Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[BDutch]

@Perris , still no sign of Sven the whole day?

@Shadrach, compliments for the clean up. I’m still reading along and still amazed of everything you do for ‘your’ flock. It seems that this group is doing great compared to the large group a couple a months ago.

Here my chickens enjoy free ranging now and then (depending on the work).

Not much news under the sun. Except for taking care more ladies an a grey striped man. :2 cats + mis Piggy since my neighbours enjoy a vacation.
We do enjoy the light of 2 bright stars Venus and Jupiter in the sky every evening around 19 h this week. ️

This cat of the other neighbours was inside the run again today.

 

[Shadrach]

" hours out today. A specatacular accident closed one of the motorways that surround Bristol. The traffic ended up going through Bristol town center and the buses got stuck in the traffic jams.

Lima isn't well. There was egg membrane hanging from her vent, traces of egg in the poop pile and before going to roost she expelled some more membrane and runny egg white. Henry has been concerend and kept leaving the other three and going to stand beside Lima. He likes Lima.
I'll get some fish and calcium into her tommorow I hope. She spent half an hour on my lap after I had checked her over. I/we could really do with some warmer weather. When there were 20 in the coop they chucked out around 240 Watts. 5 of them gives 60 Watts, maybe a bit more given Henry's size. It been getting down to zero C at night.

 

[no fly zone]

Hope Lima shows improvement soon.

 

[ManueB]

I also hope Lima gets better. Either she wasn't laying because she was unwell, or maybe she is getting back into lay and it's going wrong.

You could use one of those maximum/minimum thermometer in the coop to know how cold /warm it gets inside.

 

[Perris]

@Perris , still no sign of Sven the whole day?

No. I want to believe that Sven decided, at 6 yrs old with failing sight and daily harassment from his son and grandsons, that he’d had enough, so wandered away up the hill, looking, like the fabled Inuit, to go to sleep once more overnight. He lives on in a fine son and grandson and granddaughters, and lots of wonderful memories.

 

[Sequel]

No. I want to believe that Sven decided, at 6 yrs old with failing sight and daily harassment from his son and grandsons, that he’d had enough, so wandered away up the hill, looking, like the fabled Inuit, to go to sleep once more overnight. He lives on in a fine son and grandson and granddaughters, and lots of wonderful memories.

I’m so sorry! Having his descendants sounds wonderful!

 

[BDutch]

Lovely thought @Perris.
And of course we all hope Lima is getting well soon.

I have a subscription to a newsletter for livestock hobbyists and want to share this article with you if you are interested in the stupidity of keeping poultry locked up because of the bird flu.

An article from levende have in NL about the the bird flu and the nonsense of keeping poultry locked in. https://www.levendehave.nl/nieuws/u...ogelgriep?mc_cid=b4460c73df&mc_eid=6a83c147c1
Most important part. Translated with google:

The bird flu epidemic has now lasted more than fifteen months. During all that time, a large part of the country had an obligation to contain and shield *). Up to the present day. For chickens that are used to living in freedom, that feels like an eternity. They probably don't know any better by now. But all the restrictions do take their toll. The chickens miss foraging, taking a dust bath in a self-chosen spot.
And why? What are the dangers? From the point of view of virus spread, what is the difference between an infected wild bird in a pasture and an infected chicken in a private garden? And why is there no legal obligation for site owners to clear up dead wild birds?

The longer this takes, the greater the question marks about the usefulness and necessity of the obligation to protect. Especially now that outbreaks are no longer the order of the day. Many private individuals with a few chickens have now given up trying to protect their animals against bird flu with all kinds of constructions of fences, nets and ribbons. They run loose again, or they have been dumped because their owners want to get rid of the nagging.

Directions are hopelessly out of date
In the initial phase of the epidemic, the obligation to shield, or the instruction to "prevent contact with the excrement of wild birds", was still based on rational considerations, now the measure mainly has a routine character. With every infection, the government repeats the message: "For non-commercially kept high-risk birds (growls/chickens, (ornamental) waterfowl and ratites), for example in zoos, petting zoos and owners of birds and chickens, and for commercially kept pheasants, ornamental waterfowl. and ratites, a protection obligation applies.''

It is a gray turned gramophone record. Conviction is missing when an enforcer says: "Just do this now, then we will at least do something". Everyone now knows that the virus has spread so widely and that so many mammals have become infected that shielding with fences, nets, tarpaulins and ribbons as a preventive measure no longer makes much sense. An infection is a matter of bad luck.

The instructions given by the government for the implementation of the shielding obligation (as can be seen in the video on the NVWA website) are hopelessly outdated. At the beginning of the epidemic, the virus mainly came from above, from wild birds, but it has been clear for some time that rats and mice also spread bird flu. One microgram of virus on the feet of these animals is enough to wipe out an entire chicken coop with bird flu. And then there are the numerous infected carcasses in the meadows and ditches, which are eaten by polecats, martens, dogs or cats, which then become infected themselves, or otherwise take the virus to the poultry of the hobby keeper. Only a strict hygiene protocol could prevent contamination. Although that also offers no guarantee, as witnessed by the many bird flu outbreaks at poultry farms.

After a year and a half of bird flu, it can be said that a fence with ribbons, wires, nets and tarpaulins only offers hobby poultry a false sense of security. At least, no one can tell whether this form of prevention actually works. Its effect has not yet been studied. It is also not known whether the animals were screened off at the contaminated locations with hobby poultry. Nor can it be said with certainty whether the infections could have been prevented by (better) shielding.
Information about the numbers of infections is extremely limited. The government has so far not provided data on how many chickens and waterfowl from hobby poultry farmers with fewer than 50 animals have become infected since the start of the epidemic in October 2021. A map on the NVWA website shows only thirteen infections. According to other data, crested fowl, chickens, ducks, geese, and swans have become infected at 15 of these hobby sites in the past five months. But how many animals are actually involved and whether they were all sick cannot be determined from the available data.

 

[Perris]

and the buses got stuck in the traffic jams

were you stuck on one of them, or waiting at a bus stop?

Lima isn't well

sorry to hear that; her ex-battery genes and life predispose to reproductive disorders, sadly.

When there were 20 in the coop they chucked out around 240 Watts. 5 of them gives 60 Watts, maybe a bit more given Henry's size. It been getting down to zero C at night.

I think this is why sometimes some of my flock choose to crowd into a coop together, exceeding the official capacity of the coop. And they haven't read the official guidelines of course

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

My chickens were roosting outside the coop.

I have taken down the outside roosts and added them to the roosts inside the coop.

I spent the time to move them from outside to inside for roosting.

I am seeing some change.

75 sunny 63% humidity feels like 75 rain 1%.

Have a great day!

 

[Shadrach]

were you stuck on one of them, or waiting at a bus stop?

Both.
Sad to read about Sven. I know you were fond of him.