Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Shadrach]

As a complete contrast. With an acre of mixed trees and vegetation, despite the baking of the sun Tribe 2 in Catalonia and the other tribes always had greenery available.

 

[Shadrach]

I've been quite surprised to learn that not that many chicken keepers have watched a hen lay an egg.
This is Moon laying an egg.

 

[Perris]

Most nesting boxes don't facilitate it.

 

[Shadrach]

Most nesting boxes don't facilitate it.

True. One of the things that fascinated me was the height off the nest a hen delivers the egg at. I've watched quite a few and they all squat at about that height.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning to one and all!

The temperature is 50 and sunny.

MERRY CHRISTMAS Have a great day!

 

[micstrachan]

I have a question about broody hens. I hope it's ok to ask it here Shad. Let me know if I'm to pay tax.

Is a broody hen's belly warmer than a hen who isn't broody?

I believe so, but will have to read ahead to see the real answer.

 

[Sortacountrychicken]

Merry Christmas everyone

 

[Shadrach]

Took Christmas dinner for the chickens over to the allotmants this afternoon. Two tins of haddock drained of water, some lovely plump raisins, cooked coconut rice (always a favourite) sunflower seeds and a dozen eggs scrabbled.
Miserable weather. The coop run is just a mud bath. They all came out for a while despite the rain, ate and foraged for a while and headed back to the coop to dry off.
I got the coop roughly cleaned out and new bedding in, changed the water, ans filled the feeder.
I can't really get under cover at the allotments so I stood in the rain while the filled their crops for the night nad headed off to roost.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Snowing here does not often. Merry Christmas to all

 

[Solanacae]

Merry Christmas to those that celebrate it. I gave my hens a head of lettuce today for a treat. They liked it - there’s not much in the way of fresh greens for them now that we’ve had several good snow storms. I pull up the remainders of my brassicas (cauliflower, collards, broccoli, etc) that they haven’t picked clean when I let them into the garden after I’m finished harvesting for the year. Mostly it’s just a stalk with raggedy leaves since they already had weeks to pick at them, but I’ll toss it into their coop when the weather is unpleasant and they’re less inclined to go outside.
I’m wanting to work on a fodder system for them once things calm down after the busyness of the holidays. Last year I sprouted some barley on a small scale and they really liked that. There are several great designs I’ve seen here on BYC, just need to decide what will work best for me.
Pics just for fun, unless I owe tax and don’t know it.
1. Cordelia in one of the nesting boxes
2. Peanut on a low roosting bar. I had them in the coop when I began integrating the juveniles in with the 4 older ladies. They all ignored the lower roosts and used the regular ones, just distanced away from the adults. I kept them in the coop for the chicks my hen is raising, though they still prefer to sleep together on the floor. Lately Peanut has been sleeping on the lower bars, though I’m not sure why. There’s plenty of room on the regular bars.