Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[no fly zone]

He's trying to impress her isn't he.

And he has never succeeded.

 

[Shadrach]

I've been waiting for your response and all you did was make me laugh old wise one not helping...

I don't understand nearly enough about your chicken arrangements. To me it seems like there are chickens moving in and out like a local hotel. I love it.
I found if I always had spare coop capacity life ran a bit smoother. In the last year, not having a suitable spare coop for a rooster called Cillin who got thrown out of the tribe coop by his son Treacle meant Cillin came and roosted with me.
I really enjoyed his company but as the days became longer he woke up earlier. A rooster crowing a couple of metres from your bed at 0630 is doable, 0500, not so much.

 

[Ribh]

That is great news. I have 3 with feathered feet out of the 10. Thanks for the reassurance!

If it helps I have also had feathered feet in a dirt & litter run with no problems. The foot feathers do get filthy, particularly in mud, but my girls seemed pretty adept @ cleaning them as things dried out. My issues are more my feathered feet are also frizzles & I do need to dry them out if they get soaking wet.

 

[Shadrach]

It went something like this.
"coming out for a bit chaps?"
Chickens, "you're having a larf!"
Fortunately they were out for a couple of hours this morning. C was working in the allotments. The rain didn't start until the afternoon.
I fed them, cleaned out the nest boxes by time I had done that my trousers underneath the overalls were heading towards my knees with the weight of the water. I know why I wear full overalls now.
Tomorrow doesn't look much better. The weekend they say will be sunny.

 

[Ribh]

Shad, I had something interesting happen this morning that I have never seen with chickens before ~ though I have with cats. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera... It's particularly interesting because it was between Sif [my ex paralysed Vorwerk] & Titania, [splash frizzled D'Uccle]. I don't expect you can shed any light on the encounter but I thought you might be interested.

Just after I let them out this morning I caught Titania struggling to get into the garden bed where Sif was resting. Sif lowered her head a little so Titania could stretch up & rest her beak against Sif's beak. They stayed beak to beak for some moments before separating. These 2 often seem to be together. Sif seems to like the whitish bantams.

 

[Shadrach]

Shad, I had something interesting happen this morning that I have never seen with chickens before ~ though I have with cats. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera... It's particularly interesting because it was between Sif [my ex paralysed Vorwerk] & Titania, [splash frizzled D'Uccle]. I don't expect you can shed any light on the encounter but I thought you might be interested.

Just after I let them out this morning I caught Titania struggling to get into the garden bed where Sif was resting. Sif lowered her head a little so Titania could stretch up & rest her beak against Sif's beak. They stayed beak to beak for some moments before separating. These 2 often seem to be together. Sif seems to like the whitish bantams.

What a shame you couldn't get a picture. I can think of so many instances where I wish I had had a camera years ago, or when I did get one, had it with me.

 

[Ribh]

What a shame you couldn't get a picture. I can think of so many instances where I wish I had had a camera years ago, or when I did get one, had it with me.

Yeah. It's wet here this morning so I was sort of rushing in order to stay dry & it was pure chance I caught the moment.

 

[Ribh]

So, I have a question for one and/or all. Now that the 4th of July is upon us it is time for me to pack my fuzzy creatures up and take them to the cabin in the mountains so they don't have to suffer the trauma of my neighbors blowing up the hood -Why turning neighborhoods into warlike zones and traumatizing people and pets is considered exceptable or a celebration is something I can't wrap my head around- anywho, I'm thinking of splitting my flock and keeping older/heart of flock up the mountain with me for the summer. I brought most up last summer and it was great cept now my flock is bigger... I don't have room for all comfortably so thinking of leaving at least 13 home with my husband. I'll put Beetlejuice in charge of the Lani's and may do a hatch of pure B. Brahma's when I get home.View attachment 3169242View attachment 3169243
My question is about the reintro. Last time I did this I only left 2 Buffs w/DH. It boosted confidence in the little sweeties and was a fairly seamless reintro when I brought the main/older flock back down.
My question is; am I asking for trouble splitting my flock for my 2-3 month hiatus? Should I just suck it up and build another coop so I can accommodate all assimilate buff roo on new grounds and avoid reintro drama?View attachment 3169256

I'm with Shad in that I don't know enough about your keeping arrangements but I will comment from experience with reintegration. My last buy was mostly bantams who were not vaxinated for fowl pox. They had been running with the main flock all winter but come summer I had 6 come down with the pox. I separated them for ease of treating them. Some of them had it quite badly & all 6 were away from the main flock for nearly 8 weeks.. I was expecting problems when I reintroduced them to the flock but there were no issues whatsoever. Where I have had issues has been when I have had a hen the tribe considers a threat to the wellbeing of the rest of the tribe & it has got ugly. Despite what Shad thinks, I do think there are broad character traits for breeds & most of my girls are non~dominant types. The exception is the Vorwerks who are extremely aggressive. The largest picks on my big cat & has the poor thing terrified.

 

[Perris]

I hope to read it all went well.

at least one has hatched already ; I got a little glimpse of its head poking out below Paprika's before shutting them up for the night; Paprika looked very happy. I played doorman so she's not overwhelmed tonight; only the senior hens + dom roo + Neath (who's a sweetie, and one of whose eggs was in the clutch) allowed in. Hopefully the rest hatch overnight, and Chirk won't deafen them with crowing before I let him out!

am I asking for trouble splitting my flock for my 2-3 month hiatus? Should I just suck it up and build another coop so I can accommodate all assimilate buff roo on new grounds and avoid reintro drama?

I have no idea on the 1st question; I suspect it's unpredictable how they'll respond. But I would recommend another coop in any case; I find it very useful to have several (though mine are small and portable and just for sleeping in, which is not what most people mean by 'coop').

 

[Perris]

you can just about see the 1st chick, and doesn't she look like a contented broody?