Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Molpet]

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.

I have 4 coops with at least one rooster in each. Years ago I had an English lavender Orpington rooster and a Jake that hated each other. I had to keep them separated. One spring the ground thawed and the poultry net fell out of the mud on the north side. I seen that rooster hop and start walking to the south... where the jake was. By the time I got my boots on and out the door, the jake was tap dancing on the rooster. At dark He's hens that seen the death went in the coop rather depressed. The hens that didn't see were calling and calling.
After a few days they left that coop. The hens had been in different coops before I separated for breeding. For the most part they went back to the coops they came from on their own.

 

[MrsNorthie]

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.

View attachment 3554019
^ pretty sure this would be a heaven for ducks -- and the end to our clean water supply

That is beautiful! and yes, the ducks would love it, you you need clean water. This guy is a free-agent, who just showed up, but I will feed and care for him as long as he wants to hang around. My dogs are good alarm systems and I know that if we were threatened, they would protect us, but I couldn't let them get hurt.

 

[TropicalChickies]

I have 4 coops with at least one rooster in each. Years ago I had an English lavender Orpington rooster and a Jake that hated each other. I had to keep them separated. One spring the ground thawed and the poultry net fell out of the mud on the north side. I seen that rooster hop and start walking to the south... where the jake was. By the time I got my boots on and out the door, the jake was tap dancing on the rooster. At dark He's hens that seen the death went in the coop rather depressed. The hens that didn't see were calling and calling.
After a few days they left that coop. The hens had been in different coops before I separated for breeding. For the most part they went back to the coops they came from on their own.

That's a really interesting (and sad) story. I saw something different when Cheri, the hen who brooded two cockerels, the still living Lucio and the deceased Paco, died about 5 months ago. She didn't look sick but she'd been having laying problems so I wasn't surprised, but she just dropped dead in the middle of breakfast one morning. I saw it happen from the kitchen window. All the other chickens just kept eating, literally stepping over her still twitching body to get more food-- including her two foster sons -- while I ran out to get the poor hen out of there so she could pass in peace.

What happened next sounds like the plot from Hamlet, but I swear it's exactly how it went down.

Paco had been Cheri's clear favorite. He matured faster and crowed and mated first. So from a species furthering perspective, it makes sense. She bullied and pecked Lucio mercilessly. But my partner and I agreed that Lucio was the stronger and would probably win a fair fight. But the times that I saw Lucio challenge Paco, Cheri actually got in between them, grabbed Lucio by the comb with her beak and tossed him on his back, leaving a nasty wound. She was a bruiser herself.

Personally, I really liked Lucio and preferred his demeanor to Paco's brash arrogance. He was calmer and taking lessons from the older hens like Cleo and Butchie on how to behave himself. Cleo in particular was very benevolent with him and always let him sit near her under the shade when Cheri chased him off and paraded Prince Paco around.

Anyway, the very same day Cheri died, Paco's mate Patucha went broody and harshly shunned him to go sit on her nest.

So just like in Hamlet, we have the prince son, the crazy girlfriend (Patucha as Ophelia) and the meddling willful mother (Cheri as Gertrude). I don't have Netflix or TV, but I have plenty of chicken stories.

Poor young Paco went from being the pampered fortunate prince with a cute girlfriend to a lonely scorned orphan -- in one day. He wandered around forlornly all day. I kept an eye on him, but at 5pm I had to go in to prepare food for some guests.

When I went to the coop at 6:30pm to make sure everyone was settling in for the night, Paco wasn't there. I started searching and found him drowned in the fish pond. Needless to say, that was a sad day to bury two chickens within 14 hours of each other.

Cockerel suicide? At the risk of rather fanciful anthropomorphism, I'd say...who knows?

 

[Molpet]

That's a really interesting (and sad) story. I saw something different when Cheri, the hen who brooded two cockerels, the still living Lucio and the deceased Paco, died about 5 months ago. She didn't look sick but she'd been having laying problems so I wasn't surprised, but she just dropped dead in the middle of breakfast one morning. I saw it happen from the kitchen window. All the other chickens just kept eating, literally stepping over her still twitching body to get more food-- including her two foster sons -- while I ran out to get the poor hen out of there so she could pass in peace.

What happened next sounds like the plot from Hamlet, but I swear it's exactly how it went down.

Paco had been Cheri's clear favorite. He matured faster and crowed and mated first. So from a species furthering perspective, it makes sense. She bullied and pecked Lucio mercilessly. But my partner and I agreed that Lucio was the stronger and would probably win a fair fight. But the times that I saw Lucio challenge Paco, Cheri actually got in between them, grabbed Lucio by the comb with her beak and tossed him on his back, leaving a nasty wound. She was a bruiser herself.

Personally, I really liked Lucio and preferred his demeanor to Paco's brash arrogance. He was calmer and taking lessons from the older hens like Cleo and Butchie on how to behave himself. Cleo in particular was very benevolent with him and always let him sit near her under the shade when Cheri chased him off and paraded Prince Paco around.

Anyway, the very same day Cheri died, Paco's mate Patucha went broody and harshly shunned him to go sit on her nest.

So just like in Hamlet, we have the prince son, the crazy girlfriend (Patucha as Ophelia) and the meddling willful mother (Cheri as Gertrude). I don't have Netflix or TV, but I have plenty of chicken stories.

Poor young Paco went from being the pampered fortunate prince with a cute girlfriend to a lonely scorned orphan -- in one day. He wandered around forlornly all day. I kept an eye on him, but at 5pm I had to go in to prepare food for some guests.

When I went to the coop at 6:30pm to make sure everyone was settling in for the night, Paco wasn't there. I started searching and found him drowned in the fish pond. Needless to say, that was a sad day to bury two chickens within 14 hours of each other.

Cockerel suicide? At the risk of rather fanciful anthropomorphism, I'd say...who knows?

Poor prince Paco. I can see why you would think suicide.
What a day.

 

[TropicalChickies]

Poor prince Paco. I can see why you would think suicide.
What a day.

Seriously. I pretty much collapsed when I went to bed from all of it, not to mention the grave digging.

Paco did manage to sire four progeny before his untimely death -- the chicks we have now. Two of them are almost certainly cockerels. Their mums are bringing them up very sensibly, so hopefully they will fare better.

I didn't mean to make y'all sad with this story. Although I never had a chicken drown before, occurrences like this are one of the risks of keeping a free roaming tribe -- soon to be tribes I think. There can be accidents, and I will be sad. But it's a risk I personally accept over keeping them penned.

 

[Shadrach]

Five hours today and what a lovely day it was.
I met C coming out of the allotments on my way in. C mentioned she had given the geese some water and I enquired after Ella. After I had explained who Ella was, C said she had seen Ella out of the coop and thought she looked a bit droopy.
When I opened the run up, Ella was lying in the full sun, looking a lot more than a bit droopy!
I picked Ella up and placed her in the shade under my chair. I did manage to get a little water into her and Henry, Fret, Carbon and I watched her die. I stroked her from time to time and Henry cood at her. Nobody ventured far from the chair. Fret cuddled up next to Ella at one point after I had take Ella off my lap where I had syringed a few drops of water into her mouth and wet her wattles.
These are the pictures of Ella dying. She died on grass, in the shade with her adopted family around her looking down the allotments full of growth and hope on a lovely day.
I don't know much about her life after the battery. She was one of four that arrived here when the person who took them in from the rescue centre found the deaths of 3 or 4 prior to donating the rest to the allotments too hard to deal with. Judging from the condition they arrived in they were well cared for but not used to much in the way of freedom.

Ella still alive but wouldn't drink by herself.

Stroking Eall as she faded.

These are pictures over the course of the afternoon witht the others gathered around Ella and me.

Ella is dead now with Fret sitting beside her.

The view down the allotment from chicken height with Henry and Carbon sat just in front of the chair.

Henry walking away calling the others to roost.

The coop suddenly looks very big.

 

[Shadrach]

That ladies and gentlemen is the end of the allotment Ex Battery hens that were here when I started trying to care for them.

What is important now is to make sure chickens, male and female, continue to be kept here. I have collected votes from the plot holders and have a majority of 6 in favour, 2 not bothered and 2 against. One of those against is C.
Not much C can do about it. My coop, I feed and care for them and soon to be voted on, the coop run becomes my plot.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. I've been offered some (I don't know how many yet) Light Sussex chickens that were rescued from a farm/smallholding that is closing down.
I've also been offered two rescue Legbars.
Finally, where my heart is but maybe not the best of choices, more Ex Battery hens.
I can house and feed eight realistically. The weather is going to cool a little and I should be able to get some of the plans I have for the run into action.

I'm going to talk to my eldest.

 

[no fly zone]

What a terrible week for you @Shadrach.

Hope things get better for you soon.

 

[MrsNorthie]

Five hours today and what a lovely day it was.
I met C coming out of the allotments on my way in. C mentioned she had given the geese some water and I enquired after Ella. After I had explained who Ella was, C said she had seen Ella out of the coop and thought she looked a bit droopy.
When I opened the run up, Ella was lying in the full sun, looking a lot more than a bit droopy!
I picked Ella up and placed her in the shade under my chair. I did manage to get a little water into her and Henry, Fret, Carbon and I watched her die. I stroked her from time to time and Henry cood at her. Nobody ventured far from the chair. Fret cuddled up next to Ella at one point after I had take Ella off my lap where I had syringed a few drops of water into her mouth and wet her wattles.
These are the pictures of Ella dying. She died on grass, in the shade with her adopted family around her looking down the allotments full of growth and hope on a lovely day.
I don't know much about her life after the battery. She was one of four that arrived here when the person who took them in from the rescue centre found the deaths of 3 or 4 prior to donating the rest to the allotments too hard to deal with. Judging from the condition they arrived in they were well cared for but not used to much in the way of freedom.

Ella still alive but wouldn't drink by herself.
View attachment 3554556

Stroking Eall as she faded.
View attachment 3554561

These are pictures over the course of the afternoon witht the others gathered around Ella and me.
View attachment 3554551View attachment 3554554View attachment 3554559

View attachment 3554549
Ella is dead now with Fret sitting beside her.
View attachment 3554574
View attachment 3554575
View attachment 3554552
The view down the allotment from chicken height with Henry and Carbon sat just in front of the chair.
View attachment 3554562View attachment 3554560
Henry walking away calling the others to roost.
View attachment 3554550View attachment 3554548

The coop suddenly looks very big.
View attachment 3554563

C deserves to slapped. How can anyone be so cold?? At least these sweet ex-batts had your love and care and got to experience some time just being cared for. I don't know how your heart can stand it but, I am glad that you intervened and made each one of their lives better during your time.

C should be ashamed, but her type seldom accepts any responsibility for their actions and the harm that they do.

 

[MrsNorthie]

That ladies and gentlemen is the end of the allotment Ex Battery hens that were here when I started trying to care for them.

What is important now is to make sure chickens, male and female, continue to be kept here. I have collected votes from the plot holders and have a majority of 6 in favour, 2 not bothered and 2 against. One of those against is C.
Not much C can do about it. My coop, I feed and care for them and soon to be voted on, the coop run becomes my plot.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. I've been offered some (I don't know how many yet) Light Sussex chickens that were rescued from a farm/smallholding that is closing down.
I've also been offered two rescue Legbars.
Finally, where my heart is but maybe not the best of choices, more Ex Battery hens.
I can house and feed eight realistically. The weather is going to cool a little and I should be able to get some of the plans I have for the run into action.

I'm going to talk to my eldest.

Maybe they should vote C out of the allotment group.... I don't know if it is possible. It is a great thing that you do for these chickens, knowing that whatever time they have left, they are actually cared for is special.