Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Shadrach]

Two and a half hours today. Grey and warmish.
I don't know where the time goes. I don't recall Einstein mentioning anything about event speed being relative to age.
Nothing unusual to report.
I've started to worry about Fret getting off the nest on day 21 (she was pretty prompt leaving the nest on her last sit) before the donated eggs give signs of life that would keep her there given the time difference.
I think I'm going to buy a big bag of weed and a tent.

 

[TropicalChickies]

Tax for lurking again. It's hard to keep up with threads sometimes. I lost two of my girls in one week last month, leaving my 7yo RIR ,Nevada all alone. So I took in 3 four yo hens needing a new home. Willa, a barred rock, Celeste, a blue marans I think, and Elvira, a BCM. Introduction is going slowly, poor Nevada has been demoted to bottom hen, but I am hoping they will chill out soon. I am looking forward to seeing Fret's eggs hatch as hope all goes well with them and the other allotment residents.

So sorry to hear about the loss of two hens and lonely Nevada. The first week of an assimilation is usually the rockiest. Hope they work it out soon

 

[fluffycrow]

Hi folks,

So... the best laid plans often go astray and all -- especially when chickens are involved -- but this is my "plan" to bring a little matriarchal discipline to the Hooligan Coop.

(Background) I kept a very small closed group of hens for a few years. They had been sick with a respiratory disease and I didn't want to spread it to other birds or have other birds bring in disease either. Those hens have passed, and now I have this growing motley intergenerational crew. So I'm new to this multi-coop tribal thing. Let me know if this sounds like I can have some reasonable hope or wildly wishful thinking.

This is the coop. It's huge for the 3 chicks who sleep there. 4 meters long by 1.3 meters wide x 3 meters high.

View attachment 3607367

Dusty is brooding her remaining eggs down in that harvesting basket on the right -- under the shade umbrella. There's usually a privacy screen between her nest area and the rest of the coop, but I removed it for the pic.

View attachment 3607368
Dusty, on Day 16. Future Headmistress of the Hooligans (I hope)

Right now, only three birds roost here at night: A 14 week old family group of two cockerels and one pullet.

View attachment 3607369
Segundo, Prima, and Tobias.
The Hooligans.

I moved these three here because they were getting pecked on and thrown out of the senior coop at night. And to split up the morning feeding into two groups because Lucio (the young roo) was getting stressed and the little ones weren't getting enough food.

Moving them to this coop solved both of those problems. But since they're been here, they've also formed their own lawless little goonie tribe. I think they could really use a bit of mama hen style discipline.

That's why I put Dusty in here to brood. I'm hoping she will hatch chicks, mother them, introduce them to the Hooligans before weaning, and then roost in this coop as the Head Mistress in Black.

Also, I think her chicks will be more secure here than around Tina and her brood (if she also hatches) and the other more senior hens. Tina's brooding over in the senior coop, a good 70 meters away.

Dusty wasn't one of Lucio's favorites. They mated, but she didn't lead or follow him around all day. She did her own thing. So I don't think she'll be in a big hurry to get back to his harem since she wasn't high ranking in it. So I'm betting on the chance that she'll be happier as senior hen of the junior tribe.

Anywooo... I'm hoping for a lot of things here. Not really expecting it all to go like clockwork because chickens do whatever chickens wanna do... Only time will tell

First priority on the wishlist is that both broodies hatch at least one healthy chick!

Sounds like a good plan to me! Good luck, and happy hatching!

 

[TropicalChickies]

Carbon has been making I've found food chick calls. I have no real idea what that's about

In my group, whenever a hen goes broody, at least one other hen will go around doing the "cluck cluck I have food" call. Cleo always did it, sometimes she even herded a little imaginary brood around. Now Butchie is doing it, and she doesn't even spend much time outside. She's actually having a really bad week, molting on top of her slow crop/tumor/whatever is really wrong with her. But she does "I've found food" at least once a day. Neither Cleo nor Butchie ever went broody themselves. Although Cleo was a very good auntie.

 

[fluffycrow]

In my group, whenever a hen goes broody, at least one other hen will go around doing the "cluck cluck I have food" call. Cleo always did it, sometimes she even herded a little imaginary brood around. Now Butchie is doing it, and she doesn't even spend much time outside. She's actually having a really bad week, molting on top of her slow crop/tumor/whatever is really wrong with her. But she does "I've found food" at least once a day. Neither Cleo nor Butchie ever went broody themselves. Although Cleo was a very good auntie.

The disabled ISA brown, Koutsi (RIP) clicked like a broody at least once a day for two years

 

[townchicks]

So sorry to hear about the loss of two hens and lonely Nevada. The first week of an assimilation is usually the rockiest. Hope they work it out soon

Thanks,me too. The upside is that she has become a lap chicken, since she discovered that the new girls won't get within grabbing distance of me.

 

[Sally PB]

Cleo always did it, sometimes she even herded a little imaginary brood around.

 

[Perris]

Let me know if this sounds like I can have some reasonable hope or wildly wishful thinking.

sounds like a reasonable plan to me. Good luck!

 

[Perris]

I've started to worry about Fret getting off the nest on day 21 (she was pretty prompt leaving the nest on her last sit) before the donated eggs give signs of life that would keep her there given the time difference.

I'm sure you know all this, but you're a worrier so maybe appreciate the reassurance... It's only a couple of days, and when the more advanced ones start cheeping inside the shell, that's a signal to slower developing ones to hurry up, so they hatch as close together as possible, and the developing chicks are capable of adjusting accordingly - not a couple of full days, but hopefully enough to tell Fret there's life inside (if there is). If they're still not out by day 3 after first hatch, the needs of that/those chick(s) might push her to abandon the nest, but if there's food and water close by, they could just take that as needed and her return to the nest till the last are out. Chicks sleep a lot in the first couple of days anyway, getting over the exertions of the hatching process and processing all the stimuli of the world they're born into.

 

[TropicalChickies]

sounds like a reasonable plan to me. Good luck!

Thanks. I really have no idea what I'm doing most of the time with these birds. But two young cockerels and their little sister living together with no feminine supervision just seems like a bad idea, unless I really want diablitoss