Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Ladies-Eight]

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

As soon as I take one and can get it to load I will.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Same here @ManueB . My coop is 10 feet outside my sunroom, right next to the vegetable garden. Makes it so easy in the winter, or during a rainstorm, to go out to feed, water, etc. Also allows easy observation in bad weather, as we can see the covered run right outside one of the windows. I liked having close access to the vegetables and herbs for cooking purposes (when I forget to grab an ingredient), and putting the coop alongside was the best decision we made.

I have my coop and run about 8 feet to the side of my screen room.

When I open the door to my screen room they all come running to the side of the run by the screen room.

I love it.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good afternoon one and all!

Temperature is in the 80s.

Have a great day!

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Did you get a new dog Karen?

Yes!

 

[fluffycrow]

Yes!

Oh how fun! Congrats on the new addition!

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Oh how fun! Congrats on the new addition!

And of course she is a miniature Dachshund!!!

 

[fluffycrow]

And of course she is a miniature Dachshund!!!

I've never had this breed, but they seem wonderful! I'm sure she'll fit right in!

 

[HiEverybirdy]

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.

I hope you can find a solution for her. Custom suit of armor?

We had a similar situation where life with a certain rooster was too dangerous for our Miss Barbara. She was small like Piou-piou. Sassy but also fragile and perennially off-kilter, which caused friction with her crew, especially rooster Merle.

At around 11 months, his advances on her became aggressive. An apron seemed like good protection until their relationship came through what I thought might be a phase, but her reaction to the apron made her more of a target because she was acting injured--dangerous for a chicken.

Some hens do a dance for the first minute with a saddle while they figure out what's on their back, but Barbara couldn't figure it out at all. I undressed her and gave her the option to move to the adjacent yard with Stilton, where there was a spare coop she could have to herself.

She took me up on it and rarely revisited her broodermates for the duration of her life. Stilton's squad was surprisingly patient and even preened the new tenant, but Barbara always chose to roost alone (she spent nights under 50F/10C on a special roost in the house since her feathering was thin).

I haven't read your lovely thread in ages but should catch up on it. I know you've been on a journey with Piou-piou, and I've been a quiet fan of hers, especially because of our roller coaster with life-loving Barbara Wingsolver.

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 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.

That's a good way to weigh them, too. We just don't have a human-sized scale. However, we have a digital food scale that goes to 33lb/15kg, and many of our chickens are either amenable to handling or see it as a privilege. Probably a side effect of being raised in a house by humans.

They also like a nap on the couch. Have been curious for a while now if their posh upbringing is a factor in ours never going broody.

Starla at 4 weeks old on my leg, with Peck and Lil Nugs behind her.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

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.

This is a cool link. It's fun to see the Sussex colors and the names in Dutch. Thanks for sharing.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Yes, sort of. For example this is a porcelain brahma

Those are really something!