Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[L-plate chicken mum]

Quick update on Chirk for those interested.

It was 5 weeks yesterday since he was deposed (and we now think he was deposed because he was falling sick with whatever it was he caught). He spent a week getting worse, till he seemed at death's door, then the next 2.5 weeks laying on his side, able only to lift his head and pedal his legs, and since the end of June he's been able to sit up, and stand with support for his right side. He resumed crowing a week ago (a sure sign he's feeling better), can now get up and sit down without losing his balance (most of the time), and he tidbits and chats to the girls who come to visit inside or in the temporary pen when the weather's nice. He has even managed to get up the ramp and into the coop there when his son (or possibly sibling) Fforest approached and frightened him (though they can't get to him, it's just an instinctual reaction given his weakened state).

Interestingly Killay did not approach in such a manner, Chirk did not feel the need to run away when he came calling, and Killay moved on quickly deeming there was nothing to see or worry about here. This makes me think there is still the possibility of Chirk's reabsorption into the flock when he's better, just like his dad after his survival from fox attack. Hope springs eternal of course.
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Yay, go Chirk , hopefully he continues to improve & gets to return to the flock

 

[ManueB]

Quick update on Chirk for those interested.

It was 5 weeks yesterday since he was deposed (and we now think he was deposed because he was falling sick with whatever it was he caught). He spent a week getting worse, till he seemed at death's door, then the next 2.5 weeks laying on his side, able only to lift his head and pedal his legs, and since the end of June he's been able to sit up, and stand with support for his right side. He resumed crowing a week ago (a sure sign he's feeling better), can now get up and sit down without losing his balance (most of the time), and he tidbits and chats to the girls who come to visit inside or in the temporary pen when the weather's nice. He has even managed to get up the ramp and into the coop there when his son (or possibly sibling) Fforest approached and frightened him (though they can't get to him, it's just an instinctual reaction given his weakened state).

Interestingly Killay did not approach in such a manner, Chirk did not feel the need to run away when he came calling, and Killay moved on quickly deeming there was nothing to see or worry about here. This makes me think there is still the possibility of Chirk's reabsorption into the flock when he's better, just like his dad after his survival from fox attack. Hope springs eternal of course.
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Thank you for the update. I needed to hear some good news today .
Chickens are so surprising..who knows how they will react if Chirk comes back.

I haven't seen C for days, not that I'm complaining about this.

Well, I do hope she's on holidays, and that she didn't die on you .
I also hope it's not been days since the geese have been fed.

Indeed they had a couple.plus a scrap feed bin. What they don't have apparently is all the packaging and general crap that somehow fill my rubbish bin week in week out and quite carefull about in what I buy stuff (I take a shopping bag or rucksack) and I go out of my way to buy food in particular unpackaged.
The relatives do have tins but they get used for something in the garden apparently.
It's true that recycling acounts for some of the rubbish I aquire but there is still far too much going in the general waste bin.

Old people here (over 80) don't quite get the concept either. They do what they have always done, burn all the rubbish that can be in old barrels and bury the rest. It's quite a problem actually because it often gets close to chemical hazards.

 

[Nomadicus]

Good morning everyone. I'm gaining 2 more roosters Friday thanks to a member to the North of me. 2 Easter Eggers.

 

[Molpet]

They do what they have always done, burn all the rubbish that can be in old barrels and bury the rest.

My dad grew up that way. I'm 4th generation here and until after WW ll stuff was buried. Still finding things working up with the frost.
For a while, after WW ll , dad was a garbage truck driver. He used to bring home good stuff. There was a hatchery on his route and he would bring home chicks that hatched after the eggs were thrown out.

 

[MrsNorthie]

Quick update on Chirk for those interested.

It was 5 weeks yesterday since he was deposed (and we now think he was deposed because he was falling sick with whatever it was he caught). He spent a week getting worse, till he seemed at death's door, then the next 2.5 weeks laying on his side, able only to lift his head and pedal his legs, and since the end of June he's been able to sit up, and stand with support for his right side. He resumed crowing a week ago (a sure sign he's feeling better), can now get up and sit down without losing his balance (most of the time), and he tidbits and chats to the girls who come to visit inside or in the temporary pen when the weather's nice. He has even managed to get up the ramp and into the coop there when his son (or possibly sibling) Fforest approached and frightened him (though they can't get to him, it's just an instinctual reaction given his weakened state).

Interestingly Killay did not approach in such a manner, Chirk did not feel the need to run away when he came calling, and Killay moved on quickly deeming there was nothing to see or worry about here. This makes me think there is still the possibility of Chirk's reabsorption into the flock when he's better, just like his dad after his survival from fox attack. Hope springs eternal of course.
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Well done Chirk! Glad to hear that he is recovering!

 

[fuzzi]

Winter greens? Collards, Kale, Mache. Cabbage is a good one, too.

I’ve over-wintered all 3 in negative F temps. Kale and Collards dont bolt. Not sure on Mache.

I think your out of luck with any veggie chickens think is revolting!

Collards don't bolt, but if you leave them long enough they will flower. They laugh derisively at both scorching hot and freezing temperatures, and I have seen the leaves covered with ice and snow. I don't know how they would do under a snow drift.

It's been in the 90s for a couple weeks, and my Swiss chard is looking very healthy. I need to go pick some, take the outer leaves and leave the center to grow.

 

[Iluveggers]

Collards don't bolt, but if you leave them long enough they will flower. They laugh derisively at both scorching hot and freezing temperatures, and I have seen the leaves covered with ice and snow. I don't know how they would do under a snow drift.

It's been in the 90s for a couple weeks, and my Swiss chard is looking very healthy. I need to go pick some, take the outer leaves and leave the center to grow.

Trust me…collards and kale both lasted under snow drifts. That’s why I plant a row of each every fall. Usually get 1-2 good harvests when the snow melts, and then let the chickens glean the rest.

 

[Sequel]

Trust me…collards and kale both lasted under snow drifts. That’s why I plant a row of each every fall. Usually get 1-2 good harvests when the snow melts, and then let the chickens glean the rest.

My kale self seeds. When the plants are happy they can grow quite tall. A couple years I had enough for winter forage for 6 chickens and DH and I. When it starts to bolt those “bolts” in early spring are some of the best “broccoli” you will ever have. I live in the Pacific Northwest with a climate very comparable to that of Bristol.

 

[GregnLety]

Comment.

I was talking to the Russian women who keeps this plot and who I will be sharing a plot with from the autumn.
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I got told a story.
She returned to Belarus to visit friends and relatives. One relative she hadn’t seen for many years since coming to the UK lives in a very rural area. This relative gave the women an apple which she ate and having eaten it to the core asked the relative where the rubbish bin was so she could throw the core away. The relative replied “what is a rubbish bin?”

Having worked in Russia. The camps I stayed in gave all the leftover and rubbish food to local farmers to feed their pigs and other animals. As a child we did the same. We waisted no food.

 

[Nomadicus]

Collards don't bolt, but if you leave them long enough they will flower. They laugh derisively at both scorching hot and freezing temperatures, and I have seen the leaves covered with ice and snow. I don't know how they would do under a snow drift.

It's been in the 90s for a couple weeks, and my Swiss chard is looking very healthy. I need to go pick some, take the outer leaves and leave the center to grow.

Shade grown collards in the summer make some good eating if you have some cold water fish fillets from the North Atlantic. Leftover cornbread is also a treat for chickens. So are the collards. I never have fish left over.