Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[L-plate chicken mum]

You are right, that is his job and Dig behaves much like your Spud. Dig is last in at night. He does the roosting time perimeter check and makes an effort to keep an eye on his sister who wanders off.
I'm being a bit hard on him and he has learn't a lot especially considering his out of run experience is a couple of hours a day.

My problem, not Digs, is I don't have much confidence in both Dig and Henry being able to live together in the keeping conditions and Dig is going to have to be better than average to make it work. I'm expecting more from him than my management skills deserve.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I have a unrealistic idea that if Fret sits and hatches again and maybe even Carbon gets the idea and follows suit they could range all day on the allotments. Yes, one or two would get predated but that is what happens with ranging chickens. Currently, if say a fox gets into the coop run, most if not all will die. The work and expense in making the current coop run properly secure is beyond my capabilities, so freedom could be the better option in the long run.

Bub bub had a narrow squeak this morning. Fox in the garden at 9am

Henny flew onto a water butt, Minnie went to the patio doors & then went in & sat on the sofa with Mum!
Meanwhile Bub-bub took on the fox & lost his tail & what seemed like a huuuge amount of feathers from his back end.
I’d only gone in for a few minutes, am mortified but lesson learned.
No puncture wounds just plucked so no doubt sore as all get out. Girls are fine, thank goodness & got over their ordeal by having a good long dust bath. Bub-bub took a little longer to get over it but by mid afternoon was crowing & indulging in some therapeutic(?) hanky panky. Painkillers for a few days poor lad

He’s doing a pretty darn good job considering he hasn’t had any rooster role models and is learning by doing.
They too have a few hours out a day, more in the summer and as much time as I can be there at the weekend. Hard to be a snack sized chook

 

[fluffycrow]

Bub bub had a narrow squeak this morning. Fox in the garden at 9am

Henny flew onto a water butt, Minnie went to the patio doors & then went in & sat on the sofa with Mum!
Meanwhile Bub-bub took on the fox & lost his tail & what seemed like a huuuge amount of feathers from his back end.
I’d only gone in for a few minutes, am mortified but lesson learned.
No puncture wounds just plucked so no doubt sore as all get out. Girls are fine, thank goodness & got over their ordeal by having a good long dust bath. Bub-bub took a little longer to get over it but by mid afternoon was crowing & indulging in some therapeutic(?) hanky panky. Painkillers for a few days poor lad
View attachment 3738413

He’s doing a pretty darn good job considering he hasn’t had any rooster role models and is learning by doing.
They too have a few hours out a day, more in the summer and as much time as I can be there at the weekend. Hard to be a snack sized chook

What a good boy, and very courageous for protecting his hens! Unfortunate that he lost all his tail feathers, although it seems like you've got a Kolovos now as well

 

[MrsNorthie]

Somewhere in the back of my mind I have a unrealistic idea that if Fret sits and hatches again and maybe even Carbon gets the idea and follows suit they could range all day on the allotments.

That would be an ideal situation. From previous pictures, it didn't look like that much of the land was really being used. Just have to put up signs - Free Ranging Chickens, control you brats, or some such verbiage. ;-)

Meanwhile Bub-bub took on the fox & lost his tail & what seemed like a huuuge amount of feathers from his back end.

Well done Bub-bub! The feathers will grow back! They are so noble and brave! I love my boys.

 

[fluffycrow]

Free Ranging Chickens, control you brats, or some such verbiage. ;-)

Now see, that's another reason I like having a rooster the size of an average 4 year old. When he's out, the adults, much less the minies, don't want to be on the same side of the fence

 

[Shadrach]

Just an idea that might work?
Add a couple of meters semi Fort Knox run to the coop with the auto pop door opener you bought a while ago.

Maybe a hoop coop with hwc, good enough to keeps foxes out and other predator who are a risk the day.

I made my first run with a 3x3 meter old frame of a party tent. Glued it together, added hwc and strong netting with a thin rope that came with the netting (needle work). The Trixie enforced cat netting (3x3cm) is easy to put over the frame on top. Stil standing after 9 years.

View attachment 3738209
Party tent run behind the coop/small roofed run

View attachment 3738208
Old photo. With the snow the contours are better visible.

I can imagine it working well in your setup, but I already have a fenced run. It's just not as secure as yours due to not having a roof and unfortunately I don't think I could fit a secure roof to the current posts.

 

[Shadrach]

Bub bub had a narrow squeak this morning. Fox in the garden at 9am

Henny flew onto a water butt, Minnie went to the patio doors & then went in & sat on the sofa with Mum!
Meanwhile Bub-bub took on the fox & lost his tail & what seemed like a huuuge amount of feathers from his back end.
I’d only gone in for a few minutes, am mortified but lesson learned.
No puncture wounds just plucked so no doubt sore as all get out. Girls are fine, thank goodness & got over their ordeal by having a good long dust bath. Bub-bub took a little longer to get over it but by mid afternoon was crowing & indulging in some therapeutic(?) hanky panky. Painkillers for a few days poor lad
View attachment 3738413

He’s doing a pretty darn good job considering he hasn’t had any rooster role models and is learning by doing.
They too have a few hours out a day, more in the summer and as much time as I can be there at the weekend. Hard to be a snack sized chook

Lucky chap. That should heal up no problem.

 

[Shadrach]

Chilly with some bright sunshine. Two and a half hours.
This temporary compost pile has proven to be a great success. They've had their beaks in it every day and still find stuff of interest. I'll do more.

Fox courting season is almost over and assuming the dog fox that's been courting the local vixen has been successful there will be kits about in April. April and May are likely to be the high risk months.

Mow out foraging. She had her beak under that bush for at least twenty minutes.

Catching a bit of sunshine.

Ten minutes before going to roost.

 

[Shadrach]

My friend who keeps Light Sussex chickens called me up and said he was coming to Bristol to do a bit of shopping and asked if I was going to be at the allotments. He doesn't come to Bristol often but when he does we try to meet up.
We got chatting about chickens and he mentioned that I didn't seem particularly pleased with the current set up. I've known him a long time and I told him what was and is on my mind that I haven't mentioned to anyone else.
I'm not sure I've done the right thing with the chickens.
I've done the free range bit with heritage breeds and mixes. I love it under the right circumstances but that's not what I'm dealing with at the allotments.
I am completely against the coop and run chicken keeping model.
Getting them out for a few hours each day helps, but it just isn't the same as dawn to dusk ranging on a large property.
What I've enjoyed most at the allotments has been caring for the Ex Battery hens. There is just nothing like watching these poor creatures learn that there is more to chicken life than bare floors. feed trays and early death. My heart wants to go back to keeping Ex Battery hens, preferably with a Red Sex Link rooster that has ranged. There are a few around. I know where I could pick one up tomorrow if I wished.

Yes I've improved the lives of Henry, Fret and Carbon and Mow and Dig could have hatched into much worse circumstances. Yes I care for them deeply, but thinking about Lima and the wonderfull transformation she underwent at the allotments and many of the others who tend to come to mind when I think of that time, the satsfaction and feeling that I have given rather than taken has so far been unmatched.

Ex Battery chickens are not for everyone. Many try and end up saying never again, it was all too heartbreaking. I'm still standing and the allotments with me getting them out for a few hours makes a massive difference to their last years.
There you have it. A manwho feels he may have lost his direction.

 

[kcan2]

My friend who keeps Light Sussex chickens called me up and said he was coming to Bristol to do a bit of shopping and asked if I was going to be at the allotments. He doesn't come to Bristol often but when he does we try to meet up.
We got chatting about chickens and he mentioned that I didn't seem particularly pleased with the current set up. I've known him a long time and I told him what was and is on my mind that I haven't mentioned to anyone else.
I'm not sure I've done the right thing with the chickens.
I've done the free range bit with heritage breeds and mixes. I love it under the right circumstances but that's not what I'm dealing with at the allotments.
I am completely against the coop and run chicken keeping model.
Getting them out for a few hours each day helps, but it just isn't the same as dawn to dusk ranging on a large property.
What I've enjoyed most at the allotments has been caring for the Ex Battery hens. There is just nothing like watching these poor creatures learn that there is more to chicken life than bare floors. feed trays and early death. My heart wants to go back to keeping Ex Battery hens, preferably with a Red Sex Link rooster that has ranged. There are a few around. I know where I could pick one up tomorrow if I wished.

Yes I've improved the lives of Henry, Fret and Carbon and Mow and Dig could have hatched into much worse circumstances. Yes I care for them deeply, but thinking about Lima and the wonderfull transformation she underwent at the allotments and many of the others who tend to come to mind when I think of that time, the satsfaction and feeling that I have given rather than taken has so far been unmatched.

Ex Battery chickens are not for everyone. Many try and end up saying never again, it was all too heartbreaking. I'm still standing and the allotments with me getting them out for a few hours makes a massive difference to their last years.
There you have it. A manwho feels he may have lost his direction.

It sounds like your heart is really with those ex-batts!
Just curious - What would an ideal, "dream" set up look like to you as far as land size, terrain, etc? Curious to know more about how a non-coop model functions in consideration of climate, roosting, predators, etc.

 

[L-plate chicken mum]

My friend who keeps Light Sussex chickens called me up and said he was coming to Bristol to do a bit of shopping and asked if I was going to be at the allotments. He doesn't come to Bristol often but when he does we try to meet up.
We got chatting about chickens and he mentioned that I didn't seem particularly pleased with the current set up. I've known him a long time and I told him what was and is on my mind that I haven't mentioned to anyone else.
I'm not sure I've done the right thing with the chickens.
I've done the free range bit with heritage breeds and mixes. I love it under the right circumstances but that's not what I'm dealing with at the allotments.
I am completely against the coop and run chicken keeping model.
Getting them out for a few hours each day helps, but it just isn't the same as dawn to dusk ranging on a large property.
What I've enjoyed most at the allotments has been caring for the Ex Battery hens. There is just nothing like watching these poor creatures learn that there is more to chicken life than bare floors. feed trays and early death. My heart wants to go back to keeping Ex Battery hens, preferably with a Red Sex Link rooster that has ranged. There are a few around. I know where I could pick one up tomorrow if I wished.

Yes I've improved the lives of Henry, Fret and Carbon and Mow and Dig could have hatched into much worse circumstances. Yes I care for them deeply, but thinking about Lima and the wonderfull transformation she underwent at the allotments and many of the others who tend to come to mind when I think of that time, the satsfaction and feeling that I have given rather than taken has so far been unmatched.

Ex Battery chickens are not for everyone. Many try and end up saying never again, it was all too heartbreaking. I'm still standing and the allotments with me getting them out for a few hours makes a massive difference to their last years.
There you have it. A manwho feels he may have lost his direction.

Not sure, given what you’ve shared, that you’ve had much control over the direction you’ve gone in. Not lost but pushed away from where you want to go.

Perhaps now the changes at the allotments mean you could follow your heart…