Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[BDutch]

Wow!
First time for me too. My hens buts are hidden in the nest-boxes. And if I ever accidentally open the lid when a hen is in labour, they are very disturbed and probably quit laying on the spot.
Thanks @Shadrach.

 

[ManueB]

Will Holme Oaks grow where you are. Fast growing, green all year.

we have a holm oak (just the other side of the orange blossom); fab evergreen tree; I'd definitely second that recommendation
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It's funny you should mention that one because we saw one in our neighborhood not long ago and I asked my partner what it was.
A long time ago my partner stopped working for two years to get the basic level gardener technical degree. This doesn't seem to have given him a greener hand unfortunately and he didn't do anything with it professionally but it did give him very precise ideas on what we should or shouldn't plant .

Sometimes things have to get better because you feel like you can't go any further down.

2023 has to be a better year.

I'm sorry to hear you had such a bad year. You always seem to be in a good mood. I hope that the next one will be good to you and your husband.

Wow!
First time for me too. My hens buts are hidden in the nest-boxes. And if I ever accidentally open the lid when a hen is in labour, they are very disturbed and probably quit laying on the spot.
Thanks @Shadrach.

Enjoy your holidays!
I've been lucky to witness this a few times, but never took photos. My nests have a rather big opening and every now and then a hen will lay with her butt facing in the right direction. I've found not all mind the intrusion, and they are very vulnerable once they get to a certain point as they can't move anymore. Chipie when she just arrived here used to really bother the ex-batts by going in their nest to watch at the last minute the egg come out and even the ones who really hated her couldn't do anything about it.
An old picture: Caramel, who passed this summer, squeezing in a nest with
her friend Brune.

 

[Marie2020]

We rented a mini bungalow (without wifii) in Pedras de Raihna. . Its a nice old vacation park near the small fisherman’s/ tourists village Cabanas. I will post some pics next time we are in the restaurant with free wifi.

That sounds idealic.

The weather is great here in the Algarve.
Last night around midnight there was lots of rain. But it stopped before sunrise and we had another sunny day. Today we made a trip to the old town of Tavira.

We have seen several English people everywhere we go. There are Indian restaurants and pubs with English beers too.

How are the local foods .

I can't wait to see these pictures

For me these years were not that bad. My husband and I both had succes in our work. Working at home was no problem with lots of office space since the children left home. Could help my daughter with the renovation of her house because we didn’t need to visit other people. And even though there were Corona restrictions, we could make a summer vacation every year. Didn’t loose any relatives. But a downside to it all is that 3 relatives who got ill in this period, had a hard time/ didn’t get over it very well.

Many people have passed away here and countless people are ill repeatedly with covid flu and an abundance of viruses

Same where I live. Colder than -10 C is exceptional. This winter we had one night with -6 C until now.
IMO, green bushes are even better for chickens than trees that stay green in winter. We have e.g. Taxus, Portuguese laurel , a fence with ivy and a clematis that keeps its leaves. Ilex/holly stays green too.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

62 sunny 81% humidity feels like 56 rain 1%.

Have a great day!

 

[Ladies-Eight]

I'm sorry to hear you had such a bad year. You always seem to be in a good mood. I hope that the next one will be good to you and your husband.

It's not that the year was so bad, it's that I have to have a half-full glass at all times.

My husband always has a half-empty glass with his negative attitude accompanied with his medical problems.

I always try to be in a good mood whether I am or not.

 

[Solanacae]

Yes the Ocean current helps keep you warmer. Although I think it gives you clouds too.

So far this year the lowest here has been -10f... Usually -20f a couple nights

We’ve hovered close to 0F a couple of times, but haven’t got past it yet. It’s warmer here than where I used to live, which means I have more options for some plants/trees. But that also means summers are hotter too. There’s a lake nearby but not sure how much it helps to regulate the temperature swings. There’s a lot more wind here. The last house was very sheltered in a river bottom.

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The hen next to Henry in that last picture - is that Lima or is she on the other side of Fret? She certainly is missing a lot of head feathers! I knew Lima was missing neck feathers but I don’t remember reading about the head ones.

 

[Shadrach]

We’ve hovered close to 0F a couple of times, but haven’t got past it yet. It’s warmer here than where I used to live, which means I have more options for some plants/trees. But that also means summers are hotter too. There’s a lake nearby but not sure how much it helps to regulate the temperature swings. There’s a lot more wind here. The last house was very sheltered in a river bottom.

The hen next to Henry in that last picture - is that Lima or is she on the other side of Fret? She certainly is missing a lot of head feathers! I knew Lima was missing neck feathers but I don’t remember reading about the head ones.

Yup, that's Lima. It looks terrible I know. It's not even that Henry is rough. It would help if Lima said no more often.

 

[Shadrach]

The weather people were right. They did come out briefly but the hoop was were they chose to stay. I can't blame them. I stayed under it most of the time as well.

The Cream Legbar is now top hen. She's the smallest but she's the eldest and being the eldest is what I have found gives a hen the top spot often enough for their to be some substance to the idea that age rather than size determines a hens position in the group. I can believe that in new groups a heavyweight intent on being top hen has an advantage.

Sorry about the smudge; can't keep anything dry and clean in this weather.

Fret.

I'm going to have to give this one a name. She's the biggest hen and a bit of an outsider in this group. She should have gone with her friends.

Lima. She shuffles along the roost bar when I sit on it getting right up next to me and has an explore of my jacket pocket.

I had to pick Henry up this afternoon. He had a small stick wedged between his toes and part under his feet. He had tried to pick it off but the mud held it fast.
He was very good about it and good about me stroking his neck once he had perched.

 

[BDutch]

That sounds idealic.

How are the local foods .

I can't wait to see these pictures

Many people have passed away here and countless people are ill repeatedly with covid flu and an abundance of viruses

Sorry to hear about your losses and so many people getting ill. This year after we opened up a lot of people got sick too. Some people I know several times. But is seems that Omicron with a vaccination is not much worse than a severe flu. Today I have another off day and I’m coughing a little again. Maybe another fall back from covid? Hope tomorrow is okay.

yesterday: Sunset in Tavira.

Not everything is superb. The bungalow is build for summer vacations. In the evening it gets cold and the heating is lousy (airco). The bathroom door doesn’t close. But otherwise its quit perfect.

Local food is quit good. Lots of seafood like shrimps, oysters and fish. They make good soups. And good pastry too.

In the afternoon they serve all kind of small dishes like the tapas in Spain (Spanish influence?). Yesterday I had grilled goat cheese with almonds, rosemary, honey and baguette . A delicious combination.

But of course the food is influenced by other international dishes. Often you can choose hamburgers and pizza’s too.

Edit: forgot the honey

 

[micstrachan]

Around 5C but sunny. We are going to pay for the sunshine tomorrow as it's forcast rain all day.
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Is that Lima beside Henry? Does he mate with her? Wondering what’s up with her head.