Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[pennyJo1960]

Good afternoon Ex Batts ..
I have a idea want to raise one of the new hatch to be the blue cockerel a son to my rooster Smudge.

 

[Shadrach]

One of the Legbars isn't well. She's got bad diarrhoea andhas been looking very sorry for herself the last couple of days. I think it was Copy I saw when they were out on the allotments for the first time with her beak buried in something next to the pile of rubbish that has accumulated just out side the run fence. If so, then I think she ate something she shouldn't have. I cleaned her bum up the day before yesterday much to her alarm. She did settled down in my hand after a few squawks and flaps. What I did find was mites.
Today she was almost back to normal having not eaten much yesterday or the day before. I'm going to assume if she had an infection she wouldn't be looking and acting much better today. A short bout of food poisoning I hope.
It's quite difficult to get a decent examination done when it's cold and raining and I have to stand outside in it with a complaining chicken in my hand. I still don't know what type of mite she is carrying. I couldn't catch her this evening. She better enough to evade me today which hasn't been the case the past two days.
If it hadn't been very windy and pissing down with rain I would have taken her out of the coop at roost time tonight and had a decent look. I'll takePermethrin and a head torch with me tomorrow.
C also noticed Copy wasn't the full ticket yesterday. C was out with them this morning and agreed that Copy looked much better than she did.

 

[Shadrach]

Before the rain arrived. That's Copy second in top left. You can just see the shit streak down her bum. It was a lot worse before I did my a bit of cleaning up.

 

[pennyJo1960]

@Shadrach Mites or maggots ?

 

[Solanacae]

I’m probably due for some tax. Nice sunny day, and everyone was enjoying the sunshine and mud. One of my sultan crosses, Sophia, started laying a couple days ago though I wasn’t sure if it was her or a unusually white egg from Desdemona, which I get on occasion. Today I had a tan one from Desdemona and a white one, so I could be sure it was Sophia.

The chickens love hanging out by the back door, much to Sisko’s distress. He just sits and watches them all day when they’re out.

 

[Sortacountrychicken]

One of the Legbars isn't well. She's got bad diarrhoea andhas been looking very sorry for herself the last couple of days. I think it was Copy I saw when they were out on the allotments for the first time with her beak buried in something next to the pile of rubbish that has accumulated just out side the run fence. If so, then I think she ate something she shouldn't have. I cleaned her bum up the day before yesterday much to her alarm. She did settled down in my hand after a few squawks and flaps. What I did find was mites.
Today she was almost back to normal having not eaten much yesterday or the day before. I'm going to assume if she had an infection she wouldn't be looking and acting much better today. A short bout of food poisoning I hope.
It's quite difficult to get a decent examination done when it's cold and raining and I have to stand outside in it with a complaining chicken in my hand. I still don't know what type of mite she is carrying. I couldn't catch her this evening. She better enough to evade me today which hasn't been the case the past two days.
If it hadn't been very windy and pissing down with rain I would have taken her out of the coop at roost time tonight and had a decent look. I'll takePermethrin and a head torch with me tomorrow.
C also noticed Copy wasn't the full ticket yesterday. C was out with them this morning and agreed that Copy looked much better than she did.

Poor girl. I hope that's the end of that and she is on the mend. Always a good sign when they're impossible to catch though.

 

[ManueB]

It's quite difficult to get a decent examination done when it's cold and raining and I have to stand outside in it with a complaining chicken in my hand.

I have difficulties examining my hens in the sunshine when they are reluctant, let alone cleaning their bum. Can't even imagine doing it in the rain.

Always a good sign when they're impossible to catch though

Yes, I noticed that when a hen is really feeling low, she will let herself be manipulated in all kind of ways she would never accept when healthy. Good thing for people like me who are not very good at handling skittish hens.

 

[ManueB]

Something like this is the type of chicken house I saw on the farms and smallholdings in Spain, France and Italy. With a minimum amount of work, main door made secure and the windows properly dealt with one would be hard pressed to find anything more secure and easier to maintain.

Unfortunately our coop is really, really dusty, probably because the material the house is made off is sort of porous. It also lacks ventilation, and stores too much humidity when it really rains (which did not happen for ages ).

We need to whitewash everything with lime, we've been delaying as it's quite tedious to get everything out and find a temporary shelter for the chickens.

Otherwise having animals in the basement make a lot of sense. It's cool in the summer, stays relatively warm in winter, is well protected from predators and spacious. Indeed it is a very common setting all around the Alps.

 

[ManueB]

I’m probably due for some tax. Nice sunny day, and everyone was enjoying the sunshine and mud. One of my sultan crosses, Sophia, started laying a couple days ago though I wasn’t sure if it was her or a unusually white egg from Desdemona, which I get on occasion. Today I had a tan one from Desdemona and a white one, so I could be sure it was Sophia.

The chickens love hanging out by the back door, much to Sisko’s distress. He just sits and watches them all day when they’re out.

Lovely tax and pretty eggs! Sunshine does help to take nice pictures.

 

[GregnLety]

Yesterday's gathering and last night's hatch.