Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Perris]

I noticed today that Skomer has, besides slate legs, a coronation comb developing, so the Penedesenca genes are strong in him (thinks it's a boy)

 

[BDutch]

Tax: Andre being adored by Starla. This pullet is all about Andre.

Starla is a beauty with a beautiful speckled pattern!
is she perhaps a Red porcelain Sussex?

 

[Shadrach]

Still too warm to be interested in doing much.
4 Hours today. Spent most of it sitting in the shade talking with my friend from the next county North who dropped by after doing some shpping in Bristol Ciy. Brief spurts of activity once the sun had gone behind the trees including ripping the tomatoe plants up which have late blight.

It's supposed to cool down a bit tomorrow perhaps rain a bit. I've got some digging to do.

 

[jBabychickn]

Still too warm to be interested in doing much.
4 Hours today. Spent most of it sitting in the shade talking with my friend from the next county North who dropped by after doing some shpping in Bristol Ciy. Brief spurts of activity once the sun had gone behind the trees including ripping the tomatoe plants up which have late blight.View attachment 3632121View attachment 3632120View attachment 3632119View attachment 3632118View attachment 3632117
It's supposed to cool down a bit tomorrow perhaps rain a bit. I've got some digging to do.

Hoping for cooler weather for you and all that needs it; the heat is rough!

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Starla is a beauty with a beautiful speckled pattern!
is she perhaps a Red porcelain Sussex?

She's a Speckled Sussex (non-bantam but only 5 months old). Is Speckled another way to say Red Porcelain? They really are so pretty. Her broodermate Lil Nugs has the biggest and most speckles of our bunch:

 

[ManueB]

There are saddles that protect wings. They can inhibit flying somewhat, not because they physically restrict wings at all but because the birds seem reluctant to flap with something touching their shoulders. Ours don't do much big flying, so it's not been an issue for the few who've worn wing-protecting saddles.

Miss Lorraine is wearing one right now and hasn't forgiven me for it. Unfortunately, Merle's been treading even as they molt, so this is her look for a month or 2. They only grow feathers a few times a year, and I really don't want him ripping off the shiny new ones she's finally growing before winter. She was also visibly in pain when he was jumping on her. The padding on this saddle has addressed that.

This is a last resort for us, though. Particularly with Lorraine who doesn't like handling. I've left her naked-backed several seasons rather than subject her to clothing.

Miss Hazel, on the other hand, is pleased as punch to be important enough to have a saddle. I wish I'd tried one on her earlier. She needs wing protection more than Lorraine but is too little to wear the other wing-protector saddle we have, with detachable plastic wing protectors that snap to it.

All our aprons were purchased several years ago on the giant, destructive online shopping juggernaut which shall not be named.

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I tried an apron on Piou-piou, my runt hen who was wounded from her too big rooster. I had great hopes that it would allow her to live with her flock again, but it did not fit her. It was adjustable, but if it was tight enough so as not to fall off, she couldn't move.
Now she is wounded again, I’m hesitant to order another one or ask my mother in law to sew one and see if it fits better. She is a runt so her proportions are off, her legs are too short for the length of her body.
Piou-piou in front.

He is solid muscle, I must say. I boiled some meaty beef bones yesterday and today the chickens are getting the meat and their grain/seed ration soaked in the bone marrow broth. I'll be wearing high boots sturdy clothes on my way out to the feed area today for sure. Lucio is pretty good at lunchtime, it's the mama hens try to jump into the feed bowl these days, especially when there's meat involved.

I only have a hanging scale. I'd have to put him in a sack to weigh him. I'm pretty sure he would feel totally humiliated and make me pay for it. He's still learning that he has my complete respect, but I'm going to be in "his" space sometimes. We're figuring it out together, but I'm not curious enough about how much he weighs to disturb the balance right now.

One of the biggest advantages but also challenges to free ranging birds, especially roosters -- and I mean free ranging in the pure sense of the phrase -- is that there's no fenced off areas. There's no "my territory" or "their territory." Boundaries are fluid and we all have to share the space. I don't bother him when I know he's guarding a hen dust bathing or staying close while she's laying for example. But I also need him to know that taking the wheelbarrow over to the coop to scoop poop is something I need to and will do. So is tree-trimming, weed slashing and harvesting in the fruit forest. And that charging me or my partner when we are holding a machete or other sharp implement is just plain dumb. He's learning. I'm learning. And I just don't think dangling him like a sack of potatoes from a scale would help the process.

View attachment 3631552
2 people, five dogs, and 12 chickens on 8 acres. But somehow we all congregate in the same little spot. Why?

Permaculture would mention zoning as a way to organise your settings- it's just something that happens naturally.
Our chicken live literally under us, in the cellar below our kitchen and living room. It's so convenient, that it's very hard for me to imagine how it must be for people who have their coop and chickens far from their house.

I get them to stand on a scale too, though without the mixing bowl. It's a bit haphazard, usually takes quite a lot of mealworms, time and patience to get both feet on, and in the right direction that I can still read the display, but when needs must, this works for us.

I have always weighted my chickens and cats by holding them in my arms on the scale, and then subtracting my own weight. Is there something wrong with the way i’m doing it ? It seems everybody else put their animal on the scale.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

I spent today driving 2 hours to pick up my fur baby and then spent 2 hours driving back home.

Temperature is in the 70s.

Have a great day!

 

[Perris]

I have always weighted my chickens and cats by holding them in my arms on the scale, and then subtracting my own weight. Is there something wrong with the way i’m doing it ? It seems everybody else put their animal on the scale.

Your method sounds fine to me. The chickens here just aren't used to being handled, and it is usually a sign that one is really ill if it lets me pick it up. I can usually catch them if necessary, but it stresses them, so I prefer alternative methods that don't require handling.

 

[Perris]

I spent today driving 2 hours to pick up my fur baby and then spent 2 hours driving back home.

we need a photo of the fur baby @Ladies-Eight

 

[BDutch]

She's a Speckled Sussex (non-bantam but only 5 months old). Is Speckled another way to say Red Porcelain? They really are so pretty. Her broodermate Lil Nugs has the biggest and most speckles of our bunch:

View attachment 3632152

In the Netherlands we say Rood Porselein to this colour.
Dutch Chicken Encyclopedia.

Translated that would make Red Porcelain. Speckled is the way the English/Americans describe this colour/pattern.