Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[MrsNorthie]

I really get a kick out of watching him sitting and pretending to be a hen laying an egg. Reminds me of Dustin Hoffman in "Tootsie."

He is just being a supportive husband and father...I actually imagine him saying, "You're not doing it right, watch closely, you are supposed to do it like this.."

 

[Shadrach]

Very warm and sticky. I didn't like it and niether did the chickens. 30C for some of the late afternoon the only relief being the breeze.
Split shift 2 hours, lunch break, then 3 hours. Just sat in the shade before lunch and watched the chickens. They came out and Fret and the chicks headed to the fruit bushes. They give better shade than I expected and given I water the bushes and nearby veg there are some comfortable not so dry patches under the foliage.
Watching Henry eat with the chicks.

In the secomd half I dealt with a rats nest under a pile of wood near the feed bins. I've been meaning to do it for some time. I also did a bit of weeding on the plot and made a start on the fruit bush patch next to the coop run which is a mess of weeds and brambles.

This is the goose water bucket. It seems C can't be bothered to supply them with clean fresh water in the mornings. In this heat they need water.

It's like this most days when I get there. I fed the some layers feed and changed their water.
The front box of tomatoes and the apple and courgettes are what I brought home last night. Add to this a punnet of raspberries I gave away and some salad leaves I've got growing on another plot, plus six eggs I've collected over the last week.

No luck with the roosting this evening. Fret is showing signs of finding the heat uncomfortable. She's the only one who has spent any time with her wings hel away from her body. She's got a couple more days of this according to the weather forcast.

 

[TropicalChickies]

It's like this most days when I get there.

Why does this C person think she should have animals in her "care'? Wth is wrong with people?

 

[TropicalChickies]

Dusty, my 11 month old black chirapa (frizzle), has 3 week old chicks. She suffered some broken feathers on the "shoulders" of her wings from Lucio mating with her. Being a frizzle, her feathers are more prone to breakage and she's not really a good fit, mating wise, with big lug Lucio anyway. I'm hoping she'll end up pairing off with Tobias eventually, who is smaller and more compactly built.

Combined with her egg sitting time, it's been 6 weeks since Lucio was mating with her and I don't see any new feather growth on her wings. The bare patches on her back filled in nicely however. I don't see any signs of lice or depluming mites, nor do I see her scratching or pulling out feathers.

Does anyone have any advice for helping her get her feathers back?

 

[TropicalChickies]

He is just being a supportive husband and father...I actually imagine him saying, "You're not doing it right, watch closely, you are supposed to do it like this.."

Yeah, sometimes I see the more senior hens just blow him off ... I can practically hear them muttering, "Micromanaging mansplainer, who does he think he is, bossing me around?" Then they go loll about in the dust bath for an hour and make him stand there. I wish he'd roll around in the dust himself, I checked everyone else thoroughly and he's the only one who gets lice.

 

[TropicalChickies]

Cillins missing rear end in this picture was the result of a weasel attack when he was still a cockerel

What a stoic little fella. Did his tail ever grow back?

 

[Perris]

Does anyone have any advice for helping her get her feathers back?

I think you just have to wait till she moults and then grows a new set.

 

[TropicalChickies]

I think you just have to wait till she moults and then grows a new set.

Ok, she's only 11 months old, so hopefully she'll grow a new set whenever she gets her first full molt. Obviously a saddle won't do anything to protect her wings.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

These recipes sound very yummy! I used to love zucchini bread, unfortunately, have cut carbs out of my life, but my husband still loves his sweet treats, so I will make these for him, because he is spoiled. ;-)

Most husbands are spoiled.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

When Léa’s chicks were between a week and three weeks she always took them on the.field above our house where the grass was really higher than elsewhere, I understood this was to protect them from easy sight from aerial predators.
There was one yellow chick that then turned white and five black. It was incredible to my human eyes how much the yellow chick stood out. In fact when I heard eagles or hawks and wanted to check where was the family, he was the only one I could spot.
Not sure if eagles eyes see colours like us though.
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I’m pretty sure you could try a version with almond and chickpea flour , it wouldn't rise but it could still be good.
@Ladies-Eight you made me want to bake one yesterday . My recipe is quite similar to your first except I use semi whole wheat flour and I double the batch. My unconventional twist is that I add two tablespoons of muesli, I like to have the bread for breakfast.
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Glad you liked the bread.

Looks great.