Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Ribh]

My town doesn’t agree.

I would love a roo or two as well! I wish chickens & roosters were as accepted as dogs. I think a rooster would be quieter than the dog down the street!

I have a major issue with dogs ~ & there are a lot round here!

 

[Ribh]

THIS. Mine are companions and pets, too. Sorry about how much that makes you cringe, Shad.

My *pets* are pretty feral but that doesn't stop them hanging with me when I'm out & about. Bear in mind too, Shad doesn't discourage his chooks from hob~nobbing with him either! Lots of bluff & bluster there to hide a true marshmallow!

 

[Perris]

What kind of hedge is that Perris? It seems to have held on to its dead leaves which is a characteristic of beech trees - but they certainly aren't fully grown beech trees and there are other trees and shrubs that do similar.
Just curious - it is an attractive hedge and gives nice cover for your chickens.

Spot on - it is a beech hedge, about 50 years old now. With an annual trim it had grown to about 8' wide and was getting difficult to manage, so year before last we cut it right back to about 2' wide, and now it can grow incrementally again for a decade or so before it'll need another bit of tough love. Hopefully some of the bigger gaps at the bottom will refill now too - though the daffodils that live there obviously prefer the new slimmed down hedge!

 

[Ribh]

Spot on - it is a beech hedge, about 50 years old now. With an annual trim it had grown to about 8' wide and was getting difficult to manage, so year before last we cut it right back to about 2' wide, and now it can grow incrementally again for a decade or so before it'll need another bit of tough love. Hopefully some of the bigger gaps at the bottom will refill now too - though the daffodils that live there obviously prefer the new slimmed down hedge!

One of the things I love most about Britain is the hedgerowing. That's a seriously smart way to manage the land & it's a pity so many got removed when farms *modernised*.

 

[ManueB]

Glad they are improving. Here is my tax.View attachment 3005554View attachment 3005555View attachment 3005556View attachment 3005557View attachment 3005558View attachment 3005559

What a hair do ! Must be a pain to dry when they're wet though?

 

[Perris]

One of the things I love most about Britain is the hedgerowing. That's a seriously smart way to manage the land & it's a pity so many got removed when farms *modernised*.

indeed; thankfully there's a drive on now to restore them, or something that works ecologically like them. Apart from what lives in and on them, they have an important role as wildlife highways between woods etc. And the chickens use them for cover in that part of the garden (though prefer to snooze in the mixed shrub borders).

 

[ManueB]

My town doesn’t agree.

I would love a roo or two as well! I wish chickens & roosters were as accepted as dogs. I think a rooster would be quieter than the dog down the street!

My hens strongly disagree with me having brought in a cockerel !

I think it's very much a cultural thing, this dislike of crowing. Here people love roosters crow. There's at least 30 rooster in a village of 100 people. The old timer farmer that gave us the cockerel kept asking us every day if he had started crowing and even offered to give us another one in case he didn't. Which he did in time, of course!

I must admit if he hadn't dropped Théo on us, we wouldn't have taken a rooster, even though we have enough space. We were hesitant because of all the stories of mean roosters, either with their hens or the humans, and I was scared of having to eventually need to cull a rooster because of his temperament.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Because Smudge has grown up here he knows some times the grey rooster me might pick him up at night check over all his feathers and skin.. He has no wounds on him.. He lost all but one tail feather !
That is my big guy he loves his ladies..

 

[ManueB]

Yes, we had a talk about it. She can see how much better they look as can some others who have been to the allotments and commented.
The difference is very noticable if you know the chickens. It's not just how they look, it's how they act as well. None stand around with their heads in their chests close to the weeds by the run fence any more. They all look more confident and stronger. Of course the time out on natural ground encourages them to run and dig and even a bit of this each day helps build muscle and they put on healthy weight (muscle) rather than fat.
It's taken around six months of standing in the cold and rain for a couple of hours every day, plus some medications and decent quality feeding to get them to this state.

So you're still on talking terms with C. . If she and others acknowledge the chickens improvement hopefully she may be open to understand that what she has been doing with them was not sufficient for their well being?
At the beginning of the thread you mentioned several times that she didn't have sufficient time to take care properly of the chickens. How does she feel about your involvement, relieved that you are helping, or angry because she feels you're giving her lessons?

Not that I'm interested in her psychology but since she has the poultry keeping licence much seems to depend on her regarding the evolution of the ex-batts fate.

 

[ManueB]

I understand. I really do. I am now fully armed at all times and let's leave it there.

My step father left us his hunting rifle but since I'm the one who stays at home and I've never touched a gun, (and I don't have a license and the season's over) I think it will stay untouched.
My partner put up clothes line all over the most exposed parts. Not sure this will help either . It may give the girls enough time to throw themselves in the laurel tree.

They are very careful, most of the time. But they have moments in the day usually at dusk when they forget all caution and go foraging individually .