Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

Lucio is one fine Rooster. I'd keep the little general well fed as he earns it.
He gives treats to the ladies throughout the day, but he chows down at mealtime. He especially loves the cooked mash I make with rice, barley, quinoa, oatmeal, peas, flax, grated turmeric and black pepper. (Black pepper increases the curcumin uptake from the turmeric -- which is the antioxidant and anti inflammatory compound). I've read some solid studies about the benefits of turmeric for chickens, and we grow a lot of it here on the farm, so it's an easy add to their feed.

https://symbiosisonlinepublishing.com/poultry-fisheries-science/poultry-fisheries-science09.php

https://www.hobbyfarms.com/is-turmeric-good-for-chickens-3/


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Fresh turmeric root harvest
 
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Finally the road trip has ended and now we are 2 roosters richer. One is going to be a challenge and the other appears to be a lover boy. A special needs pullet is eyeing up the lover boy already. We shall see. Lover boy's crop seemed empty so I stopped at a convenience store and got a very unhealthy treat in a piece of pound cake. I thought it would be worth it as a good first impression for me. I think it worked as I sat in the passenger's seat with him in my lap unrestrained nibbling on the cake as we went careening down the highway at break neck speeds. Now the other is locked away for the night in a dog crate in the van. He will be extra hungry and thirsty in the morning and may be a little easier to get to act civil with me. Names. Better wait and base them on their character that they decide to reveal to me. On has a single comb and one a pea type comb. Single comb has nice muffs but don't know about the pea comb boy. Both I suspect as being Easter Egger Mutts. They will be just fine as not a single one of us got to choose our parents now did we.
 
Finally the road trip has ended and now we are 2 roosters richer. One is going to be a challenge and the other appears to be a lover boy. A special needs pullet is eyeing up the lover boy already. We shall see. Lover boy's crop seemed empty so I stopped at a convenience store and got a very unhealthy treat in a piece of pound cake. I thought it would be worth it as a good first impression for me. I think it worked as I sat in the passenger's seat with him in my lap unrestrained nibbling on the cake as we went careening down the highway at break neck speeds. Now the other is locked away for the night in a dog crate in the van. He will be extra hungry and thirsty in the morning and may be a little easier to get to act civil with me. Names. Better wait and base them on their character that they decide to reveal to me. On has a single comb and one a pea type comb. Single comb has nice muffs but don't know about the pea comb boy. Both I suspect as being Easter Egger Mutts. They will be just fine as not a single one of us got to choose our parents now did we.
Can't wait to see pictures and also what you name them! I do wish someone would feed me a pound cake every now & then when things seem rough 🙃
 
Finally the road trip has ended and now we are 2 roosters richer. One is going to be a challenge and the other appears to be a lover boy. A special needs pullet is eyeing up the lover boy already. We shall see. Lover boy's crop seemed empty so I stopped at a convenience store and got a very unhealthy treat in a piece of pound cake. I thought it would be worth it as a good first impression for me. I think it worked as I sat in the passenger's seat with him in my lap unrestrained nibbling on the cake as we went careening down the highway at break neck speeds. Now the other is locked away for the night in a dog crate in the van. He will be extra hungry and thirsty in the morning and may be a little easier to get to act civil with me. Names. Better wait and base them on their character that they decide to reveal to me. On has a single comb and one a pea type comb. Single comb has nice muffs but don't know about the pea comb boy. Both I suspect as being Easter Egger Mutts. They will be just fine as not a single one of us got to choose our parents now did we.
Isn't it extremely hot down there, and you're denying him water? 😳 I hope the van windows are open!
 
grated turmeric
thanks for that very informative post :thumbsup I got from the paper you linked that it improves the yolk index (as to be expected), but just out of curiosity, does it also come through in the poop colour? We only get the dry powder here and that stains everything it touches.

Also, do your chooks like black pepper? I haven't tried it with mine. I have tried brown mustard seeds, which are really nutritious, but my lot don't like them.
 
I have a Cornish Cross roo in a broody pen at the moment to protect him from other roos that want to fight him. He has feed and water that he needs. It's an odd situation that a small Bresse pullet hangs by his side day and night. She is very attracted to him.. A 20lb roo and a 4 lb pullet make a really odd couple.
Please, don't make the mistake I made, and check under her wings very regularly.
I have a cute runt little hen, Piou-piou, who's in love with my big roo Gaston, and this resulted in quite a bit of drama. Because she used to be very feral and active, I never noticed she was wounded until the moment she just laid down because she couldn't walk anymore. She had to spend almost two months in a crate, had twice antibiotics courses, got stitches at the vet the second time the wound opened. I still have to keep them separated, she does all she can to join him.
Piou-piou this morning ( she plucks any feathers that grow back)
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thanks for that very informative post :thumbsup I got from the paper you linked that it improves the yolk index (as to be expected), but just out of curiosity, does it also come through in the poop colour? We only get the dry powder here and that stains everything it touches.

Also, do your chooks like black pepper? I haven't tried it with mine. I have tried brown mustard seeds, which are really nutritious, but my lot don't like them.
The turmeric doesn't seem effect the poop color. Not like the wild berries they were eating for a month that had me scraping up dark purple pudding from everywhere.

The amount of tumeric I'm adding is small as per the recommended usage-- about 1/4 teaspoon per small bird, 1/2 per larger bird. Sometimes I add freshly grated root into their fermented mash (fermenting the root has many benefits as well). Or I add the dried powder to their cooked mash, but not both in the same day.

When I left the peppercorns whole, the chickens didn't like them. But when I use ground pepper and add it just before serving their food, they don't seem to notice. They eat everything. Try grinding the mustard seed.
 
Isn't it extremely hot down there, and you're denying him water? 😳 I hope the van windows are open!
They were fed and watered before we left. 2 hour drive without water to spill in the van didn't hurt him a tiny bit. As for being hot it was after dark driving and in the rain with the AC on. He has the life of Riley compared to a battery rooster. And now he will have an even better life with 10 RIR hens in a pen of his own to keep them fertile....
 

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