Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[MaryJanet]

why do you want to get rid of it? A nettle patch is SO good for wildlife, and mashed nettles make a cheap and nutritious poultry feed (lots of vits A and C, some B, plus potassium, calcium, iron and other micronutrients). You can even weave it into cloth or cordage. I haven't tried it but I'm told nettle soup is delicious.

I tried nettle soup once. I found it very rich, but that might've been due to the recipe.

 

[janiedoe]

@Shadrach (& everyone else), do my Brahma’s feet look ok to you? It’s so hard to tell with her, compared with my non-feather feet birds.

View attachment 3477787

I think they just have a little dirt under the scales but I do see some lifting. Soak in warm water for around 10 minutes and scrub lightly with a toothbrush. You may see some mites floating. If so, smear some petroleum jelly on for 3 days, and repeat all in 7 to 10 days. If you see mites, check all your birds.

 

[Shadrach]

For your edification, sure. This photo is a probably 6 months old, and things are always changing here, but it will do.

The fenced area is a total of about 8K square ft, separated into Stilton's area (9 nesting boxes in 2 coops), Merle's (3 nesting boxes), Andre's, and movable communal foraging area. They spend the majority of their time in their area even when access is open to others.

Communal foraging area is sometimes the better part of 1,000 acres of undeveloped land around us, but I've never seen them orbit more than 1/2 acre. They know better than we do how many predators are here.

If all humans leave the property >1 hour (which happens <8 hours of daylight/week), chickens are closed into their runs, where they often spend afternoons by choice anyway. For Stilton's crew, that's 16 sq ft/chicken, 24 sq ft/chicken for Merle's group.

View attachment 3475793

Wish we could give them range without confinement, but we have an exceptional amount of predators. It's common to look out and see bears, coyotes, bobcats, foxes, raccoons, etc. wandering by. Also common for neighbors to have total losses to attacks.

Some buy new chickens several times a year. Others never have chickens again. Neither approach sits well with us, so this is what we came up with.

Thanks for posting your chicken keeping arrangements.
I think the open nature of your runs and the close proximity of the roosters to the main egg laying sights may be why you have not seen the behaviour I describe relating to the escort call.

 

[janiedoe]

Re: the escort call.
I only have one standard rooster now. I have 28 standard hens from 6 months to 8 years old. I'm getting almost 2 dozen eggs a day. Goliath runs constantly back and forth. Between the egg layers, and the girls who are dust bathing, and the girls who are grazing, he is running and "talking " to them all day. He does escort the layers back to the field, and to the dust baths. Poor guy never gets a break.

 

[Iluveggers]

I think they just have a little dirt under the scales but I do see some lifting. Soak in warm water for around 10 minutes and scrub lightly with a toothbrush. You may see some mites floating. If so, smear some petroleum jelly on for 3 days, and repeat all in 7 to 10 days. If you see mites, check all your birds.

Thank you. As soon as the rain lets up I will go out and soak/scrub her. What do the mites look like if they come off in the water? Do I need Ivermectin before applying Vaseline if I do see them? Would checking all birds mean soaking each of them, or just looking closely? Do I need to clean the coop shavings? I usually dump used shavings in the run…would I have to disinfect that, too? Oh goodness. Thank you again.

 

[janiedoe]

Thank you. As soon as the rain lets up I will go out and soak/scrub her. What do the mites look like if they come off in the water? Do I need Ivermectin before applying Vaseline if I do see them? Would checking all birds mean soaking each of them, or just looking closely? Do I need to clean the coop shavings? I usually dump used shavings in the run…would I have to disinfect that, too? Oh goodness. Thank you again.

The mites just look like little grayish specks floating. I think you'll recognize them, when you see them.
I have used ivermectin without doing the petroleum, because I have so many chickens, I couldn't bathe and treat them all with Vaseline.
I had good luck with it. Applied to the skin near the vent, and repeated in 10 days. I sprayed coops, especially corners and roosts, with elector psp the last time, but I've also used permethrin spray.
I bought the elector psp because mine free range and unfortunately those feather foots pick up leg mites pretty easily. If you have any birds with crests, you'll want to check them really well for mites and lice too. The elector is expensive, but it lasts a long time, and is the easiest to use.

 

[Iluveggers]

The mites just look like little grayish specks floating. I think you'll recognize them, when you see them.
I have used ivermectin without doing the petroleum, because I have so many chickens, I couldn't bathe and treat them all with Vaseline.
I had good luck with it. Applied to the skin near the vent, and repeated in 10 days. I sprayed coops, especially corners and roosts, with elector psp the last time, but I've also used permethrin spray.
I bought the elector psp because mine free range and unfortunately those feather foots pick up leg mites pretty easily. If you have any birds with crests, you'll want to check them really well for mites and lice too. The elector is expensive, but it lasts a long time, and is the easiest to use.

Thank you again. I’m going to PM you, if you don’t mind. There’s so many products at my store, I want to check on which one to get. I really appreciate it!

 

[janiedoe]

Thank you again. I’m going to PM you, if you don’t mind. There’s so many products at my store, I want to check on which one to get. I really appreciate it!

Sure. I don't mind at all.

 

[Shadrach]

@Shadrach (& everyone else), do my Brahma’s feet look ok to you? It’s so hard to tell with her, compared with my non-feather feet birds.

View attachment 3477787

The leg scales look okay from the ankle up but that middle toe needs some attention. Feathered legs and feet are difficult.
I would be inclined to try permethrin spray taking care to spray upwards underneath the scales. If you do decide to debride with a brush be very carefull because the scales are already weakend at where they join the leg and it si very easy to completely dislodge a scale and this can lead to an open wound prone to infection.

 

[Shadrach]

Re: the escort call.
I only have one standard rooster now. I have 28 standard hens from 6 months to 8 years old. I'm getting almost 2 dozen eggs a day. Goliath runs constantly back and forth. Between the egg layers, and the girls who are dust bathing, and the girls who are grazing, he is running and "talking " to them all day. He does escort the layers back to the field, and to the dust baths. Poor guy never gets a break.

Most work hard for their hens in a free range setting I've found.