Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[MaryJanet]

The chat about gun ownership has got me observing what we do when we're on social media.

Both social media and mainstream media present stories in ways that capture your thinking.

Right now, I'm trying to capture your thinking for a moment to make you aware of your vulnerability on social media.

That doesn't mean stay away from social media, no.

It means waiting and thinking, remembering that what you have lived is not what others have lived, remembering your technology feeds you stories it thinks you will like (and therefore never shows you the other side of a story), maybe checking data from a range of sources, and finally replying with kindness, if at all.

(I frequently choose to not reply.)

If anyone would like to read books on this topic, pm me and I'll provide a reading list.

And now some taxes because Shadrach has explained more than once that he likes to see a photo of chickens with posts that are not about chickens.

 

[Sally PB]

Down the road they're building a development on what was corn fields a few years ago. They're packing the houses in so tightly there's no room for even a car to drive between the buildings. The backyards are about the width and length of a couple parking spaces.

Houses are getting larger. Lots are getting smaller. No wonder we spend more and more time inside and less outside. There's no room to "do anything" out there.

Oh, and all the technological stuff we're addicted to indoors. So much more interesting than gardening. Playing fetch with your dog. Playing hide and seek with your kids. And of course, hanging with your chickens.

Not that I have an opinion on that.

Tax (from time hanging with my chickens):

 

[no fly zone]

Houses are getting larger. Lots are getting smaller. No wonder we spend more and more time inside and less outside. There's no room to "do anything" out there.

Oh, and all the technological stuff we're addicted to indoors. So much more interesting than gardening. Playing fetch with your dog. Playing hide and seek with your kids. And of course, hanging with your chickens.

Not that I have an opinion on that.

Tax (from time hanging with my chickens):
View attachment 3660394

I went from having 2.5 acres of open land in FL to 4000 sq ft of brick pavers in NJ. My driveway here is barely large enough for my Hyundai Elantra.

 

[BDutch]

I went from having 2.5 acres of open land in FL to 4000 sq ft of brick pavers in NJ. My driveway here is barely large enough for my Hyundai Elantra.

4000 sqft or 370m2 is a reasonable large plot for a house in the Netherlands in villages and large in a city. We only had half of that with our previous attached house.

Can’t you take out half of the brick pavers and make a small garden?

Time for tax, Kraai and Janice in the garden.

 

[Molpet]

I went from having 2.5 acres of open land in FL to 4000 sq ft of brick pavers in NJ. My driveway here is barely large enough for my Hyundai Elantra.

Sounds like cruel and unusual punishment to me

 

[Shadrach]

Goofy.....I guess they figured you could only sit in one chair at a time

To cheer you up, you may have helped another rooster.
I shared your article on FB
View attachment 3660048

Thanks for linking the article and posting the feedback.

 

[Shadrach]

I have been diving into this statement because I found it hard to believe.
And as expected it is not true.
The Swiss have a lot of firearms but is less than a third of what US people have nowadays. The numbers in Switzerland have reduced a lot in the last decades,

One of the articles:

Spoiler: One in four Swiss has a firearm.

Why then are there almost no mass murders while they are commonplace in the US? The last mass murder in Switzerland dates back to 2001, when a man stormed into a local parliament in the city of Zug and shot dead fourteen people. One mass shooting in seventeen years is very little. However, Swiss people have approximately 2 million privately owned firearms, out of a population of 8.3 million. Why is Switzerland spared mass murders while they are commonplace in the US?

Switzerland has long been a neutral nation. Armed civilians have helped defend that neutrality for the past 200 years. Patriotic Swiss see their weapons as a tool to defend their country.

The gun lobby in the US often points to Switzerland as a textbook example to demonstrate that more rules regarding gun ownership are unnecessary.
But although the Swiss are addicted to their pistols and rifles, there are specific rules regarding gun ownership in the country. Conscription Unlike Belgium and the US, conscription is still in force in Switzerland. All men between the ages of 18 and 34 who are considered suitable for the military are issued a pistol or a rifle. They are also all trained so that they can use the weapon. After their military service they can keep their weapons, but they must first obtain a permit for it. About half of all private weapons in Switzerland are former service weapons.
Source: https://www.hln.be/buitenland/een-o...n-terwijl-ze-in-de-vs-schering-en-inslag-zijn
Last update: 27-02-2018, 13:22 : Business Insider; BBC; Small Arms Survey

And in 2019 the Swiss voted for stronger regulations.

This article is older but has a good explanation why it was in a referendum already in 2011. Then is didn’t reach the acquired votes. In 2019 it did.

Spoiler: Swiss referendum on firearms February

13, 2011, 07:28 BERN - Swiss will vote on Sunday in a referendum on their massive gun ownership. The country now has one of the world's most lenient rules on weapons: many homes have a gun in the cupboard. Theme: (re)set your mind! More job satisfaction, less stress, pushing your boundaries, being smarter than your brain, thinking in terms of opportunities and better collaboration?

Concerned doctors, police officers and others forced the referendum to restrict guns. They believe that fewer deaths will occur if soldiers do not take their weapons home after their service but store them centrally in an arsenal. Opponents believe that Switzerland is safer because of the many armed households. The country has many reservists who regularly practice their marksmanship. An opinion poll predicted a neck-and-neck race between supporters and opponents. The number of people in favor of restrictions has shrunk to 47 percent in recent weeks, while those opposed have grown to 45 percent. Switzerland, which is not a member of the EU, often holds referendums. It was recently decided not to build any more minarets and to automatically deport non-Swiss if convicted. (AP)

I read an article on the topic many years ago so my reference is probably out of date. I think it was number of households with guns rather than total number of guns.

 

[Shadrach]

Six hours yesterday. A bit chilly but otherwise a lovely day.
The field was quite busy. Seven people there.

Carbon suffering with her moult. She's not at all comfortable.

 

[no fly zone]

4000 sqft or 370m2 is a reasonable large plot for a house in the Netherlands in villages and large in a city. We only had half of that with our previous attached house.

Can’t you take out half of the brick pavers and make a small garden?

Time for tax, Kraai and Janice in the garden.
View attachment 3660473

I don't have chickens any more, plus my wife won't let me. Been doing a whole lot of nothing since Skeksis died.

 

[TropicalChickies]

Six hours yesterday. A bit chilly but otherwise a lovely day.
The field was quite busy. Seven people there.

Carbon suffering with her moult. She's not at all comfortable.
View attachment 3660667
View attachment 3660668View attachment 3660669

Thoughts on molting and possible broodiness connection. I think this has been discussed before, but I've been making some observations Id like to share.

This picture of Carbon molting reminds me of my hens who never went broody. They all molted seldom and hard. Once a year, they would look so ragged and and even almost bare in patches and then take 2-3 months growing in new feathers. They would be very tired and uncomfortable and some even laid during these hard molts which I think was really hard on them. The ones that lived more than 3 years ended up laying very thin shelled eggs with deposits on them and dying of internal problems, even though they ate layer feed and had access to calcium.

In contrast, the hens I have now ALL go broody after laying two or three (or sometimes only one) clutches of eggs. As in every other month. It's ridiculous. I have 3 broodies now, one sitting on eggs, and the other two I'm trying to break because I don't have room for hatching three broods of chicks with bad weather on the way.

But I've been noticing over the past year and a half that these hens who go broody more often always have a "mini molt" after their broody spell. If they break brooding, it's more mild. If they actually sit and hatch chicks, they molt when they start weaning the chicks. It's more pronounced than the ones who don't hatch chicks, but still not severe. It seems like they all have a much easier and more gradual process of feather renewal than the hard molts my previous hens had.

In addition, the hens who I do manage to break from brooding (closing off their nest seems to be the only way), still take a full 3-4 weeks to return to laying. Sometimes it's copycat behavior and they are easier to break, but the true broodies are very stubborn and it usually takes them at least 5-7 days to give up. If I cage them (separately of course) they injure themselves trying to break out. These are not easy chickens!

When they aren't broody, however, they are very vigorous and productive of eggs. My four top layers seem to have a pattern of laying about 15 eggs in a row, taking a one or two day break, laying another 12-15 eggs, then going broody. Then it takes them a month to return to laying. So I get two months of eggs, one off. Feast or famine. In their time off, they shed and grow new feathers.

Overall, this seems to be healthier for them. Anyone have any observations to share -- or reshare -- that correlate with mine?

Patucha and Rusty. Currently locked out of their laying nest, they are squatting in the outdoor shower. Voluntarily. Hopefully they give up sooner than later. The roosters are bored and wondering what the heck their crazy girls are doing there.

Edited to add that these hens are NOT eating layer feed, they are eating my homemade mix of fermented grains, seeds, and legumes plus meat or fish 2x per week. With access to oyster shell and dried eggshells. When they lay, they are productive as mentioned and all eggs are strong shelled, rich yolks, and well formed. Including Patucha and Tina who are in their third laying seasons. Theyve been on the homemade diet for 5 months now. @Perris