Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[shawluvsbirds]

Merle Hagbird

 

[micstrachan]

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.
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You are a good man, Shad.

 

[micstrachan]

Yeah, the 5 months of no snow,it's stunning. But the snow makes everything a shapeless mound. Not to mention the drifts try to swallow you if you're short.

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I am going back to read through posts I missed. What a beautiful rooster! What is his name?

 

[Shadrach]

This one isn't well. Once again I've done the usual checks so it's probably an internal problem. She's still eating, drinking and mixing with the others.

Similie, Lima's bestie. She still hasn't grown tail feathers.

Fret at the front, with Slide behind.

 

[Sortacountrychicken]

I was amazed by the sound they can make: that quiet, strained, egg-pushing breathing. Lets you know what an effort it is.

It's quite the sound that they make while laying. The hatchery pullets here lay quite large eggs for their size but they are also quite large birds and they strain to get an egg out. It makes one ponder the difficulty that a Leghorn would have each day given how large their eggs are and combined with their rather small body size.

 

[Sortacountrychicken]

This one isn't well. Once again I've done the usual checks so it's probably an internal problem. She's still eating, drinking and mixing with the others.
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Similie, Lima's bestie. She still hasn't grown tail feathers.
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Fret at the front, with Slide behind.
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Does Simile have pin feathers coming through or did they all get plucked by the other hens?

 

[BY Bob]

Yes, I agree. The area I live in doesn’t allow roosters, though the local ordinances do allow for more chickens than most of the surrounding areas. (My neighbors liked my rooster, so I don’t think it would have been a problem had I not had an issue with how the rooster had started acting towards my kids.) I think that’s part of the reason why the backyard chickens movement has resulted in so many mixed flocks, honestly. A lot of areas don’t allow roosters, so people turn to feed stores, hatcheries, or breeders for their birds. That allows them quite a few options and if you can’t breed the birds you like the look of, you might as well have fun picking out an assortment. That’s how I felt, anyway.
I’m glad I’ve been able to find a good breeder with an assortment of breeds to choose from. Just like sourcing my meat from local farmers instead of going to the grocery store, I’m much more comfortable knowing the quality of life that the breeding stock has. Supporting those farmers by buying their meat (and supporting local slaughterhouses/butchers that process the meat for me, and it’s only slightly more expensive than the grocery store), or my chicken lady by paying a few dollars extra for a healthy chick is worth it to me. I also know that she practices good biosecurity, and that’s about as good as I can hope to get.

You are quite lucky to have found a solid breeder.

 

[BY Bob]

Slip died this morning, underwieght in freezing tempeatures having been bred to produce ten times the amount of eggs her poor body was capable of.
She did get a few hours of living like a chicken in the last weeks of her life.
I did sit in the coop run last night for a while with her in my lap trying to warm her up before I slipped her in the middle of the others. She didn't struggle or object in any way and all I could think to say to her was sorry.

I am sorry for your and Henry's loss.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I am going back to read through posts I missed. What a beautiful rooster! What is his name?

That is Westeros, my Phoenix flock master

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

The temperature is 70 and cloudy.

So sorry Slip passed on.

I'm adding some past tax.

This is one of my Barred Rocks on the ladder I made with tree branches.

Have a great day!