Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[RoyalChick]

Tomorrow evening I'm going to get a delivery of a few boxes of mainly items my father had which I remember from my childhood. I'm not entirely sure what's coming. Communication with those involved in the clearance of our family home has been difficult to say the least. Memories best left buried have surfaced for some.

I've found it strange what I've remembered from the house; enough to pinpoint the location of things I would rather not get thrown away. Stranger still is the siblings who are making the sale of the house and doing the clearance don't seem to remember the things I do despite having visited the house a number of times over the years.
A major bone of contention is in their rush to be done with the whole business they sold at £300,000 below the market value for a quick cash sale.
I've asked for personal itmes of my fathers. Nobody else wants them. My father was not a popular man with his children or either of his wives from what I can gather. I came to know him better by accident really in my early fifties and got to talk to him at depth over a three month period. We would get an hour or so of decent, mainly honest, conversation and the whiskey would kick in, about a third of a bottle, and he would get maudlin and then belligerant and eventually incoherent. Those single good hours of communication day by day helped me to understand the man better and judge him less harshly.

Sorry about the ramble. It's been a difficult time and it's been on my thankfully usually vacant except chickens mind.

Sorry to hear Shad. Families are so difficult.
I am fortunate really not having any.

 

[Shadrach]

you didn't tell us that the recent family drama was the result of a death in the family; condolences on the loss of your father Shad.

My father died years ago. The current problems are due to my stepmother no longer being able to manage living alone, hence the house sale and the packages I'm expecting.

 

[Perris]

thanks for the clarification. I hope the packages arrive safe and sound. Going through them will be bittersweet, I imagine; the same activity was for me anyway.

 

[Perris]

The fog has gone and I can settle my tax debt for Christmas cake, bacon jam and whatnot. So here's a few chickens tucking in to a newly exposed compost heap this morning; yum!

 

[Shadrach]

The fog has gone and I can settle my tax debt for Christmas cake, bacon jam and whatnot. So here's a few chickens tucking in to a newly exposed compost heap this morning; yum!
View attachment 4016272

Can't have too many compost piles according to chickens.

 

[Perris]

Can't have too many compost piles according to chickens.

absolutely! They are also very keen on what's left behind when I sweep/ rake the leaves, which I try to leave until it's really necessary because it's getting slippery underfoot. One path seldom used was done this morning, having been skipped entirely last year, and had about an inch of beautiful dark humus beneath this year's leaves. I think the chickens scattering soil as they forage helps it all break down quickly and completely. And their poo of course! And in return they get soil that has live food hustling and bustling about in it.

I really need to get a camera with a macro lens to try to find out what exactly they're consuming while their heads are down there in the dirt.

 

[Molpet]

My father died years ago. The current problems are due to my stepmother no longer being able to manage living alone, hence the house sale and the packages I'm expecting.

 

[MrsNorthie]

I thought of doing that, but wasn't sure how to feed the string through the hole I had drilled!

I use a poultry treat net bag. They come with S hooks. I use an old dog lead over the framing and hang the bag from that. Hours of entertainment.

 

[MrsNorthie]

Tomorrow evening I'm going to get a delivery of a few boxes of mainly items my father had which I remember from my childhood. I'm not entirely sure what's coming. Communication with those involved in the clearance of our family home has been difficult to say the least. Memories best left buried have surfaced for some.

I've found it strange what I've remembered from the house; enough to pinpoint the location of things I would rather not get thrown away. Stranger still is the siblings who are making the sale of the house and doing the clearance don't seem to remember the things I do despite having visited the house a number of times over the years.
A major bone of contention is in their rush to be done with the whole business they sold at £300,000 below the market value for a quick cash sale.
I've asked for personal itmes of my fathers. Nobody else wants them. My father was not a popular man with his children or either of his wives from what I can gather. I came to know him better by accident really in my early fifties and got to talk to him at depth over a three month period. We would get an hour or so of decent, mainly honest, conversation and the whiskey would kick in, about a third of a bottle, and he would get maudlin and then belligerant and eventually incoherent. Those single good hours of communication day by day helped me to understand the man better and judge him less harshly.

Sorry about the ramble. It's been a difficult time and it's been on my thankfully usually vacant except chickens mind.

I am glad you had an opportunity to make peace with him. My dad passed just before Thanksgiving. We weren't close, for a lot of reasons.

 

[Shadrach]

Two hours today. A little warmer than yesterday with some sunny spells.
Fret is still mum. She's been letting Sylph and Tull take food from her. She eats some, if not most, but that's because I make sure she gets her share.
The blown down shed base got taken away this morning leaving a patch of dryish earth and the gravel that had been put under the shed. Lots of digging through that.

Sylph having a dust bath. There are better sites. This was just before going to roost.