Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Shadrach]

How did your friend enjoy the outing?

They were tired by the end of the day.

 

[fluffycrow]

When Goldie was little, he would bite me as opposed to taking treats out of my hand or when I was trying to inspect him for any mites or whatever, now, he is the the sweetest boy, he knows I only pick him up to check him over or fix something that is wrong and he works with Spud to guard me from Blue or Pips attacks. So I am not convinced that youthful aggression is an issue, maybe they are setting boundaries until they feel they can trust.

Chickens don't set boundaries by coming up and attacking unprovoked. Even in the case of young birds, where boundaries need to be taught and not reinforced, the hens and roosters don't go much out of their way to peck the youngsters.

These cockerels seem to attack for no reason

Either way, it's not very important. There have been fox sightings in the area, and of course many feral cats, so I'm expecting some more losses. If not, they'll be eaten by the humans

 

[fluffycrow]

good luck with that

Seriously . I have Foureira and Ursula sitting, and Cruella, Scary Spice, another serama hen, and two of Cruella's daughters wanting to sit.

Hopefully next year we'll have a few more LFs wanting to sit

 

[fluffycrow]

me neither. I wore something last week that really freaked them out for no reason visible to me (they have better/different eyesight than/ from us) but otherwise they seem to recognize me whatever I'm wearing, from PJs to winter hibernation gear - as long as my head is visible. They recognize one another by comb size and shape so I imagine headgear could make a difference; I rarely wear any.

Same here, they do not get to see me in headgear very often at all. From spring till mid autumn the typical "chickenware" is a T-shirt with a pair of shorts, and a barely surviving pair of sports shoes that are worn like slippers. Winter chickenware is a T-shirt with some informal pants, the disfigured shoes mentioned above, and maybe a jacket

 

[ManueB]

On arthritis: AGC went from cute and wobbly to alarmingly unsteady earlier this year. He started rocking back on his hocks occasionally and roosting on the coop floor.

He had zero foot abrasions, hot joints, obesity, or neuro, digestive, or respiratory symptoms. He had no trouble getting up, walking, running, dancing, jumping, or standing on one foot to scratch his head. He just had posterior balance issues.

After hours of research, observation, and homegrown diagnostics (including testing his knees with support sleeves sized for a chihuahua), I concluded it was his hips, possibly dysplasia/faulty connective tissue.

We began the following regimen, and while I wasn't feeling optimistic about his future, it was a wonderful surprise how much stability he regained within days of starting the glucosamine.

• In the morning, he knows to hang back for his special tablespoon of scratch dribbled with 0.5 ML of glucosamine/MSM/turmeric (sorry to link to stupid AMZN but couldn’t find the brand elsewhere).
  • I tried adding salmon oil for omegas, but he didn’t like it.
• When he’s stiff (about once a month), he gets a 3-5-day course of aspirin, which is 1/6 of a 325mg aspirin rolled into a raisin.
  • Ideally it's in the a.m. and p.m., but it’s harder to get him alone in the evenings, and he’ll give the raisins away in a heartbeat, so often he'll only have aspirin in the a.m.
• I made adaptive upgrades to his coop: he now sleeps on a gymnastics mat, and the feeder & waterer are on shelves so he doesn’t have to bend down as much.

View attachment 3908834

• He gets some warm epsom-salt soaks, since he’s very comfortable being handled, though the soaks are mostly for relief from leg-feather issues.

Here's an additional link on arthritis I found helpful:
http://scottsdaleveterinaryclinic.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/07/AvianArthritis.doc.pdf

Thanks for posting that. The mix of Chondroitin and glucosamin is one of the only supplements I took for myself that I am confident had a real effect (I took it several times for knee pains due to recurring patella syndrome when I began to run a lot, and every time it seemed to help) so I'm very interested to learn it's helpful for our chickens.
For short termed plain pain relief that are joint related but that I would not venture myself to diagnose as arthritis, I give a few dose of metacam (meloxicam) and it seems efficient.

me neither. I wore something last week that really freaked them out for no reason visible to me (they have better/different eyesight than/ from us) but otherwise they seem to recognize me whatever I'm wearing, from PJs to winter hibernation gear - as long as my head is visible. They recognize one another by comb size and shape so I imagine headgear could make a difference; I rarely wear any.

A few of our chickens are terrified when we wear hats. But there is a good reason for that : they are the chickens that tend to climb on the table when we eat outside to steal from our plates and if they are really too insistent we discourage them by putting a hat over them .

My rooster Théo hates seeing bare legs. It's probably because he is not used to it, we are only in shorts when we come back from a run, but if we come close to him then he's is certain to make a move at a leg.

Another fun bit of trivia is that my partner, who is a bus driver, has to wear only blue at work. The only time the chickens see him wearing his work clothes is on saturday evening and it's always like they are seeing the butcher man. They are terrified of his blue clothes ! I know chickens are not supposed to like blue, but this is slightly outrageous .

A year ago, as a two months old cockerel raised by a very human weary broody, Pied-beau was a bit too friendly and not even afraid of the infamous blue hat...

while his dominant brother Blanchon was much more like his mum. Both have become well balanced roosters and have good respectful relationships with their current human owners.

 

[RoyalChick]

Could you go a bit more into detail about appropriate clothing?

I assumed he meant good boots and something to protect your shins.
I don’t even have roosters but have a ‘no barefoot near the chickens’ rule because mine seem to consider toes as fair game for snacks and I have had several ankle-peckers.

Incidentally, unless you are experienced in cats and can interpret their stance you would be wise not to bend down and randomly touch a strange cat either (I think @Shadrach used that as an example). Cat claws and bites can do real damage and they only like being touched if they have invited you to do so.

 

[Sally PB]

They recognize one another by comb size and shape so I imagine headgear could make a difference; I rarely wear any.

Do chickens recognize by voice as well? I have the various "chicken songs" I sing to them when I go visit for the usual reasons.

Good Morning song at open
Scoopy song when I clean the poop board
Chickie Snack song at treat time
Good Night song at lock up

At any other visit, I say, "Hey, ladies. Momma's coming to visit." etc.

 

[Shadrach]

Could you go a bit more into detail about appropriate clothing? That is not something I do when observing and sitting with the chickens.

It depends on climate, terrain and keeping conditions and what creatures one is dealing with.
No bare skin is a good basic guide. Even a young juvenile chicken that decides your shoulder looks like a good perch spot can draw blood particularly if they scramble to keep their footing. A 4 kilo rooster will make a right mess of your skin if he attacks and you're not ready for him.
So far everywhere I've looked after any livestock the terrain can be difficult and I don't want to be in the position of thinking I cant dive into those brambles and nettles because I'll get scratched or stung. If one can and has to return to the house to put n something suitable to deal with a problem that costs time and sometimes one doesn't have time. Sometimes stuff needs doing then and there.
Even at the field, a chicken dives into the rough patches of the orchard or goose run, going in after it with bare legs and flip flops is going to be painfull.
I want to go home uninjured and I want as few restrictions on where I can go and under what weather conditions as possible. Delay can cost lives at worst or make things difficult at best.

Boots; I always wear boots with good grip and done up properly. The right size cow hide rigger gloves are essential and a pocket to keep them in.
I wore oversized overalls/boiler suit for most of my years dealing with livestock, heavy duty ones, even in the Catalanian summer. Overalls even bib and brace are pretty much ideal. If it's hot get in the shade.

Here in the UK it's the rain and mud as well as the temperature that needs consideration. I could be away from the flat for half a day so I need to cover all the protection aspects and keep dry.

I learn't early on to keep away from the majority of the expensive fashion minded high tech sports gear. Most I tried didn't do the job it was supposed to or failed early. Work wear tends to be cheaper and given the treatment my cloths get if I get six months out of anything it's done well.

Boots last about six months so I buy cheap waterproof hiking boots.
I wear these over a pair of craghopper trousers most days. It's always going to rain in the UK. They've done surprisng well. An added advantage is the keep the mites out of my clothing!

https://www.sportsdirect.com/gelert-waterproof-trousers-for-men-442099#colcode=44209903

I've had one of these for the past two years. It's leaking now and has been replaced by something else. The fleece lining comes out so on those warmer days it's fine. Cons, it's heavy and the zip on the front pocket gave up early and the pockets take in water when it rains hard mainly due to reaching into the pockets to get stuff out.

https://www.workwear.co.uk/portwest-s553-radial-3-in-1-stormproof-jacket.html

The replacement.
https://www.newforestclothing.co.uk/products/new-forest-country-sport-jacket?variant=42423591764159

Best pack away performance when it's warm and sunny but the weathermen got the forcast wrong and it rains. I've had three of these now and I just can't fault them for the money. They'll take some harsh treatment, they're easy to move in, light, and they are properly waterproof.
https://www.screwfix.com/p/helly-ha...V-oBQBh0bawZfEAQYASABEgK42PD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

A lot of these jackets come with hoods. Hoods are fine until one turns ones head. I've found a hat works best.
Favourite so far.

https://www.bestworkwear.co.uk/hogg...MI7dfKwPDYhwMV2aJQBh2m9ia0EAQYAiABEgIXJ_D_BwE

 

[Shadrach]

I assumed he meant good boots and something to protect your shins.
I don’t even have roosters but have a ‘no barefoot near the chickens’ rule because mine seem to consider toes as fair game for snacks and I have had several ankle-peckers.

Incidentally, unless you are experienced in cats and can interpret their stance you would be wise not to bend down and randomly touch a strange cat either (I think @Shadrach used that as an example). Cat claws and bites can do real damage and they only like being touched if they have invited you to do so.

Fortunately I don't touch cats.

I think for many who may keep a few hens in a back yard my list above is on the extreme side. However, as you mention, proper footware and leg covering is a very good idea.

 

[fluffycrow]

Do chickens recognize by voice as well?

I have always assumed that they do . Kolovos is more likely to answer and/or do something about certain hen's escort calls. Particularly high on his list are all the senior hens, but also the pro tree hugger pullet Cruella raised last year. The other Tsouloufati pullets he gives the courtesy of answering, but not doing anything about it. If the brahma mix sounds an escort call, he rarely bothers responding, let alone coming to find her. Despite his attitude towards her, she is the one he most often mates with.

All this has led me to believe that he, and thus, the females as well, can tell each individual bird apart from their voice alone.

Take it a step further, I wouldn't put it past these brilliant birds to be able to tell eachother apart by the sound of their footsteps