Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[ManueB]

Rooster update. Red survived his beating by Cholo and looks fine now. Cholo has turned more aggressive and flogged me yesterday so he got whapped with a stick fo his effort. I hope doesn't turn into another Pancho. Pancho would wait until I turned my back for 2 seconds and attack me. I didn't cry when he met his demise.

Glad Red survived. Do you still have four roos ? Could their fight be due to the fact that they are too many ?

 

[ManueB]

I've tried to do that with all my birds; I'm not trying to preserve their genetics as a pure line (which I'm incapable of doing given my grasp of chicken genetics at present) but my custom does support those who can and are, and my flock as a whole is helping those genes best adapted for here survive, albeit latently.

I would love to do things this way. I don't really know how to find those breeders though, the ones that are relatively close by either raise hybrids or breeds that are in fashion now like Marans or cream legbars. Maybe I could find some sort of breeders directory.

 

[ManueB]

Yesterday I took the flock to the garden with the bantams for the first time. They were all rather cautious, they are very nervous due to the multiple hawk failed attempts to get one. Théo was rather worried to see the ex-batts run crazily about and jumping everywhere. Of course they were going exactly where I didn't want them : in our chopping wood place, and on the patio, instead of the garden. At one point I heard Brune making a clucking rooster-like sound that I had never heard any of my hens make before. Turns out she had found a few roasted peanuts my stepfather had dropped under our table as he stayed for lunch a few days ago .

This morning the alpha hen, Vanille, was really off, she didn't get down from the roost by herself. I put her down and ten minutes later she popped a calcium coated egg right where she was. And a soft shell egg two hours later. Her and Blanche have been having again laying problems since the last hawk visit two weeks ago. I'm not very confident for Vanille as she was very ill and nearly died in September. She's a sassy girl that's really sweet with us, I hope she'll get over it.

 

[Marie2020]

I would love to do things this way. I don't really know how to find those breeders though, the ones that are relatively close by either raise hybrids or breeds that are in fashion now like Marans or cream legbars. Maybe I could find some sort of breeders directory.

I hope you can, i believe Amber was a hybrid she laid too many eggs for my liking anything from 1 too 3 eggs a day. She got so weak lost weight and almost broke my heart seeing her suffering.

 

[Marie2020]

In a lighter note. Today all my fur and feathered friends had a lovely day in the sun. The girls had too have a foot and bottom wash and I dusted them all too protect them from mites

 

[GregnLety]

Glad Red survived. Do you still have four roos ? Could their fight be due to the fact that they are too many ?

We have 7 roos in 5 different tribes. Both Red and Cholo are the only roosters in their tribes. Up to this point they have avoided each other.

 

[Perris]

Maybe I could find some sort of breeders directory.

I imagine there is something like this in France https://www.poultryclub.org/resources/poultry/breed-clubs/
that you could use to find serious keepers of breeds that you are thinking of helping.

I'm really lucky that the Braekels are close by; I have travelled a good few hours either way to source eggs in years past; as the birds will be contributing their genes to my flock gene pool (hopefully!) I think it's worth the effort.

 

[Marie2020]

Two little ladies have decided too sleep outside. Tina on the top perch.

Agatha just below

 

[Ribh]

And I don't know anything about Campines, so we make a fine pair!

I am very happy with the Pennies - they suit conditions here perfectly, and they've delivered more than I hoped: 6 of 7 hatched, and 5 of that 6 made it to adulthood; the 3 pullets have had no issues commencing laying, and the 2 roos got through the jerk months without bloodletting of each other or anyone else. They seem robust and lithe, with just the right amount of confidence for a secure place in the flock and the environment. Phoenix is ambitious and has claimed 2nd in command spot already, and surprisingly Chirk, the dom, lets him mate any hen (who'll have him; not all yet) right under his nose. (I think 'discretion is the better part of valour' may be playing a role there , or he's OK with it because he thinks Phoenix is his son, so still passing on his genes.) Their partridge plumage offers great camouflage and they are constantly alert for dangers. Actually, thinking about it, I've yet to see one relax sunbathing - but the sun and warmth only arrived this last week, so that may just be a consequence of the awful early spring weather we had!

They sound like my kind of bird. I like them a bit mad, don't I, @Shad? I've got a feeling they'll be really hard to source out here.

 

[Marie2020]

Two little ladies have decided too sleep outside. Tina on the top perch.
View attachment 3038587
Agatha just below

FREEDOM