Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Perris]

We've encountered a rather...interesting problem. Lady Gaga and Ursula meet ups have been going on as usual, but there's something rather weird going on that I wonder if any of you with mix breed flocks have encountered. So Ursula is a silkie mix, and as such, she has the silkied feathers. Well, her tail and wing feathers seem very tasty to Lady Gaga, because he eats them like he would a piece of grass

Lady Gaga needs a protein boost - offer something naturally loaded like yogurt or sardines and he may stop.

 

[fluffycrow]

Lady Gaga needs a protein boost - offer something naturally loaded like yogurt or sardines and he may stop.

This is not a case of feather plucking, or aggression for that matter. He wouldn't be trying to target the hay-like feathers hanging from Ursula's tail if it was. Plus, they already get protein in the form of meat once or twice a week. If it were feather plucking, he'd do it to his serama friends with which he spends most of his day

 

[Iluveggers]

Just like, since cutting all processed foods, and 98% of carbs from my diet has greatly improved my health.

Just curious if there is a specific plan you are following! Thanks!

 

[Perris]

aren't silkie feathers soft and serama feathers hard?

 

[fluffycrow]

aren't silkie feathers soft and serama feathers hard?

Usually, yes. But the feathers he is targeting aren't actual silkie feathers, they're normal feathers that are broken up into pieces due to the silkied gene. Most silkie mixes I've seen have those types of feathers on their wings and tail. Plus, juvenile feathers aren't that hard, and one of the pullets even has some last remaining baby feathers on her which he doesn't touch, even though they are much softer than Ursula's

 

[BDutch]

I thought we were talking layers. Modern broilers are with reason sometimes called frankenchickens, and have been subject to extreme selection to grow to slaughter weight in 42 days or thereabouts, but I don't think their genes are very different from an ordinary heritage chicken. It is a real and serious problem for the broiler industry to get birds old enough and healthy enough to breed - they have to keep them starving basically. I posted a link to a paper on it a while ago but it's not what most people want to hear or think about so it got little attention.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/modern-broiler-stock.1556226/

Yes you are right that humans who like to eat meat often close their eyes for all the bad that is happening in factory farming.

And we didn’t have a discussion on broilers, but comparing them to layers was meant to give another perspective. A hen that lays 360 eggs in a year is twice to 4 times the amount , thats normal for most heritage breeds. This amount of eggs are largely not the result of better feed and housing. It has to do with changes within their genes too.

There are more examples likes this; A modern pig with 14 nipples is genetically not exactly the same as a pig 50 years ago who had only 10. Its like survival of the fittest solemnly for the benefits in the farming industry. Only use the descendants of the superb producers. Minor mutations, breeding and selecting by mankind are the cause of these (genetic) changes.

With dogs, cats and even chickens there are many more examples of genetic changes. People have been breeding on characteristic looks. In the past it was often functional, But today it’s more because we can or to win prizes. And too often the breeders went beyond the health and welfare of the breeds. Example: Some dogs like, Cavalier king spaniël and Maltezer suffer from headaches because of extreme breeding programs just for the looks.

 

[MrsNorthie]

I don't know if it would work for you, but some people on BYC who live in or near Amish country look to them for naturally strong stock, old fashioned barnyard mixes.

I will have to look into that. If there aren't any Amish communities here in South Carolina, I may have to take an Autumnal road trip to Pennsylvania.

 

[MrsNorthie]

Just curious if there is a specific plan you are following! Thanks!

Not really a plan, just eating naturally, no added sugar, or chemicals, we don't dine out, eggs from our ladies, meat is grass fed, no GMO, no antibiotics. Nothing comes from a tin, not much even comes from the grocery store. The veg that I do eat is grown in my own garden grown without chemicals, only natural compost that comes directly from our veg scraps, coffee grounds, tea bags, egg shells that do not get baked and given back to our chickens, and of course, the chicken manure. I have lost 70 pounds, since January and my doctor is amazed with my labs.

 

[BDutch]

We've encountered a rather...interesting problem. Lady Gaga and Ursula meet ups have been going on as usual, but there's something rather weird going on that I wonder if any of you with mix breed flocks have encountered. So Ursula is a silkie mix, and as such, she has the silkied feathers. Well, her tail and wing feathers seem very tasty to Lady Gaga, because he eats them like he would a piece of grass

This is not a case of feather plucking, or aggression for that matter. He wouldn't be trying to target the hay-like feathers hanging from Ursula's tail if it was. Plus, they already get protein in the form of meat once or twice a week. If it were feather plucking, he'd do it to his serama friends with which he spends most of his day

I have no idea if it would work but this crossed my mind: put some stuff on the silkie they sell for nail biting? Or something else that is harmless to eat but has a terrible smell/taste.

Lady gag’s (m) name still confuses me. Would the real lady gaga eat the feathers of her showgirls too?

 

[fluffycrow]

I have no idea if it would work but this crossed my mind: put some stuff on the silkie they sell for nail biting? Or something else that is harmless to eat but has a terrible smell/taste.

Lady gag’s (m) name still confuses me. Would the real lady gaga eat the feathers of her showgirls too?

I'm not too bothered by Lady Gaga taking a nibble out of Ursula's tail feathers, and she appears to care even less than me. When he tries to do it, she just pulls away, and I giggle. He'll learn soon enough that it's not food, I've already seen some improvements. I don't think the real Lady Gaga has those sort of food preferences