Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[no fly zone]

Have you explained to C and Wendy what the grit and OS are for, so they don't chuck it out? And yes your girls' munching of the greenery is very apparent, as are the potholes But you're not dealing with birds depending entirely on foraging, which is of course the extreme case, and I was thinking of the distinction made in many of the old poultry manuals I've read between production rations and maintenance rations, and at this time of year, with little to no laying, they'd be on maintenance rations. Also, your comment about production breeds needing a production diet seems to go against the grain of much of the earlier discussion about whether and to what extent the rescues are a breed apart from 'normal' chickens, so to speak.

Also, those old books (i.e. written before the invention of commercial chicken feed) usually supplied the calcium (and a good dose of protein) via dairy products, which were produced on the farm of course. So perhaps you could just take more milk than you need for your thermos of tea and share it with them...

We used to give our flock of 10 hens raw milk. They loved it.

 

[RoyalChick]

We used to give our flock of 10 hens raw milk. They loved it.

Mine consume a lot of milk - but I ferment it and give it to them as kefir.

 

[Perris]

Mine consume a lot of milk - but I ferment it and give it to them as kefir.

how do you ferment milk to turn it into kefir?

 

[RoyalChick]

how do you ferment milk to turn it into kefir?

I have kefir grains - they are easy to source either free or purchased, and I have a jar on the kitchen counter.
It takes a couple of days to turn about a pint of milk into kefir and then I start over.
The grains multiply (which is why they are easy to source - most kefir makers would be happy just to give you some of theirs).
When the grains get too extensive they work too fast and it is time to divide the colony. I usually freeze some, eat some, and give the rest to the chickens.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Oh, I’d forgotten about that. If they’re contributing money to the allotment though (Shad said £5/month?) you’d think they’d want to get their money’s worth.


Where I live in the US, you can usually get a dozen white battery setup eggs for $1.19. I sometimes see them as low as $.99 when they’re on sale.

If you want cage free, you can get them for around $2.50 and they’ll be brown shelled. Organic, free range, pastured, etc. will all tack on more cost.

If you want blue and brown shelled organic eggs with “bright amber yolks” that are pastured and laid by heritage breeds then you are looking at $5.99/dozen, which is beyond ridiculous. The breeder I get my chicks from bought a carton of one of these just to see if she could hatch any and find out if it would even grow into anything that resembled an heritage breed. She cracked one open and the yolk was a disturbing fluorescent orange. Not sure what those hens were being fed to get such a color, but it was not normal for even a pastured egg. None of the eggs hatched, so no idea on the claims to heritage breeds.

I track my egg production and feed costs with an app, not so much because I’m trying to keep costs low, but because I’m curious how it compares with retail prices. I got the app just to track who was laying so I could keep tabs on their health. My hens aren’t laying much right now and the app says I’m getting a dozen eggs for $2.88. I know a lot of people who are far more concerned with getting as much food for their dollar than they are of the quality of their food, so that was why I suggested the better food = more eggs argument. Views on food and appropriate pricing are probably different in the UK.

In Florida, eggs in the grocery store are selling for $2.99 for white large eggs and some of the brown eggs are selling for $6.00 to $7.00.

I sell my eggs for $3.00 a dozen.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Wel you know, I have posted mating pictures on other threads and got a few raised eyebrows.
I'll get some pictures just for you.

I'm sure more than myself would like to see the pictures.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good afternoon one and all!

The temperature is 63 and sunny.

I really look forward to reading this thread every day.

I have learned so much and have been able to use some of the information already.

Have a great day!

 

[pennyJo1960]

The thread for me is entertaining and affirms my own thoughts. I have chosen to keep a cockerel of my rooster's blood because of thoughts about relationships in birds.

 

[RoyalChick]

I have kefir grains - they are easy to source either free or purchased, and I have a jar on the kitchen counter.
It takes a couple of days to turn about a pint of milk into kefir and then I start over.
The grains multiply (which is why they are easy to source - most kefir makers would be happy just to give you some of theirs).
When the grains get too extensive they work too fast and it is time to divide the colony. I usually freeze some, eat some, and give the rest to the chickens.

Tax
Diana making it clear I am expected to stand

 

[Shadrach]

I have been living for this thread over the past… week or so? Lost track of when I started “reacting” to the range of wonderful posts, but I’m hooked!! What a vision for these charming birds.

And now that I’ve reviewed some of the early history I’d overlooked — here is my first attempt at TAX!
Photo #1 shows my guineas at ~4 months of age, back when they used to try perching in trees.
Next — fowl originating in Africa loving snow? (2022 Jan)

I'm pleased you're enjoying the read.