Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[HiEverybirdy]

Despite the time of year they still seem to be finding plenty to eat.

Winter did arrive this week. I've had a stomach bug, yippee. Nothing goes with chiseling frozen chicken poop out of the coops in the morning like fever & nausea.

However, when I go out to warm up waterers in the afternoon, I suck it up as long as possible to chaperone as they range. They don't venture out much without me there – their predator radar is high this time of year – but are finding a lot to eat in the grass.

Eula with chickweed. They seem to only eat this plant in the winter.

Hazel excavating DH's grass for all those tasty invisibles.

In the protected yard, they like seeds from the "weeds" we let grow in there, mainly aster, ironweed, and wingstem. These leggy plants look a mess, and it's ridiculously difficult not to yank them to make the yard more manicured, but the mess is too useful. Food for pollinators, shelter from raptors, yada yada.

 

[Perris]

Eula with chickweed. They seem to only eat this plant in the winter.

That's very interesting; I've seen a couple here eating moss as a winter-only choice. Of course they may be going for bugs living in the moss, but I think it is actually moss they're eating. This bad photo doesn't show moss in G's beak but I'm sure that's what I saw

and A was eating some growing on the carpet on the trampoline, so soil-dwelling mini-bugs are very unlikely there

they like seeds from the "weeds" we let grow in there, mainly aster, ironweed, and wingstem. These leggy plants look a mess, and it's ridiculously difficult not to yank them to make the yard more manicured, but the mess is too useful. Food for pollinators, shelter from raptors, yada yada.

Same here. The chickens pick seeds off a dead stem with astonishing finesse and I don't know what nutrients they're getting from most of them, but they thrive on them.

I've had a stomach bug

I hope you are better soon.

 

[MrsNorthie]

It's such a difference when extra cockerels or jakes are removed.
My turkeys don't forget and if they get an idea in their head it's difficult to get them to quit. I had one late fall that they chased out of the poultry yard. I got him in a roost time and they chased him all around the yard. I finally decided to shove him in a crate and sent him to freezer camp in the morning. He was one I was thinking of keeping.
I raise for meat so I usually harvest the victim. I have harvested the dominant and they have to reestablish pecking order, which causes more drama. I usually pick what I want for breeding and harvest the rest. Leaving 3 , a dominant breeder and 2 spares. Usually the spares fight while the dominant breeds.

We did get them to breed to raise for meat, and of course, out of the 14, half are male, so we knew that we would need to be harvesting a few, pretty early. The turkey dominants aren't as easy to recognize, when I am down there, they just want to play, or show-off. I was thinking of keeping one spare, and keeping one from the first hatch.

5 more hens would not go amiss, I am thinking chicken maths apply to turkeys too. I am going to need more acreage..LOL

 

[Molpet]

I've had a stomach bug, yippee.

Nora virus is going around.
Hand sanitizer doesn't kill it. Hand washing is needed. You can keep passing it back and forth too.

 

[Canadian Wind]

Do you mean 40 cm of snow?

Here in the Netherlands we had our first snow this winter. It started to drizzle this afternoon. The snow all melted fast.
Now it’s still drizzling, windy, and 11C.

The chickens didn’t like the weather either. They stayed in the coop and run all day, voluntarily.

View attachment 4021106

Yes, snow. 40 cm of rain would wash the Isles away into the ocean!

I want to tease my Dutch friend about the snow. But then she'll come back and tell me it's all gone and she's outside in a t-shirt.

 

[MrsNorthie]

I hope that you are feeling better soon. I read that making a tea out of ginger and lemon can help boost the immune system, I don't know how true it is, but it doesn't hurt. I also think ginger is beneficial for settling a dodgy stomach.

I started having some a couple of times a week. I boil it for 15 minutes then let it soak/steep for an hour. You can mix it with something else for taste, I have added it to hot tea, but it is tasty on on its own, maybe a little spicy from the ginger, but I like that.

I remember, as a young child, if I had nausea, my great grandmother would give me ginger-ale and always Canada Dry, which I found out, is actually still made with real ginger-extract.(still too much sugar to be healthy as an every day drink.)

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Nora virus is going around.
Hand sanitizer doesn't kill it. Hand washing is needed. You can keep passing it back and forth too.

That's true. A family friend is dealing with complications after catching norovirus on vacation at Thanksgiving. I caught noro 13 years ago and can't recommend it. Debilitating.

This is luckily much more mild. Low-grade fever, constant punched-in-the-gut feeling, and I don't want to eat or get off the couch. People in town have been calling it the "3-day flu."

DH didn't catch it and is happy to take care of the chickens, but I love chicken time It's not too bad being out with them if I layer up sufficiently and buff myself up with a bunch of hot tea first.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

That's very interesting; I've seen a couple here eating moss as a winter-only choice. Of course they may be going for bugs living in the moss, but I think it is actually moss they're eating. This bad photo doesn't show moss in G's beak but I'm sure that's what I sawView attachment 4021134
and A was eating some growing on the carpet on the trampoline, so soil-dwelling mini-bugs are very unlikely there
View attachment 4021141

Same here. The chickens pick seeds off a dead stem with astonishing finesse and I don't know what nutrients they're getting from most of them, but they thrive on them.

I hope you are better soon.

Ours eat moss sometimes. I can't recall if it's in a specific season.

I'm also curious what nutrition is in the seeds. The chickens treat them more like fun than food. When they find seed pods in beak's reach, they seem to enjoy figuring out how to get to them, but there's no feeding frenzy like you see with high-protein snacks like mealworms.

 

[Sequel]

I hope that you are feeling better soon. I read that making a tea out of ginger and lemon can help boost the immune system, I don't know how true it is, but it doesn't hurt. I also think ginger is beneficial for settling a dodgy stomach.

I started having some a couple of times a week. I boil it for 15 minutes then let it soak/steep for an hour. You can mix it with something else for taste, I have added it to hot tea, but it is tasty on on its own, maybe a little spicy from the ginger, but I like that.

I remember, as a young child, if I had nausea, my great grandmother would give me ginger-ale and always Canada Dry, which I found out, is actually still made with real ginger-extract.(still too much sugar to be healthy as an every day drink.)

You’ve inspired me! My DH gave me a soda stream thing and I might try making my own ginger ale, I’ll try it with no sugar and see how that goes. Thanks for the idea!

 

[BDutch]

Winter did arrive this week. I've had a stomach bug, yippee. Nothing goes with chiseling frozen chicken poop out of the coops in the morning like fever & nausea.

Get better soon!

I also think ginger is beneficial for settling a dodgy stomach.

For some people ginger is beneficial.

Just be careful with it. I get a dodgy stomach from it. With or without a virus.