Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[fuzzi]

Back to damp and chilly. the Met Office is forcasting 1C and 0C overnight for the next week.
Eggs! They all come at once or not at all. All the hens have found their appetite and more. Yesterday they looked slim, today they were puffed up again.
Looking at Mow's foot today it seems to have healed up well. She's definitely happier.
Now they are all laying all that after you you're laying eggs stuff is over and it's everyone for themselves when it comes to treats. Tull and Sylph are still a bit grabby but after a couple of rounds of hand feeding by order of seniority they calm down.
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I love that middle picture of Henry and the daffodils.


You've given these chickens more freedom than they've ever had before, with healthcare, special foods, and companionship. They seem to be doing well despite the less than ideal environment.

 

[Shadrach]

why?

Sorry to hear Shad that its hard for you to maintain your love for chicken keeping. Or is it just the chickens in the allotment?

Backyard chicken keeping has in effect been defined by sites like this.
The model is 4 square foot per bird in the coop and ten square feet in the run per bird. Add to this the hatchery system, the delivery system (seriously, how can anybody think it's a good idea to put day old chicks, hatched in an incubator in a box and chuck them in the post) the highly processed feed they get given and the heritage breeds from a hatchery (make I larf!) and still, the breeders are trying to squeeze even more eggs out of a bird that were built/evolved to lay around 30 eggs a year.

Someone tell me, what is there to recommend such a system?

It doesn't even serve those who keep and care for their chickens as creatures rather than egg machines, because they don't get to see what chickens are really like when allowed a more natural existence.
I've been shocked by my experiences with the field chickens. So shocked that I've invested a few thousand pounds and some 8000 hours over three and half years on what are not my chickens.
Before the field my chicken keeping experiences were much much different and naturally my view of chickens has been largely formed by my experiences.


I had a conversation with someone who commented that their rooster didn't act anything like my description of roosters should act on hearing "the escort call." I enquired about the keeping conditions: single coop in a run of about 100 square feet. The coop was at one end of the run. I pointed out to this person that no matter where their rooster stood in the run he would be able to see the hens at the coop pop door. He also knows that if he can't get out then other creatures are going to have difficulty getting in; definitely not expecting to see another rooster making a B line for one of his hens. In short his and the hens natural behaviour is severly curtailed by the conditions they are kept in.

Aren't we all agreed that chickens should be able to carry out natural behaviour, or are there some things (a lot of things as far as I can see) that the chickens will have to sacrifice because we can't, or wont, provide them with adequate resources and freedom?

While the ExBattery hens were alive I felt like I was improving their lives, now I feel more like a jailer.

No BDutch I have no intention of stopping caring for the field chickens. I'll be doing it until i'm not physically capable.

 

[MrsNorthie]

The model is 4 square foot per bird in the coop and ten square feet in the run per bird.

Luckily, some of us keep working to improve the chickens living arrangements. (to the point of going broke or nearly..lol) and there are more people advocating for better lives for chickens. As people actually get chickens and get to know them as individuals, they are becoming more interested in making their lives better. It is slow, but it is happening.

There will always be self-centered 's that don't care about anything but themselves, the type that buy a puppy and as soon as it gets old and needs a little extra care and attention, dump them at the pound, or don't see the problem with pigs being kept in little boxes so they can't move, just so they can have cheaper bacon, but good people who were just wrong-headed, are starting to come around.

 

[Shadrach]

Two hours today. It should have been two and a half but there was an incident in the city which delayed the main route out Westward.

This is Henry upon my arrival. The hens were banging the gate to get out.
He's cold. Yes I know chickens don't feel the cold and they've got all those lovely feathers to keep them warm. It must be true because so many people believe it to be so. I could have slipped in and trapped his tail feathers with a rock I suppose. Not only is he cold, what makes it worse is he's bored and inactive.

I carried him out. and stood him in the sunshine after having him on my lap with my arms around him for five minutes.

After a few minutes Henry decided it was worth dropping some food hints. I fed them all their treat, prawns and walnut before I did any of the chores. I half expected Henry to go straight to roost the moment I had finished cleaning the coop. A bit of food, some sunshine and the youngsters got him moving around and over the next hour he perked up.

Fret was on the borderline of being too cold to be interested in going out onto the field. If she wasn't laying eggs and feeling the need to forage for whatever it is that seems important for their diet, I doubt she would have gone out. She's five or six years old. Tull and Sylph are not even a year old yet and mow is only a few months in front of them, young in other words. One expects them to fare better in more extreme conditions. They're still cold, just have the energy to reduce the effect.

In Catalonia and on my uncles farm there were no physical boundries that would prevent them from roaming for miles if they wished. They didn't. Each group made use of about an acre. The field is about an acre. They use about two thirds of the field on a regular basis. One of the problems with the field is lack of cover, even in the growing season. The chickens can see each other at most points in the field. If for example there were a few large bushes and a couple of large bamboo clumps scattered around the field the lines of sight would be broken and there would be I believe some major changes in behaviour. I believe they would form a much tighter group when out foraging; Henry would check more on who was where and do more in the way of herding and guarding.

When Henry goes to roost (earlier than the hens) they youngsters follow Fret's lead. When Fret heads for the coop the rest follow. In fact the group is tighter without Henry keeping an eye out.
In most groups I've known the second most senior hen is the groups enforcer. Here's the top hen (Fret) and her enforcer (Mow) eating together and they won't let Tull and Sylph eat unti they've finished at evening top up.

It's going to be another cold night. Really don't need this cold snap.

 

[notabitail]

Luckily, some of us keep working to improve the chickens living arrangements. (to the point of going broke or nearly..lol) and there are more people advocating for better lives for chickens. As people actually get chickens and get to know them as individuals, they are becoming more interested in making their lives better. It is slow, but it is happening.

There will always be self-centered 's that don't care about anything but themselves, the type that buy a puppy and as soon as it gets old and needs a little extra care and attention, dump them at the pound, or don't see the problem with pigs being kept in little boxes so they can't move, just so they can have cheaper bacon, but good people who were just wrong-headed, are starting to come around.

When we first got the Bigs, we had 7 of them. Mom went to the chain farm store, bought the "fits 7 chooks" coop, and popped them in there as soon as they were big enough to go outside. I had my doubts on 7 fitting in there, and I was right. We moved, and I ended up free ranging them almost all day so they would not be cramped. We ended up building them a decent run, but I still free range them. I simply cannot stand leaving them in the run all day, unless I can't let them out (sick, on trip, etc.).

I used to see the chooks as idiots. Dumb birds that pump a egg out. But as I hung out with them more they showed that they actually had brains. I came to love them more, and I'm happy I have them.

I happen to have a space that I can sit in with a door pointed at the backyard. The biggest problem is that the chooks try to steal food off of me and get mad when I am sitting on my PC without food. I have been yelled at, called names, and even had the threat of being sued by the chickens. It's the biggest problem I have with them, and otherwise I think they're happy here.

 

[BDutch]

This is Henry upon my arrival. The hens were banging the gate to get out.
He's cold. Yes I know chickens don't feel the cold and they've got all those lovely feathers to keep them warm. It must be true because so many people believe it to be so.

Fret was on the borderline of being too cold to be interested in going out onto the field. If she wasn't laying eggs and feeling the need to forage for whatever it is that seems important for their diet, I doubt she would have gone out.

Do you remember the story of Peanut, the oldest chicken (>20yo) who was kept inside at her old age because the owner thought it became too cold for her outside?

I suspect that Ini mini is feeling the cold too on a harsh day like we had today, with a northern wind and a little hail.

 

[MrsNorthie]

When we first got the Bigs, we had 7 of them. Mom went to the chain farm store, bought the "fits 7 chooks" coop, and popped them in there as soon as they were big enough to go outside. I had my doubts on 7 fitting in there, and I was right. We moved, and I ended up free ranging them almost all day so they would not be cramped. We ended up building them a decent run, but I still free range them. I simply cannot stand leaving them in the run all day, unless I can't let them out (sick, on trip, etc.).

I used to see the chooks as idiots. Dumb birds that pump a egg out. But as I hung out with them more they showed that they actually had brains. I came to love them more, and I'm happy I have them.

I happen to have a space that I can sit in with a door pointed at the backyard. The biggest problem is that the chooks try to steal food off of me and get mad when I am sitting on my PC without food. I have been yelled at, called names, and even had the threat of being sued by the chickens. It's the biggest problem I have with them, and otherwise I think they're happy here.

My husband read all that too, on the TSC site, fits 10, or whatever, nonsense, but I had already been on BYC for months before we got our first chickens, and decided bigger is better. Which is why we are expanding again.

I never knew you could actually love a chicken, but each individual is so special to me, they all have different personalities and I just want them to be happy and healthy. I don't get much sleep, if I hear a noise I am out the door, torch in one hand, gun in the other. The coyotes have been pretty active and while our chickens are pretty secure, they turkeys refuse and the neighbors chickens and goats are less protected.

Once we have completed the full expansion for the birds, I am going to build an addition on the house, for a new office, with a deck and big sliding door that will be open to the chickens, so they can come in and out as they please. Maybe work won't be as stressful if my fluffy babies can all come in and hang out.

 

[notabitail]

My husband read all that too, on the TSC site, fits 10, or whatever, nonsense, but I had already been on BYC for months before we got our first chickens, and decided bigger is better. Which is why we are expanding again.

I never knew you could actually love a chicken, but each individual is so special to me, they all have different personalities and I just want them to be happy and healthy. I don't get much sleep, if I hear a noise I am out the door, torch in one hand, gun in the other. The coyotes have been pretty active and while our chickens are pretty secure, they turkeys refuse and the neighbors chickens and goats are less protected.

Once we have completed the full expansion for the birds, I am going to build an addition on the house, for a new office, with a deck and big sliding door that will be open to the chickens, so they can come in and out as they please. Maybe work won't be as stressful if my fluffy babies can all come in and hang out.

My Dad wakes up if the chooks get loud at night. We had a earthquake and I would have never woken up if he hadn't gotten me up to go check the chooks. Last two earthquakes the Bigs have gotten terrified and I had to go put them back to bed. Turns out they know where my door is and can navigate there in the dark.

 

[SimpleJenn]

Met this handsome fella today. Holding on to him for a while, then he's going to a breeder where he will have many pompom wives.


His name is Marble

 

[Shadrach]

Tomorrow I'm going to meet up with and go to my friends place where he keeps Light Sussex chickens. That will cheer me up. He's just reached the age where he can take a lump sum pension payment and he's going to add another fenced acre for his chickens. I think he has four acres in total a third of one acre he uses for his vegetable growing and garden. The rest is largely unmanaged ground bar some copse work and bush planting just for the chickens.
His eldest male (Ten and a half years old) died of a heart attack during a fight with a challenger leaving one tribe without a male.