Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Mother of Chaos]

Gophers are an unknown species for me. It seems they only live in America (in the wild). Maybe I have seen some in a zoo once or twice.

Gopher tax:
Broody Kraai who was not amused when I took her off the nest to free range. View attachment 4210665
We have an early spring under the pear, bc it was very dry this summer.

Actually, we have (had?) a groundhog rather than a gopher, and they are similar, but neither is welcome. Groundhogs in particular (maybe gophers as well) like to burrow at building foundations, and when you live in a hundred-year-old house, you really don't need anything messing with your foundations.

Our cat (who puts the brainless in fearless) got between the groundhog and the deck and decided to stalk toward him. It charged her, she shot 3' up in the air, and ran for her life. Groundhogs are surprisingly fast! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog

 

[Perris]

I sent you a PM a few days ago. Have you changed your mind?

No. I was not aware that you sent one. Nothing from you in my recent conversation list. Can you please resend?

 

[tranquiliti]

No. I was not aware that you sent one. Nothing from you in my recent conversation list. Can you please resend?

Sorry to see this. Did you try selecting “Show All” from the Conversations menu?

 

[Perris]

Sorry to see this. Did you try selecting “Show All” from the Conversations menu?
View attachment 4210806

yes. Last conversation I have involving Shadrach was in 2024.
I assumed he was still procrastinating

 

[Perris]

Whatever it is they are eating, it's just below the surface and they have to lightly scratch to expose it.

Presumably the larval stage of various apple 'pests'. That apple tree looks really good btw; what variety is it?

The last photo might invite some good entries for the caption compo

 

[BDutch]

I am always kinda hesitant because I never know if my knowledge is interesting enough.
But the questions here suggest I might be able to help. I will try and draft something about my experience and the various products (including the very popular rat contraceptive!).

If you want to be sure, you can post the text (pm) to a few people who are interested. Ask for improvements / if its interesting enough as it

yes. Last conversation I have involving Shadrach was in 2024.
I assumed he was still procrastinating

In the meantime I wonder where the mail was delivered. Maybe you should ask youre neighbours in Gower if they had mail from Shad.

Actually, we have (had?) a groundhog rather than a gopher, and they are similar, but neither is welcome.

Groundhogs are not a European species either. Neither are the smaller guinee pigs. Guinee pigs are quite common as little pets in the Netherlands though and not kept as delicacy.

 

[Perris]

In the meantime I wonder where the mail was delivered

yeh, I guess it vanished down a cyber hole somewhere. Or I've got my settings all wrong (which is quite likely, actually ).

 

[Perris]

I recently discovered a sort of green jelly/slime growing on a concrete path and foundations here, and a bit of digging has revealed this to be a plus, I think. I'm going to keep an eye out to see if the chickens eat it, in wet or desiccated (brown crust) form. Maybe you have some too and can contribute to the topic.

Its proper name is Nostoc commune, and it's a cyanobacterium with a penchant for alkaline surfaces (which concrete provides) and phosphorus (which chicken poo provides). And before that puts you off, note that it
(a) is edible, by us so presumably by chickens;
(b) fixes nitrogen from the atmosphere;
(c) has anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and anti-bacterial properties, at least (and has long been a traditional medicine in some cultures);
(d) consists of about 25% dry weight proteins, peptides, and free amino acids, including all the essential ones that we have to eat because we can't synthesize via our own metabolism;
(e) may contain a variety of minerals such as calcium, iron and zinc, plus useful amounts of vitamin C.

It is also incredibly resilient (so difficult to eliminate, should you want to ignore its potential as a valuable food for you or your chickens). Aka Star Jelly, you can read more about it here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nostoc

 

[kattabelly]

@Perris lots of that growing in one of the places I sometimes do a bit of work, but as it's by a busy main road in a paved courtyard that's often full of cigarette butts and other shite I probably won't be eating any! Maybe I could try transplanting some up to the plot, though...