Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

The temperature is 68 with rain coming.

Have a great day!

 

[Sortacountrychicken]

Would you buy in to this? As a keeper, and/or with your chicken-hat on?

I would. It's something I have actually considered selling myself but I have not done so yet. I do think that you will have to be picky about who you sell them to, which is why I haven't gone through on it myself.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Good morning X Batts. Birds are out rooting for bugs ..
not raining just now.

 

[no fly zone]

Yesterday I had stuff to do in the morning so I locked the chickens in the run. I came back at two and didn't see anyone.
When I got in the coop six of the girls had crammed up in the laying box at the back of the coop. They were all piled up one on another. The rooster came out of a nest just under the coop's roof. The last hen had built a hole to hide in the straw behind the grain barrel.
I didn't find any trace of an attack. They were not hurt and I could see nothing wrong. My best guess is that something tried to get in, either the hawk or a fox, and scared them so.

Barely 30mn later April's fool day poured some white stuff, first hail then snow. This morning the temperature was -5 and any tree that had blooms or flowers froze. It's that period of the year when I'm happy we don't depend on what we grow to live. Nothing to do but go for a run to enjoy the pillowy stuff.
View attachment 3046641

Yikes! It is 87 degrees here.

 

[MaryJanet]

Would you buy in to this? As a keeper, and/or with your chicken-hat on?

I think it's a great way to get a freerange flock started, but you might want to provide some ongoing advice or support. A free range flock is a big step for a beginner.

 

[Shadrach]

I'm rather excited this evening. Look at these. That's an Ex Batt attempting a dust bath. I know some of you may think I've just not noticed Ex Batts dust bathing. Well, C was on the allotments this evening digging and chatting a bit.
I asked C if they had ever seen an Ex Batt dust bath. C hadn't either.

It went like this.
There is some highly conpacted soil just out side the gate. When it's dry it's like dust. I didn't see how the dip got started but when I looked the two Legbars were peking and scratching it up.

Both Legbars bathing with the Ex Battery hen just pecking around the edges.

She sort of just stood there for a while in the half crouched position in the picture above.
She did scratch the ground both sides. After that she just sat there.

I may have missed the Ex Batts dust bathing in the coop run. I let them out as soon as I get there and they're all standing by the gate by the time I walk up the field. I know I haven't seen them do it in the allotment run.
This hen did not look at all confident about what she was doing. The Legbars got straight into the dip and were frantically digging and rolling within seconds.

So, an adjustment.
I have now seen one Ex Batt at least attempt to dust bath. On the other hand I have seen the Legbars and the crosses and Henry and Matilda dust bath often. There are and have been since I started more Ex Battery hens than other breeds. Make of it what you will.

 

[Shadrach]

Let me run an idea past this hive mind, and especially yours @Shadrach

I am trying to let my chickens live as naturally as possible. That includes letting hens raise chicks if they feel so inclined. Most years 2 have felt so inclined somewhere between May and September. Taking into account fetal development failures, predation, and illness, I expect about 50% of a clutch to make it to adulthood, but it's very variable; last year was unusually good, the year before was unusually poor. (Because it was unusually poor I let the broodies raise bigger clutches last year than I had before.) The flock size has been about 20 for 3 years now and it works well; it's self-sustaining, it's below the carrying capacity of the land and forage available to them so there's no fighting over resources, and the flock is holding together as one and not splitting into two. As we've gone along the birds have got better at free ranging and I've got better at facilitating instead of hindering, and I have a waiting list of customers for eggs.

Meanwhile the media is scaremongering about a catastrophic decline in commercial egg production because of the price of feed, avian flu and its restrictions, and numerous other factors. I want to continue to allow broodies to do their thing, but I don't want to expand my flock to a 4th coop and more of everything. And I don't want to cull in the form of taking out old hens and spare cocks. So, I was wondering if anyone has tried hiving off a clutch-sized mixed flock, and selling them as a complete package, so to speak: a cock, a mature hen, a middle hen, and a pullet, all of whom have grown up together and know their places vis-a-vis one another already. It would include the collective wisdom and experience of free ranging and raising the next generation. Of course there may be some scuffles to re-sort the hierarchy as a separate flock - the roo in particular would be either the wonderful elder (Sven) or the subordinate junior (Pip) so he'd go (back) up, and I'm sure his life would be better compared to where he is now. And whoever took them would have an egg supply and some spare to sell to others wanting them, plus light gardening duties and fertilizing done, and possibly a broody and chicks to delight them. And they'd have to understand that these breeds don't do well in confinement; they must be free.

Would you buy in to this? As a keeper, and/or with your chicken-hat on?

I would. I know of others who would to.
I've given away two pairs with an extra hen in the past. I've given away male and female pairs.
If I was buying with some serious intention of keeping chickens I would be looking for something like you are suggesting.
If the allotment chickens were free range you would have had a PM by now

 

[Ribh]

Interesting given how similar it is to Meloxicam in its mechanism of action - but these things can be idiosynchratic for sure.

Definitely. Ibuprofen works for me. It's a lifesaver for migraines. Panadol & Asprin do nothing whatsoever.

 

[MaryJanet]

Definitely. Ibuprofen works for me. It's a lifesaver for migraines. Panadol & Asprin do nothing whatsoever.

I love it too. It gives me one great sleep a week.

 

[Ribh]

Let me run an idea past this hive mind, and especially yours @Shadrach

I am trying to let my chickens live as naturally as possible. That includes letting hens raise chicks if they feel so inclined. Most years 2 have felt so inclined somewhere between May and September. Taking into account fetal development failures, predation, and illness, I expect about 50% of a clutch to make it to adulthood, but it's very variable; last year was unusually good, the year before was unusually poor. (Because it was unusually poor I let the broodies raise bigger clutches last year than I had before.) The flock size has been about 20 for 3 years now and it works well; it's self-sustaining, it's below the carrying capacity of the land and forage available to them so there's no fighting over resources, and the flock is holding together as one and not splitting into two. As we've gone along the birds have got better at free ranging and I've got better at facilitating instead of hindering, and I have a waiting list of customers for eggs.

Meanwhile the media is scaremongering about a catastrophic decline in commercial egg production because of the price of feed, avian flu and its restrictions, and numerous other factors. I want to continue to allow broodies to do their thing, but I don't want to expand my flock to a 4th coop and more of everything. And I don't want to cull in the form of taking out old hens and spare cocks. So, I was wondering if anyone has tried hiving off a clutch-sized mixed flock, and selling them as a complete package, so to speak: a cock, a mature hen, a middle hen, and a pullet, all of whom have grown up together and know their places vis-a-vis one another already. It would include the collective wisdom and experience of free ranging and raising the next generation. Of course there may be some scuffles to re-sort the hierarchy as a separate flock - the roo in particular would be either the wonderful elder (Sven) or the subordinate junior (Pip) so he'd go (back) up, and I'm sure his life would be better compared to where he is now. And whoever took them would have an egg supply and some spare to sell to others wanting them, plus light gardening duties and fertilizing done, and possibly a broody and chicks to delight them. And they'd have to understand that these breeds don't do well in confinement; they must be free.

Would you buy in to this? As a keeper, and/or with your chicken-hat on?

I'd be interested but couldn't. I, like many others here, am not allowed a rooster. I have bought birds in lots that have been raised together & find this is always a good idea.