Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[bruceha2000]

That's the purpose, the reason behind the Second Amendment. An armed populace is harder to herd into cattle cars, even by military.

Actually it was put in to keep the Southern slaveholder states from torpedoing the entire Constitution. They needed the guns so the few non slaves on a plantation could control the many slaves who obviously had no guns.

Speaking of molt+broody, my very limited experience is in line with others.

My experience is extremely mixed. I had 2 Ancona chickens that NEVER went broody and other than losing and regrowing their tails, you wouldn't know they had moulted. And I have had girls that never went broody that looked like they narrowly escaped a chicken plucker. But not every year, maybe every other year. Off years you knew they were moulting but it wasn't severe.

The Autrawhites seem to moult lightly year round. I say this only because the few black feathers they have "move" around. So they must be dropping and replacing feathers with frequency. I'll have to see if Gretel has an obvious moult this year. Aurora died last week at 4 years 4 months. She was a LAYING MACHINE the first 2 years, didn't lay nearly as well the next year and laid not all that much this year.

At the moment both Sofia and Ana (Columbian Wyandottes) look like he(well you know). They are not broody girls.

With this biodegradable root cloth you say NO to plastic in your garden! After 7 years, this root cloth breaks down, meaning it has achieved its purpose before it is broken down.

I would guess it isn't very effective after a couple of years if it is breaking down.

then throw soil on top.

Halfwit indeed!!! Maybe no wits at all. They didn't figure out that plants grow in dirt whether it is on top of fabric or not? Heck, I've put down fabric between rows for weed control, held down by rocks and had weeds grow on top and force their roots through the fabric. They don't seem to need much "soil".

I think regular "geotextile" is most often used for loose stone driveways to keep the stone from being sucked under by the "soil" below.

 

[Perris]

How has he been doing ?

He's OK; he seems to have reached a sort of plateau, at around 70% his previous capacity for movement. He now weighs in at the bottom end of expected range for his breed (at 2.5 kg), has normal poops, keeps his balance, has only occasional tremors - and that may just be shivering, as he's not got a full coat of feathers yet and it's turned colder; normally he moves fairly smoothly, does tidbitting, waltzing, and other sorts of engagement with flock members who come near (and Polka even willingly joined him inside one afternoon recently); but he chooses to stay under the trampoline, protected from the other roos; he doesn't want to range anymore. I don't think he can run properly, so freedom may be a rather frightening proposition for him. He'll come out a few feet for breakfast, but he goes straight back in before I release the others for the day.

 

[fuzzi]

Actually it was put in to keep the Southern slaveholder states from torpedoing the entire Constitution. They needed the guns so the few non slaves on a plantation could control the many slaves who obviously had no guns.

I was referring to the original spark that lit the American Revolution fuse: the British forces marching to Concord, Massachusetts to seize ammunition from the colonists so they would be unable to resist. There's a detailed description on battlefields.org:

If the colonists had been unarmed they would have had a harder time defying the king, hence the attempt by British troops to confiscate the battery contents.


Tax:

Digging an escape route?

 

[Shadrach]

The weather was a lot better than yesterdays prediction. We got out for four and a half hours. I seem to have spent an unhealthy amount of time on the phone banging out the details of the groups membership agreement form. I think everyone is happy with it now.
Next comes the transfer of the chickens to my permenant care document. That should prove interesting.
Carbon's bare patch around her bum is filling in at last as is the patch below Henry's wing end. They had these bare patches for some months now. I had intitially thought that feather mite could be responsible but I now think the feather loss was through pecking and stress.
They look okay with regard to everyone getting along at the moment. This will doubtless change as the cockerel matures.

The geese got fed this morning by C. I still gave them something this evening.

I do wish C place the bowl on bare earth. The geese will pick up what they spill on bare ground and if not, it can be brushed up which means we aren't feeding rats.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

They look okay with regard to everyone getting along at the moment. This will doubtless change as the cockerel matures.

The cockerel is such a mini-Henry. That last photo is like Henry facing his younger self.

 

[BDutch]

I suppose that a battery or commercial hen that had trouble laying before their spent age would either die or be culled ;

Imagine a farm with 10.000 chickens.

These farmers don’t take the trouble to see which hens are laying. They are all brought in at the same time at POL. And all hens that are still alive go to the slaughterhouse at about 20 months old (in general). Just at or before their first molt.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Taxes for lurking. First, Miss Plumbus, Black Copper Marans, whose bum has looked like a pin cushion for at least 8 weeks. Slowest. Molter. Ever.

After seeing @Perris' post about brushing Chirk, I tried scraping the keratin stuff, but she wasn't impressed. To be fair, she's appeared wholly unperturbed by the state of her butt fluff, and her chicken friends would've already helped if she wanted assistance with this.

Relevant to this thread and proof of @TropicalChickies' point that there's a broad range within what's "standard": Plumbus only layed about 5 weeks of her life, so a "poor" layer by most accounts. Though in color and shape, she was an exquisite layer of black-brown eggs.

Plumb's 2.5 years old, and this is the first time she's molted. Interestingly, she's on the same molting schedule as her suspected full brother Andre, indicating a genetic component to molting. Our Marans came from a breeder who says her birds have no hatchery genetics...which is a different discussion entirely...but it has me in the mindset that some non-hatchery-type heritage strains might still lay and molt less.

Next: Brahma Donna taking a break from head-henning to hop the fence and range solo in the orchard. She usually loves to be picked up, but not while in adventure mode. Instead of shuttling her back, I took a coffee break to chaperone and make sure she didn't run afoul of the orchard fox. You have to figure a molting head hen knows when she needs me-time.

Lastly, tomatoes roasted per recipe @Shadrach posted (https://www.theendlessmeal.com/roasted-cherry-tomatoes/). Thanks for sharing that. Addictive and delicious on just about anything savory.

 

[ManueB]

He's OK; he seems to have reached a sort of plateau, at around 70% his previous capacity for movement. He now weighs in at the bottom end of expected range for his breed (at 2.5 kg), has normal poops, keeps his balance, has only occasional tremors - and that may just be shivering, as he's not got a full coat of feathers yet and it's turned colder; normally he moves fairly smoothly, does tidbitting, waltzing, and other sorts of engagement with flock members who come near (and Polka even willingly joined him inside one afternoon recently); but he chooses to stay under the trampoline, protected from the other roos; he doesn't want to range anymore. I don't think he can run properly, so freedom may be a rather frightening proposition for him. He'll come out a few feet for breakfast, but he goes straight back in before I release the others for the day.

Sounds like a glass half full, but since he has those interactions with the hens, I suppose he still enjoys drinking it. What do you think, are you willing to keep him like this ?

Next comes the transfer of the chickens to my permenant care document

Apart from the drama, I would be interested when you get there if you shared some of the content with us. It's a rather specific situation, I wonder if there are other documents of the same type.

I do wish C place the bowl on bare earth.

Maybe she had it on that flat rectangle (I can't see what it actually is). I put my dry feed when it's not in protected feeders on old planks to sweep them from leftover.

Imagine a farm with 10.000 chickens.

These farmers don’t take the trouble to see which hens are laying. They are all brought in at the same time at POL. And all hens that are still alive go to the slaughterhouse at about 20 months old (in general). Just at or before their first molt.

My ex Batts were in cages so they would have known exactly who laid what.
Don't think cages have been banned yet from EU countries. In France new structure using cages above 10000 hens are forbidden but the delay for switching old structures keeps being set forward to an ever further future.

 

[Perris]

Sounds like a glass half full, but since he has those interactions with the hens, I suppose he still enjoys drinking it. What do you think, are you willing to keep him like this ?

I seem to have given the wrong impression; he gets lots of company every day but most of it is through the mesh walls. When I see one of the hens on their own associating with him like that, I go and lift the mesh so she can join him if she wants. Almost always she doesn't. I don't lift it when any chicks are around in case one of them gets stuck on the wrong side, or roos to avoid panicking him. His tail is up, his colour is great, his appetite is good, so I think he's enjoying his life, and as long as that's the case, I'm happy to support him. I can hear him crowing now, though the daylight is barely noticeable, so he's looking forward to another day

 

[BDutch]

My ex Batts were in cages so they would have known exactly who laid what.
Don't think cages have been banned yet from EU countries. In France new structure using cages above 10000 hens are forbidden but the delay for switching old structures keeps being set forward to an ever further future.

I don’t think so because eggs from caged hens roll out and are gathered automatically.
And battery cages for single hens have been banned in the European Union since 2012. Most battery cages have been replaced by the so-called enriched cage system and by the colony housing system.

Spoiler: Cage eggs

In this housing system, the chickens, also called laying hens, live in cages. Around three to a maximum of five laying hens live in a cage and each laying hen has access to 550 cm2 of floor space. This is also called a battery cage.
Food and drink are constantly available, allowing them to do so whenever they feel like it. What does a battery cage look like? The sloping bottom of the cage ensures that the eggs roll automatically onto a conveyor belt. This makes collecting them very easy and the eggs do not have to be picked up from the cage. The hens' manure falls directly through the bottom of the cage.

The bottom is made of mesh, so the manure is virtually unaffected. This is also removed by conveyor belt, just like the eggs. Naturally, this is done with a different method than the one used to collect the eggs. This way the hens and eggs remain clean and the risk of diseases is minimal.

Battery cages banned in the European Union Since 2012, these battery cages have been banned in the European Union, due to very poor animal welfare. What is allowed are enriched cages. These cages are permitted until 2025 and are larger, higher and offer slightly more comfort than the old battery cages. However, this is also subject to criticism, as the living conditions are hardly better than those in the original battery cage. Fortunately, almost no cage eggs are sold in Dutch supermarkets anymore*.
Source: https://www.eicode.nl/blog/kooieieren.html
* This applies only for the whole eggs. In Dutch (eu) supermarkets, imported eggs from single battery cages can still be found in products such as sauces and pastries.