Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[RoyalChick]

I thought it would be a lot more than that.
Thanks. It all helps me decide.

It doesn’t recharge when you pedal? That would be free. Sort of.

 

[Ribh]

It doesn’t recharge when you pedal? That would be free. Sort of.

There are motorised ones too which run on petrol. You still have to conteend with the weather though & that is their biggest drawback.

 

[ManueB]

I have used a bike as my sole mean of transportation in big cities for 20 years (with my feet).
I also got into race biking a few years ago.
Unfortunately in the city I last lived in, Nice, bikes and cars have not been able to learn to share public space, to say it politely.
Unlike in the Netherlands (all french cyclists dream of this situation) most people driving car do not accept that there are now many cyclists on the roads. And to be fair cyclists are not always correct either. I can't tell you the number of times I've been insulted and I've seen adult people stopping the traffic and get into a fight quite a number of times.
I'm not in favour of e bikes because the batteries are an ecological catastrophe. You could say it is better than being alone in a car. But it's better to be on a classical bike. We have this saying "best waste is the one you don't produce, best energy is the one you're not consuming".
Anyway another thing to take in consideration is where you would keep it. An e bike is at least 18 kilos so it is difficult to carry up in your flat and if it's the same in England as in France you can't leave them in the street.

 

[ManueB]

This is the hen with the neck feather problem. One other has bald patches but not as widespread as this hen.
I must admit I'm a bit stumped on this one.
I cleaned and disinfected the area. Otherwise she seems fine. She's a good weight compared to the other and seems remarkably unstressed with the conditon.
One problem is Henry is quite large and heavy compared to the Ex Battery hens. Some of the Ex Battery hens don't crouch properly and tip back and forth.
That means Henry wobbles on top and grips the neck feather harder in order to keep his balance.
With some of the smaller hens Henry keeps his feet on the floor. The hens shoulder width is not wide enough for Henry to place both feet on the hens shoulders. Plus, some of the Ex Battery hens don't seem to know that they need to spread their wings a little to provide a larger platform for Henry's feet.
I've been a bit concerened that the hens might get cut under their wings on the side of their chest but I've looked at a few and no sign of damage.

View attachment 3098416

Believe it or not Henry is on that roost bar. The sickle feathers is all that gives him away. He's asleep. He stayed asleep while I checked his daughters crop, took one hen of the roost bar and two more got on.
View attachment 3098417

I believe some of my ex-batts also don't understand how it works. They keep running once the rooster is on top of them and he holds on to their feathers to stay on, and that goes on for a few minutes, so a lot of feathers get pulled out.

Yesterday evening I ended up locking him in the coop once Chipie the bantam had perched for sleep, half an hour before the ex-batts, so they could have a bit of a quiet time before night. That turned out pretty well, he roosted with Chipie and didn't seem upset.

That dude sure enjoys the sun.

Caramel is going downhill very quickly, she has eaten nearly nothing for four days now and hides in the laurel tree all day. However, she is still laying ! Can you believe the laying machine is so f... that she will still lay even though she is starving ? I find this really sad.

 

[MaryJanet]

I believe some of my ex-batts also don't understand how it works. They keep running once the rooster is on top of them and he holds on to their feathers to stay on, and that goes on for a few minutes, so a lot of feathers get pulled out.

Yesterday evening I ended up locking him in the coop once Chipie the bantam had perched for sleep, half an hour before the ex-batts, so they could have a bit of a quiet time before night. That turned out pretty well, he roosted with Chipie and didn't seem upset.

That dude sure enjoys the sun.
View attachment 3098963

Caramel is going downhill very quickly, she has eaten nearly nothing for four days now and hides in the laurel tree all day. However, she is still laying ! Can you believe the laying machine is so f... that she will still lay even though she is starving ? I find this really sad.
View attachment 3098962

Yes, very sad and it makes me angry that such a wonderful species, which has been a good friend to humanity for such a long time, is ruined.

 

[Perris]

We have this saying "best waste is the one you don't produce, best energy is the one you're not consuming".

That's a great saying

That dude sure enjoys the sun.

He's really resplendent there!

Caramel is going downhill very quickly

Is she drinking at all, or has she effectively given up?

 

[ManueB]

Is she drinking at all, or has she effectively given up?

I get her to drink a little by putting the hose with running water in the chicken zone but she won't drink from the water bowl.
We're trying to get her to survive through another three days of deworming in case she has trachea worms but my guess is something worse.
We started her on metacalm this morning, she's really struggling any handling so I won't try force feeding her.

 

[no fly zone]

They eat so fast

 

[pennyJo1960]

The ones in the brooder like 9 eat so much. The can drain the feed in like a day.

 

[bruceha2000]

Yup, the train is still rolling but not up to speed yet.

You'll get there ... as long as you don't overdo it early.

The cost of a decent new e-bike is almost twice what I can pick up say a 250cc trail bike.

I had a Honda 175cc in High School. More than enough for city streets and I did take it on the freeway (motorway to you) on occasion. That was pushing its limits though and wasn't all that comfortable.