growth already the next day. A few weeks later, we thought it was good enough and took off her saddle. The feathers on her back were ALL GONE the next day.

So we put it back on and she still has it now.

My husband has recently read online that the feathers WILL come back, with or without a saddle, when she started to molt. But she hasn't started molting yet...

Any thoughts on this issue above from all the wonderful experts here?

We have two 5 months old that we don't expect them to molt this year, among the other 6 chickens, 2 finished molting, 1 is ongoing. The 3 that haven't started are basically the "ex-batts" breeds. Their feathers are so shredded that I really want them to molt.

View attachment 3308704

I'm anti hen saddles but that saddle is well cool. It's even got proper rooster feet shoulder protectors. Where did you get it?

Regarding the feather pecking. I have no real idea why they do it. Some of the Ex Battery hens and a couple of the legbars do it. Overall there is less of it than there was.
One can read it's lack of protein that drives them to start. One can also read that stress, overcrowding, boredom and even miss-adjusted broody behaviour is responsible.
With the Ex Battery hens at the allotment it's now habit.