Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Shadrach]

Sounds like C has been embezzling funds.. but hopefully she will mind her p's and q's from here on in or risk the wrath of the other allotment holders.

If only I believed C was embezzlig funds. I think the truth is nearer they don't think they should be accountable to anyone.

 

[Shadrach]

that's a great shot! Quite a contrast at 4-5 o'clock between someone maximizing their greenery (the asylum seekers?) and someone else apparently growing plastic sheeting (actually mesh to stop insects?).

Given the state of your plot when you took it over, and its second place to the chickens when you're there, I think you've made excellent progress with it.

We've finally got some proper rain; should be with you in a hour or three

The rain passed us by.

 

[Shadrach]

Thanks for sharing. Didn't realize before this image how much I'd wondered about the layout of the allotments. Also fun seeing the different gardening styles from above.

I'm freestyle.

 

[Shadrach]

Agree. I don’t think he is thinking of small to medium flocks with ample space to roam.

It's a really stupid piece of writing. Underpinning the piece is a) it's not important whether the chickens have a natural life b) that being reasonably healthy and well fed and perhaps stress free is all any creature could want from life.
What he doesn't seem to understand is for us and any other creature risk, stress, procreation, pain etc etc are what makes life living for most.
I think the guy needs to spend a while at a zoo and then a few months in prison.

 

[TropicalChickies]

My chickens could choose to stay in the coop all day, they never do. In fact, unless they go in to lay an egg or hit the feeder after I fill it, they never go in until they decide it is roost time. If the weather is good (and no snow) they range around the fenced acre, most spend a lot of time under a tree between the barns. If the weather is bad they hang in the barn alley and the "feed room" which is adjacent to the stall coop though smaller and no roosts. The "feed room" is especially popular in the winter so I have spread hay on the floor. Even mid winter the barn door is opened morning enough that the hens can go out if they so choose.

Yep, mine are out from 6am to 7pm every day all day. Kinda puts a hole in Dr. Jeff's theory, I'd say

 

[TropicalChickies]

What he doesn't seem to understand is for us and any other creature risk, stress, procreation, pain etc etc are what makes life living for most.

100%.

 

[TropicalChickies]

I take your point about cortisone, but I think these two statements


surrounded by thousands or tens of thousands of other hens in close proximity 24/7 basically provide the answer to the question about their cortisone levels and how they are the harmful type rather than the life saving and life affirming type.

I should have linked the actual article, sorry. I made the point about cortisone because that's what these scientists used as the marker in their study on how stressful different keeping circumstances are to chickens. They are talking about cortisone levels in different circumstances as if it were all the same thing. And it's not at all.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2013-10-07/chickens-eggs-stress/5002814

 

[Shadrach]

Three hours today. Cloudy and around 18C.

I've written about the coop run, the coop extension, the allotment run and of course the allotment itself.
The area inside the wobbly red line is the allotment run. Hopefully this will give an idea of it's size. The whole allotment is a bit over an acre. The coop run is the bare ground with the coop in. The extension is the white dome thingy attached to the coop.
1) The coop extension plus the space under the coop gives approximatley 4.5 square metres, 48 square feet.
2) The coop run is around 6m x 6m. approximately 390 square feet.

Apparently 1) is an adequate space for 5 chickens. People on this site recommend this amount of space all the time.

What about 2) then? Adequate space for 5 chickens?

The area within the red line got pretty much stripped with 20 or more chickens on it, plus the geese in the mornings. I think that's a decent amount of room for 5 chickens provide it was split in half for vegitation recovery.

The thing is, if I hadn't herded the chickens off the plots and away from the main gate when there were five and more they would quite happily make use of the entire allotment.
With three now if one was to draw a line accross the page from the blue dot It's a water butt) below the compost bins to the top of the geese enclosure, that is about their natural roaming distance now with just three of them.

Just sayin as they say.........

When Henry, Carbon and Fret went to roost, Henry and Carbon got on the roost bar in the coop extension while Fret went into the coop. She had only been in there a few seconds when she started making the escort call. Henry gave the appropriate call back and bugger me if he didn't go in and join Fret. Of course Carbon followed.

Poop check.
Fret. Seems fine. Best of them all. Solid enough.

Henry and Carbon
Carbon is running a bit wet but otherwise good.

And finally some chicken pictures.

 

[MaryJanet]

I believe I'm the only Australian reading this thread at this time. The wider regulatory context is missing from the discussion.

Australia is transitioning to 100% free range egg production, see https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-26/new-free-range-egg-laws-come-into-effect/9696146

In such a context, of course there is discussion on all sides of the argument. No wonder the study on stress in caged birds found its way to the public discourse.

The important point: In a few years all eggs produced in Australia will be free range.

Eggs are already more expensive in the shops and the price rises are likely to continue as egg farmers adapt their infrastructure.

 

[MaryJanet]

I should have linked the actual article, sorry. I made the point about cortisone because that's what these scientists used as the marker in their study on how stressful different keeping circumstances are to chickens. They are talking about cortisone levels in different circumstances as if it were all the same thing. And it's not at all.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2013-10-07/chickens-eggs-stress/5002814

I thought it was only one scientist?