Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[bruceha2000]

Butter superstripe clowns (ball pythons).

The only 3 in existence.

Which means they are a breeding project of yours?

 

[pennyJo1960]

Hey X batts use to breed very prized long coat Chihuahua 2 to 4 lbs. Ungodly sums.
Tax

 

[BDutch]

You seem to be doing pretty well to me!
Maggie and Diana are just about 3+1/2 years old and they were my first chickens, so I am learning alongside you.
Mine seem to like my company in that they hang out with me. They often choose to sunbathe next to my chair for example, and Maggie in particular hops up on the table by my chair to chat. But they don’t want to be picked up. I can only handle them by taking them off their roost at night (something Shad taught me to do).

You seem to be doing pretty well to me!
My oldest chicken is 8+1/4 years old and she is one my first chickens, still learning alongside everyone else here.
Mine seem to like my compact in that they hang out with me. They often choose to sunbathe at the entrance to the terrace for example, and Kraai in particular hops up on the table when there’s food on it. But they don’t want to be picked up. I can only handle them by taking them off their roost at night (something taught from another forum 8 years ago).

 

[no fly zone]

Which means they are a breeding project of yours?

Yes. It's a project I started in 2016.

 

[Shadrach]

It's open day at the allotments on this Saturday and Sunday from 2pm to 4pm.
I'm going to try and be there and get the chickens out for the afternoon.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

75 cloudy 93% humidity feels like 73 thunderstorms.

Have a great day!

 

[ManueB]

I've just heard that a dead gannet has been found on the beach less than 1 mile from here. It's likely AI, as a case in Pembrokeshire (not far down the coast) was reported last week, and gannets have been particularly susceptible. I guess it had to get here sooner or later, but the real case is worse than a hypothetical case. I will be on tenterhooks for the next few weeks.

Yes, I can imagine you will be , especially with all the younger ones. Will you change anything regarding free ranging or not ?

I think you are overestimating others and underestimating yourself.
Getting familier enough with chickens to handle them easily is very much a double edged sword. Fundamentally chickens don't like it. This is the normal. I know people say my hen loves cuddles etc, but that isn't the normal for chickens. There are studies using thermal imaging that show how much it stresses the chicken. With the allotment crew after a year of two to three hours a day spent with them I can catch most of them now. 3 are particulalry difficult. They still don't like it, not even Lima.





Roosters in my experience are a bit like dogs; they tend to fare best with just one person doing the training, feeding etc. Humans are not the great communicators we would have ourselves believe. Our understanding is highly limited to our own species.

There are lots of posts on BYC where other people who are not seen by the chickens as part of the tribe get attacked or run into other behaviour problems.

Voice tone, relaxed mindfull movement and confidence are key to managing all other species. Other creatures are very good at picking up that "I'm cool and not trying to harm you vibe." They are also very good at picking up, this one is scared, vunerable, sick, dangerous etc.

It all takes time, lots of time and not just the passing of the hours. time actively involved with the chickens.
The anecdotal evidence I have suggests I'm wrong in that I beleive a human that handles their chickens reduces predator awareness.
An added problem with roosters and sometimes hens is that once you start handling them you become their best friend. I've had many months of best friend roosters and some of their habits can need a degree of understanding that some may find a bit of a stretch.

I still struggle everyday with some chicken issue and learn something about the chickens everyday. Most of the time one doesn't know one is learning until a point comes where through watching and then noticing a repeat, one starts properly observes rather than watch. I find I often know the answer to a particular problem but cant take the necessary action. Sometime it's I don't have the kit or the drug. At the allotments not having a place to examine and confine is a constant frustration. Not having the time is another. The more chickens one has the more time is needed to do the routine checks, even if they are random spot checks. Not having the money for vet care is another.

Tonight I tried to get a worming dose down the sick legbar. I didn't manage it, or at least not the full dose. I may have to tube it in but of course, I no longer have a tube feeding kit.

Finally much of the advice one reads is a reapeat of something someone has read. Sometimes if the person shows where they get the advice from as casportpony sometimes does and links to a reference when it comes to dosages, that's helpfull.

Thank for your detailed comment and also to everyone who gave encouragement. I actually felt more confident handling horses, my cats, and even when I had to vaccinate 40 lambs never having touched a sheep before, but I'm always scared to hurt the chickens. Our experience deworming Caramel with a syringe was a bit traumatizing, she struggled so much even though we did it at night, and after that it became nearly impossible to touch her.
I will learn progressively I suppose and luckily my partner is often there to help. And I accept that it will be a slower process for me than for other people who are "chicken whisperer".

I've spent a lot of time with Théo ever since he arrived here. I think he just has always been afraid of us and has never gotten over it. He's a tiny thing that must weigh about 300 grams ; when I say he shows aggression it means he comes running and tries to peck our leg from behind, but usually as we wear pants we can't even feel it. So, I will never feel "afraid" of Théo as I could probably be if a full size rooster was acting the same way ; what I'm afraid of is that my partner, who is far less tolerant, will want to get rid of him.

Today was the yearly wine grape harvest at our 95 year old neighbor's vines, so all the chickens were locked in for the whole day. They were very happy to be let out when I came home at 5. We had almost twice the amount of grapes we usually get, so we are going to have to drink a lot this year .
@Shadrach I hope the open day went well for the allotment crew and their captain!

 

[Shadrach]

I've spent a lot of time with Théo ever since he arrived here. I think he just has always been afraid of us and has never gotten over it. He's a tiny thing that must weigh about 300 grams ; when I say he shows aggression it means he comes running and tries to peck our leg from behind, but usually as we wear pants we can't even feel it. So, I will never feel "afraid" of Théo as I could probably be if a full size rooster was acting the same way ; what I'm afraid of is that my partner, who is far less tolerant, will want to get rid of him.

I can't be sure. I would need to see for myself. But if he runs up and pecks you at lower leg height he's not being aggressive. That's being friendly and pleased to see you. They do much the same to the hens.
He won't be on the ground when he's being aggressive. He wont be pecking you either. He'll be in the air, both feet forward, head well back and if he gets a good jump it will feel like his 300grams just got multiplied.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Never had a rooster as nice as Smudge is.
Respectful of people, He has never challenged us in any way. He is not afraid of us and I can lift him off the roost no fight or flight. He turns 3 this year.
Tax

 

[no fly zone]

Poor Skeksis. Instead of doing a full moult, she is doing it piecemeal. She is now working on growing back her head, side, and belly feathers.