Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Shadrach]

I think many people in farm environment are used to feeding old bread to their animals and poultry.
Our neighbour's 20 rabbits survive on it with hay; so do a pair of abandoned ponies that are about 45 mn walk up in the forest and to whom a 75 year old neighbour feed a huge bag of hard bread everyday. (They are now 33 and 36 and survived last winter in 80 cm of snow with only the daily bread and pellets I brought once a week).
We know now that feeding bread, especially industrial, is not good for most animal farms, but it's difficult to change your mind if you've seen it done forever.
Not saying this is right, just that's it's not that uncommon. It's easier to teach someone who start knowing nothing (like me) than someone who's sure they know what's right.

This ^^ is part of the problem. C has picked up a fraction of the knowledge from old school farming and how to keep livestock at minimum cost. The rest of the knowledge fraction it seems is not what C wants to learn.

 

[Shadrach]

My little bantams Théo and Chipie have being particularly bullied by Nougat, one of my ex-batts and it's growing pretty bad now. She used to be the sweetest and most calm pullet of the lot when they were young, and probably because of this she dropped on bottom of the pecking order, even though she is the biggest and one of the most agile. She was really angry when the bantams arrived and went on molting and stopping to lay and sulking just at that time.
Now she's got back to laying and it began to go a bit better, but ever since Théo has started trying to mount some of the ex-batts she has turned back to terrorizing them and hunting them all day. This morning I found two of his feathers pulled out with bloody quills . She has become flighty and grumpy all the time. I'm waiting to see how this will evolve or if we have to do something.

This her grumpy.View attachment 3003481

Normal behviour I would say. Hens can be very possesive of their roosters. Their are lots of reasons to do with seniority and the right to breed.

 

[Shadrach]

Wonderful photos! I just love that little Lima and am quite pleased she gas done so well. Is there anyone on the watch list these days?

No, the watch list is clear for once. There are treatments I need to attend to but nothing critical at the moment.

 

[Shadrach]

I linked to an article by Beekissed earlier. I know a lot of people rate this article. I also know that a lot of people haven't properly understood it. One can tell this from reading peoples comments in the threads and references to the article in general on BYC.
The really important part of the article is the first sentence quoted below.

"You really need the right breeds/birds, the right rooster or dominant hen, the right place, the right dog, the right perimeter fencing(if in town), the right hideouts/duck and cover places, and the right attitude."

You can't take a bit of "right" the advice and try to apply it to freerangers or even chickens in runs, if the rest of the set up is wrong. You need all the right ingredients to free range successfully. Just having one component missing can and often does lead to a disaster.
This is C's problem essentially. As a couple have mentioned, there is probably not a lot wrong with feeding chickens or geese with preferably stale bread. The stale bit is important. But, this is only fine if the fowl can access other foodstuffs of their own accord.
There is nothing wrong with feeding household leftovers. Lots of very experienced and competant chicken keepers do exactly this. But, their needs to be a nutritional balance in these left overs and/or the chickens can make up the shortfalls by foraging.
Trying to do this with high production hens confined to a coop and run is essentially cruelty through ignorance and neglect.

 

[Shadrach]

The saddest part in all this is I think the vast majority of the people who keep chickens, including thjose that come on BYC on a more casual basis, and I can think of a few prominent regulars, keep chickens in much the same conditions.
C is in no way a minority I believe.
Many of the posts that come up in ER make it pretty apparent that the creatures in question are living in poor conditions with minimum care and even less knowledge.
I like to see the conditions a chicken is kept in. That means pictures of the run if applicable and some explanation of how often they are checked over, how much time their keeper spends with them and what they are fed. You don't often get this.
This is part of the reason for this thread. I want people to see how these chickens are kept in some detail. I also hope that readers will compare their keeping arrangments to those shown in the thread and pay attention to, for example, what a difference just a couple of hours a day on natural ground with foraging possibilities makes to the chickens overall welfare.

 

[RoyalChick]

Two of my princesses uncovered some yummy green shoots when they were out and about yesterday during a brief gap between snow storms.

There was even time for some serious sunbathing.

 

[MaryJanet]

Two of my princesses uncovered some yummy green shoots when they were out and about yesterday during a brief gap between snow storms.

View attachment 3004062

There was even time for some serious sunbathing.
View attachment 3004063View attachment 3004064View attachment 3004065

Awww sweet hens enjoying themselves

 

[Iluveggers]

Sad face only for thinking of those chickens. Not for your thread, Shad.

 

[Shadrach]

They were very hungry when I got there today.
I put about 200 grams of pellets in the feed tray hanging on the mesh on the left and the other 800 grams in the circular feeder. By the time I had taken my camera out of my rucksack they had almost emptied the feeder on the mesh.

 

[MaryJanet]

They were very hungry when I got there today.
I put about 200 grams of pellets in the feed tray hanging on the mesh on the left and the other 800 grams in the circular feeder. By the time I had taken my camera out of my rucksack they had almost emptied the feeder on the mesh.
View attachment 3004066View attachment 3004067

Can't they have a rodent proof feeder Shad? Then they could eat whenever they needed to.