Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[ChaosMom]

I lived in Phoenix for 20 +/- years, it is dry heat, but so is your oven. LOL 110+ is ridiculous. You could feel the sun sucking every ounce of moisture out of your skin. My husband (from England) loved it until it hit 117 for 2 or 3 days in a row. We moved up to Vermont, where I am from originally, but he wasn't keen on winter, so SC was our compromise.

East Tennessee around Newport has (or had, when I live in ET) a lot of “half-backs.” They started out in the Rust Belt (Pennsylvania, Ohio, etc.), retired and moved to Florida, couldn’t handle the summers, and moved halfway back home, landing in East Tennessee.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Thanks, and go Vols!! (hope you’re a Tennessee fan )

We're working on embracing the orange. DH is working on a degree there now, actually.

If you're in the "Western NC city," we live pretty close to one another, and our weather is similar. Chicken-wise, be sure to prepare for...

• Wind. Every door and gate should have a latch to secure it open or closed. It's helpful to know which side is windward and shield your coop on that side.
• Humid cold: Extreme cold is more humid here than most places, which can wreak havoc on big wattles and tall single combs (roosters have a harder time than hens with this). We close windward ventilation on cold nights, scoop poop daily to reduce coop humidity, and run radiant heaters by the roosts when temps drop below 40F/4C.
• Surprise hot days. Last June was indeed ridiculous. Even in these mild mountain summers, coops need to be in the shade or they turn into ovens by the time the birds go to roost at night.

We'll also have the same predators but in different concentrations because you're urban. If you are where I think you are, your bears have become so much more bold in recent years. I'd absolutely consider electric around your run to deter nighttime attacks.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Overdue tax and a cautionary tale: Yesterday evening, I was closing everybirdy in their runs before leaving for a short trip. Moments before exiting the chickenyard, I heard slightly unusual flapping from Stilton's coop and trotted over to find Carrots' leg wedged between the slats of a chair in their run.

The leg was so wedged she could never have freed herself. It took nearly a minute of careful effort to wiggle the leg out, but Carrots did toddle off injury free, thank goodness!!

The chair was the kind pictured in the background, which we've had here nearly 5 years with no problems. No mas! I removed all the chairs immediately.

Carrots somehow threaded her leg between the slats as she hopped up to nap next to Raisin, which she's done hundreds and hundreds of times. Carrots loves chairs.

Wacky, disaster-prone Miss Carrots on one of her chairs:

Enormous gratitude for her timing on this mishap. Our housesitter has standing orders to count all birds before locking pop doors at night but wasn't due for several hours. Carrots would've been stuck there cold, thirsty, hungry, and no telling how the others would've reacted to her distress. It's too upsetting to think about.

We'll install some sort of custom napping platforms when we get home, and I'll sit on the ground like a proper featherless, noodle-armed chicken until I can find a better model chair for chicken visiting.

 

[ChaosMom]

We're working on embracing the orange. DH is working on a degree there now, actually.

If you're in the "Western NC city," we live pretty close to one another, and our weather is similar. Chicken-wise, be sure to prepare for...

• Wind. Every door and gate should have a latch to secure it open or closed. It's helpful to know which side is windward and shield your coop on that side.
• Humid cold: Extreme cold is more humid here than most places, which can wreak havoc on big wattles and tall single combs (roosters have a harder time than hens with this). We close windward ventilation on cold nights, scoop poop daily to reduce coop humidity, and run radiant heaters by the roosts when temps drop below 40F/4C.
• Surprise hot days. Last June was indeed ridiculous. Even in these mild mountain summers, coops need to be in the shade or they turn into ovens by the time the birds go to roost at night.

We'll also have the same predators but in different concentrations because you're urban. If you are where I think you are, your bears have become so much more bold in recent years. I'd absolutely consider electric around your run to deter nighttime attacks.

Thank you; this is really great info! I’d already idly thought about latches for open and close, but thought I was being silly. I’m glad to know I wasn’t overdoing it!

 

[MrsNorthie]

Overdue tax and a cautionary tale: Yesterday evening, I was closing everybirdy in their runs before leaving for a short trip. Moments before exiting the chickenyard, I heard slightly unusual flapping from Stilton's coop and trotted over to find Carrots' leg wedged between the slats of a chair in their run.

Poor Carrots! Your house sitter may have had a bit of a panic too. I am so glad you caught it!

We have some out door roosts/benches made from some cut logs as a base with 2x4s screwed into the tops, and some 2x4s run through concrete blocks. I sit on them and the chickens come roost next to or on me.

 

[L-plate chicken mum]

Overdue tax and a cautionary tale: Yesterday evening, I was closing everybirdy in their runs before leaving for a short trip. Moments before exiting the chickenyard, I heard slightly unusual flapping from Stilton's coop and trotted over to find Carrots' leg wedged between the slats of a chair in their run.

The leg was so wedged she could never have freed herself. It took nearly a minute of careful effort to wiggle the leg out, but Carrots did toddle off injury free, thank goodness!!

The chair was the kind pictured in the background, which we've had here nearly 5 years with no problems. No mas! I removed all the chairs immediately.
View attachment 4062060

Carrots somehow threaded her leg between the slats as she hopped up to nap next to Raisin, which she's done hundreds and hundreds of times. Carrots loves chairs.

Wacky, disaster-prone Miss Carrots on one of her chairs:
View attachment 4062062
Enormous gratitude for her timing on this mishap. Our housesitter has standing orders to count all birds before locking pop doors at night but wasn't due for several hours. Carrots would've been stuck there cold, thirsty, hungry, and no telling how the others would've reacted to her distress. It's too upsetting to think about.

We'll install some sort of custom napping platforms when we get home, and I'll sit on the ground like a proper featherless, noodle-armed chicken until I can find a better model chair for chicken visiting.

I put (a) plank(s) of wood or a piece of plywood on the seats to cover the gaps (mainly because the chairs are not perfect which is why they are chicken chairs)

 

[Shadrach]

Overdue tax and a cautionary tale: Yesterday evening, I was closing everybirdy in their runs before leaving for a short trip. Moments before exiting the chickenyard, I heard slightly unusual flapping from Stilton's coop and trotted over to find Carrots' leg wedged between the slats of a chair in their run.

The leg was so wedged she could never have freed herself. It took nearly a minute of careful effort to wiggle the leg out, but Carrots did toddle off injury free, thank goodness!!

The chair was the kind pictured in the background, which we've had here nearly 5 years with no problems. No mas! I removed all the chairs immediately.
View attachment 4062060

Carrots somehow threaded her leg between the slats as she hopped up to nap next to Raisin, which she's done hundreds and hundreds of times. Carrots loves chairs.

Wacky, disaster-prone Miss Carrots on one of her chairs:
View attachment 4062062
Enormous gratitude for her timing on this mishap. Our housesitter has standing orders to count all birds before locking pop doors at night but wasn't due for several hours. Carrots would've been stuck there cold, thirsty, hungry, and no telling how the others would've reacted to her distress. It's too upsetting to think about.

We'll install some sort of custom napping platforms when we get home, and I'll sit on the ground like a proper featherless, noodle-armed chicken until I can find a better model chair for chicken visiting.

It's not chairs at the field it's badly erected and wrong hole size netting used for plant protection. I had to extricate Tull from apiece today.

 

[no fly zone]

One of the newest Skeksis grandchildren

 

[Shadrach]

Two hours today. Sunny, 9C.
I have no idea how I made it and a few probably lost some money on betting I wouldn't. What is Bucket Boy on about now?
At midnight UK time, I became 70 years old. The first one and a half hours of being 70 haven't been that bad.
I won't be doing the chickens tomorrow. J has kindly offered to go and do a couple of hours with them, clean them out feed and water them.
The family members I'm interested in, I have urged to dial the party bit right back and a few of us are going to see the Wildlife Photographer Of The Year exhibition being held at The Bristol Museum. It's quite a place.

https://www.google.com/search?clien...1MZ1l4algybUtBRXR4dlVNVVdvdnVWanNPVkRBTWR2MHI

I was talking to Henry. Due to the uncertainty about his exact age, I told him he could share my birthday and be 70 as well. Not quite sure how he took that.

Under better circumstances I would have invited him and his hens around to my place for the day. Henry could drink rooster booster and I could have a couple of whiskeys and after, we could go down the city and see what sort of trouble we could get into; last man standing sort of thing.

While I love seeing my family, well this bit of it at least, I'm not big on parties and it seems churlish to point blank refuse to have anything with any celebrations. I just hope nobody has spent money on things I don't need or want by the way of a present.

 

[SimpleJenn]

Happy birthday, @Shadrach
Sounds like you and Henry would have had a great time. Sadly, his lack of thumbs would make hauling your butt to bed a bit difficult if you got wasted first.