Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[ManueB]

I used to buy from one the local manufacturers. It was still a half hour jouney each way.
I eventually found a small agricutural supplier who mixed their own feed on the premises. They would make a mix to order. But, the minimum order was 100 kilos.
People tend to get worried about what they feed their chickens. If you keep a contained flock then commercial feed becomes more of an issue. Many people I know have never fed their chickens commercial feed and their chickens seemed fine and lived to a ripe old age compared to the majority of chickens I read about on this site.
Sure, there is more to longevity than what a chicken eats but chickens are omnivores and are very good at finding what they need given the opportnity and of course the land to hunt on.
I have friend in Hertfordshire, England who has been keeping chickens for over forty years. Apart from losses to predators (few) they live on average to ten years old. He free ranges them on less than an acre of land most of which he grows fruit and veg on.
He does buy fish meal and cracked corn and sunflower seeds last time we spoke but apart from these the chickens eat what he eats. He just cooks more than he and his partner need, sticks it in a blender and gives it to the chickens.
If you eat take away burgers and chips etc then not only are you not getting a decent diet nor would your chickens be. If you eat low sugar and salt food with proper vegetables, meat, fish etc the chickens will be fine.
Chickens don't need anything special. They need the same amino acids we do. What laying hens need is more calcium than a human is likely to get in their diet. Feed them their egg shells back in the blended human food is a good start.

However, this all starts to unravel when you buy production breeds and now very sadly many of the so called heritage breeds who also lay far too many eggs.

Too late for many but getting the right breed for the condtions you will keep them in is a very early lesson to learn in chicken keeping. In general barnyard mix types fare well with minimum fuss.

Finally there is nothing stopping people from learning how to make their own chicken feed. I don't mean following some nut job on Utube or facebook, I mean study the subject some and find out what you can get locally to make up the correct nutrition.
This is what I am slowly doing now. There are lots of feed recipies but if one just took the nutritional analysis from a decent quality feed label and worked out what foods gave these you probably wouldn't go too far wrong. by any means.

This makes sense, but it's not something I thought of spontaneously as a beginner chicken keeper.
If you got a cat, a dog or a horse you would certainly realize that not all breeds require the same maintenance / environment / food.

My chickens don't free range though. They are outside all day on 400 to 500 meters sq, even if we move the nets around a bit there is always a point where they have less to forage.

 

[ManueB]

Good morning X Batts.
My two cents have used cat food off and on as a treat ..
Not a whole food by any means.

I tried that once as a treat and once with a sick hen, and all I got was some very disgusted looks.
Even my cats prefer eating the chicken food than theirs .

 

[Perris]

My chickens don't free range though. They are outside all day on 400 to 500 meters sq

Then your chickens do free range. The term is very misleading. The UK regs - which are still the same as the EU ones - are given on pp. 33-34 of this document. https://assets.publishing.service.g...f-practice-welfare-of-laying-hens-pullets.pdf
Basically the term means the birds have access to the outside, in theory. In practice the popholes may be few and far between (at least 2 metres' length per 1,000 birds!), the 'range' outside a bit of threadbare grass, and some hens probably never leave the shed.

 

[Shadrach]

I'm slightly puzzled that delivery people don't bring things through to where they need to be. I'm used to heavy loads being placed exactly where I need them. I would've thought vendors would want to see their products delivered properly for higher ratings on review sites.

I think I mentioned earlier in the thread. The delivery company only do kirbside deliveries.
Couldn't really expect the delivery company to send two men and spend extra time getting the coop into the run.

 

[MaryJanet]

I think I mentioned earlier in the thread. The delivery company only do kirbside deliveries.
Couldn't really expect the delivery company to send two men and spend extra time getting the coop into the run.

I recall the earlier post, but I still find it puzzling.

I had a fridge delivered recently by one guy who brought it all the way into the kitchen on his sack truck. A washing machine was also recently delivered by two guys and unpacked and set up. It was "free" delivery (ie packaged into the price).

I'm puzzled that deliveries to the allotment are so neglectful of your needs.

I guess it's just one of those little differences between markets.

 

[Shadrach]

That was a busy week . You must be a bit tired .
The coop looks really good, seems it will last long. I hope it's not too complicated now getting it inside the run. I am really curious to see how the chickens react! I hope they give you a well deserved round of applause.

What is it with the unwell hen's feather, is she just puffed up from being sick or does she have some kind of mites ?

In what context did you give that talk, was it with the allotments ? Congratulations and I hope you enjoyed it!

She's mite free. Just unwell.
It was a local village hall event. There were other speakers most of whome were better prepared.

 

[Perris]

on dustbathing: I've just been down to the corner of the garden where the spa is and most of the flock were hanging out there. By the time I got back with the camera, most of the girls had got up, but the 3 boys who'd been sunbathing together were still down. More preening than dustbathing, but they're doing it together, on dry earth.

 

[Shadrach]

I recall the earlier post, but I still find it puzzling.

I had a fridge delivered recently by one guy who brought it all the way into the kitchen on his sack truck. A washing machine was also recently delivered by two guys and unpacked and set up. It was "free" delivery (ie packaged into the price).

I'm puzzled that deliveries to the allotment are so neglectful of your needs.

I guess it's just one of those little differences between markets.

Well, it's the way it was and probably for the best. It's not something I'm going to get indignant about.
It's a two person job minimum and two people with a flatbed truck I expect would bump the delivery costs up a lot. I got it off and it's in the field and getting closer to the coop run slowly.

 

[Shadrach]

on dustbathing: I've just been down to the corner of the garden where the spa is and most of the flock were hanging out there. By the time I got back with the camera, most of the girls had got up, but the 3 boys who'd been sunbathing together were still down. More preening than dustbathing, but they're doing it together, on dry earth.
View attachment 3129348

Send your boys round to clue Henry in then.

 

[Shadrach]

on dustbathing: I've just been down to the corner of the garden where the spa is and most of the flock were hanging out there. By the time I got back with the camera, most of the girls had got up, but the 3 boys who'd been sunbathing together were still down. More preening than dustbathing, but they're doing it together, on dry earth.
View attachment 3129348

I wasn't going to bother but...
They're not dust bathing really are they. They're sitting on an undug piece of ground grooming. You write as much yourself.