Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[TropicalChickies]

I have strange tax. This lovely Muscovy (?) Just showed up on our property in the last couple of days. When I talk to him and feed him, he wags his little ducky tail. With our pond, we have become a breeding ground for Canadian Geese, but this guy seems to be a solo act. The Chickens do not seem to mind him. We are on Fox watch, as we seem to have a mom and a couple of cubs that have taken up residence in one of our wild patches. Still pretty far away from the chickens but too close for me to sleep easy. We are taking it in turns to go out and shine the flashlight around and patrol the coop and run. I will try to get proper tax tomorrow. ;-)View attachment 3553655

I really like ducks and would love to have some. But we rely on a natural spring for water in the dry season (when there isn't enough rain to harvest) and I'm pretty certain free roaming ducks would love to hang out in the "lagoon" -- a lovely natural pool formation we built up with stones -- and would love to poop there too. So to keep ducks, I'd have to confine them to a pen and that's not in my heart to do.

Perhaps some geese one day. I hear they make good "watchdogs" and would probably put my pack of useless little mutts to shame.

^ pretty sure this would be a heaven for ducks -- and the end to our clean water supply

 

[no fly zone]

Skeksis made it through another night.

And i am wondering if these will fit a chicken:

 

[TropicalChickies]

Some really interesting archaeology being found along the route including a ‘Woodhenge’ and an Anglo-Saxon burial site locally & 2 Roman style busts plus a head & Roman hexagonal glass jug a few miles away which got the archaeologists really excited.

Those Romans really got around the ancient world. If you ever read Julius Caesar's "Commentaries" it's interesting how the "divide and conquer" mentality filtered on to later emperors who moved into Britain. And into Anglo-Saxon culture itself (English imperialism), onward to the newly formed United States of America (Manifest Destiny and the subjugation of the Native Americans). And lives on today in more insidious neo-colonial schemes like "free trade agreements", multilateral lending and multinational corporations.

But I admit it's fun to listen to excited archaeologists.

Ahh, this world...

Tax. Last night Patucha and Solo moved out of their broody wing and into the coop as well. My partner put up two more roost bars, one behind the coop proper above the wall and another "waiting roost" outside. Now the gangs all there, except Dusty who is now determined to be broody until she feels like stopping. Next time I'll give her a few eggs to set, she's breaking my heart.

^ Patucha and Solo approve of the recycled plastic roost bar.

Lucio takes evening inspection duty seriously.

 

[TropicalChickies]

Skeksis made it through another night.

Go Skeksis... Hang in there girl

 

[HiEverybirdy]

You have some beautiful birds.

Beautiful photography.

Thank you both!!

If C had consulted me before the December rehoming fit things would be rather different now. Matilda would still be there as senior hen, there would be one other Legbar and two other Ex Battery hens.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who was distressed by the fact she shipped off Matilda but relieved that Lima and Henry stayed with you.

Not only was it infuriating that C separated lifelong partners Matilda and Henry; it's tough work being a head hen. I hope with my whole heart Matilda was able to find her footing in the group she ended up with.

Tax is our Head Hen Brahma Donna. She's scrappy, small, and always has feathers out of place and/or feed on her beak (much like me). But her abiding self-confidence, evident even back when she was a fuzzy baby chick, is a thing of beauty. She's treated with the same deference here as the roosters, both by me and her feathered comrades.

 

[Iluveggers]

Hoping Skeksis pulls through til she can get the vet care she needs. Very glad she made it through another night.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who was distressed by the fact she shipped off Matilda but relieved that Lima and Henry stayed with you.

Not only was it infuriating that C separated lifelong partners Matilda and Henry

I was deeply infuriated when I heard Matilda was gone and Henry was without her. I think even baby chicks can feel love and bonding, so much so that last year I was splitting a batch of chicks with someone, and we were each going to keep 1 legbar. I raised them up for a few weeks, and noticed that when one came out of the brooder area the other would chirp until she came back. I could not split them, so I ended up with no legbar. I couldn’t bring myself to separate what was clearly a huge bond…maybe some people don’t realize that animals have feelings too.

 

[TropicalChickies]

She's scrappy, small, and always has feathers out of place and/or feed on her beak (much like me)

Haha, me too.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Hoping Skeksis pulls through til she can get the vet care she needs. Very glad she made it through another night.


I was deeply infuriated when I heard Matilda was gone and Henry was without her. I think even baby chicks can feel love and bonding, so much so that last year I was splitting a batch of chicks with someone, and we were each going to keep 1 legbar. I raised them up for a few weeks, and noticed that when one came out of the brooder area the other would chirp until she came back. I could not split them, so I ended up with no legbar. I couldn’t bring myself to separate what was clearly a huge bond…maybe some people don’t realize that animals have feelings too.

That's awesome. Last year, a friend was raising a bunch of chicks to split with a neighbor, and I told her to watch them carefully for friendships and consider at least not splitting up the obviously bonded ones. Some chicks just team up right away. It's beautiful, and why tear that apart? She was the same as you: ended up without a few of a breed she wanted because she decided a few should stay together.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Haha, me too.

@TropicalChickies - don't think I didn't go have a good, long sit with Donna after reading about Miss Cleo. I hope everybody's adjusting okay to her absence.

 

[TropicalChickies]

I couldn’t bring myself to separate what was clearly a huge bond…maybe some people don’t realize that animals have feelings too.

I observed something like this -- or perhaps closer to what Shadrach's tribe is going through. My Cleo who recently died wasn't always my senior hen. Before her was a big shiny Barred Rock mix named Joanie (after 80's punk rock icon Joan Jett). Like her namesake, Joanie was a cool badass in a leather jacket. Sadly, she was one the original hens I bought not knowing they all had bronchitis and bumblefoot to some degree. And had been pretty much starved by a keeper (who, to be fair, wasn't raising chickens to live more than 18 months anyway). But now that I have healthy chickens, I realize what a sickly lot that first group was. What a difference.

Anyway, when Joanie succumbed to her bronchitis symptoms -- and the sticktight fleas I know how to deal with now -- and died over a year ago, her two best friends, Cleo and Butchie, went into early, hard molts. Their combs flopped over and they were obviously depressed. They were ok physically, I cleaned them thoroughly of any parasites, disinfected the coop completely, and gave them high protein diets. They were just sad and disoriented without Joanie. And it was actually making them sick. Cleo bounced back pretty quickly when she realized that she was next up to be senior hen and took up the slack admirably.

It's interesting that chickens don't seem to be able to register that the dead body of a chicken was their friend. It's like they only recognize them in life. But they certainly understand and feel the absence of a friend.