Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Sequel]

nice read - thanks for the link - though Shad is going to roll eyes at the first line!

I know right??? He needs to get his book published.

 

[TropicalChickies]

It occured to me a long time ago that my perception of chickens isn't quite compatible with the cute and cuddly view.
I blame my uncle who was at pains to point out what savage bunch his free rangers were. It was true. There was nothing cute and cuddly about them.

Something went horribly wrong around Darwins time when the various species got classified as prey or predator and humans quitely slipped themselves into the predator group and chickens got labled as prey animals.

In more recent times it has been suggested that chickens are closely related to the dinosaurs, perhaps the closest living creature to dinasours. One would be hard pressed to make a case for dinosaurs being a prey animal.
Not that our species wants to face up to the fact but strip a human naked and put them in the jungle and they start looking like a prey animal to a lot of hungry creatures. The human without tools would be hard pressed to fight off a large street tabby cat.

When was the last time anyone tried catching a free range chicken that didn't want to be caught. I'm sure I still have scars from launching myself into the undergrowth in the vain hope that I might just be lucky and catch the recalcitrant bird.

As one who lives in the jungle (and has learned to keep skin covered most of the time), I can attest that humans are definitely prey animals. And you know what's more likely to eat you than a jaguar or anaconda? Ants. That's right. Millions of tiny carnivorous ants will compost a human in short time. Meanwhile, I've seen my chickens go straight into an anthill for "snack time"...

 

[TropicalChickies]

I'm hopeless about most breeds. I guess I haven't looked at enough pictures.
The breeds I do know something about don't feature much on BYC and often what I do see represented as a breed are not what I have seen of that breed.

From my short time here on BYC (which overall is a very good platform) it seems to me that a large percentage of the folks here get their chickens from a place called "Tractor Supply." I've never seen a Tractor Supply, but my imagination has conjured up a vast Chicken Mega Mall, where little baby chicks pop out of shiny bins labelled in alphabetical order according to breed, color, and expected number of eggs per year.

I've probably concocted an absurd fantasy, but anyway, the most I can ever do here regarding chicken breeds is speculate. Same for my five dogs...

Here's a tax. This is Butchie, my 3 year old who is finally getting over a nasty yeast problem, and at some point started thinking she was my sixth dog.

 

[Iluveggers]

From my short time here on BYC (which overall is a very good platform) it seems to me that a large percentage of the folks here get their chickens from a place called "Tractor Supply." I've never seen a Tractor Supply, but my imagination has conjured up a vast Chicken Mega Mall, where little baby chicks pop out of shiny bins labelled in alphabetical order according to breed, color, and expected number of eggs per year.

I've probably concocted an absurd fantasy, but anyway, the most I can ever do here regarding chicken breeds is speculate. Same for my five dogs...

Here's a tax. This is Butchie, my 3 year old who is finally getting over a nasty yeast problem, and at some point started thinking she was my sixth dog.

View attachment 3480728

Ooh, if I remember, next time I’m in Tractir Supply I’ll take a pic of their baby chick area!

 

[TropicalChickies]

Please do! I'm curious if this place looks anything like what I've imagined!

Ooh, if I remember, next time I’m in Tractir Supply I’ll take a pic of their baby chick area

 

[GregnLety]

As one who lives in the jungle (and has learned to keep skin covered most of the time), I can attest that humans are definitely prey animals. And you know what's more likely to eat you than a jaguar or anaconda? Ants. That's right. Millions of tiny carnivorous ants will compost a human in short time. Meanwhile, I've seen my chickens go straight into an anthill for "snack time"...

Our chickens love ants too. Rarely see many anthills in our backyard.

 

[Perris]

Our chickens love ants too. Rarely see many anthills in our backyard.

There were ants in the terrace and ants in the lawn (meadow ants) here before we got chickens; there are not any more... and my lot ignore dead voles and suchlike that the neighbours' cats occasionally leave on the doorstep; they like their meat moving it seems.

 

[kcan2]

Chickens may just be at the top of the food chain...they know it, but we don't! It may be that those of us who have taken the time to make friends with our predator chickens are actually the humans with a smarter survival instinct because we would be able to convince the chickens to eat us last

 

[Perris]

Interesting. Not something I've put much thought into. Seems reasonable though.

It's an insight based on hindsight, sadly. But now I'm awake to it, hopefully I'll be able to help the next one that turns from nice to nasty - or at least give it space and sympathy instead of quizzical looks and frowns.

 

[Molpet]

Not tractor supply, but similar big box farm store , R and P. .. last year one got out of the brooder