Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Shadrach]

But these are the birds you are looking after sometime before you arrived, right?

That is a picture close to the time they arrived. I'm not sure exactly when that was, but it was before I started helping out.

 

[Shadrach]

Welcome to the thread @Ladies-Eight

 

[Sally PB]

The avian veterinarians I'm familiar with

@Folly's place, Mary, do you know of a vet that treats chickens? You're not too far from me, so I'd love to have a name, for if I ever need one! Thanks!

TAX:

 

[Shadrach]

It's cold here; a couple of degrees above freezing. I've been at the allotments since 1400 hours supervising the chickens out in the allotment run.
I took this just before Henry lead the hens to roost.
The coop is a not very well designed flat pack job. It's way past it's best which wasn't all that to start with (for those who don't know the expression "not all that", it means not much good)
The coop is made from thin board. The roof got blown off and the repair is a bodge. The roof leaks and whoever was responsible for the repair didn't understand the importance of ventilation. There are no proper vents at ceiling height and with 21 chickens in it the humidity is high and amonia builds up quickly.

 

[Perris]

so your to-do list includes coop repair or a rebuild?

 

[Shadrach]

so your to-do list includes coop repair or a rebuild?

Yes but...
I would prefer to just build a new coop. I'm happy to do the work but given there are 14 people in the allotment communiity group who all voted to keep chickens, but it seems none actually want to DO anything, or PAY anything towards them, currently I would have to bear the cost of labour and materials. That isn't so much of a problem, but if I'm the only person interested in their welfare and I'm the only person prepared to be there day in day out to make sure they get properly fed, out of the run, treated for medical issues, then I want control over what happens to them and that includes how much space they can have, plus a few other issues I wont go into.
Also, a coop I built would not go through the gate so one side of the fence would have to come down. There isn't enough room to build a new coop in the coop run.
This week I'll get a proper floor in the main coop. The floor at the moment is a rusty sheet of steel with holes in it, large holes at that, and a 1mm sheet of plastic covering that. I'll put in an 18mm plywood floor plus proper roost bars at a proper height.
Building outside, half a mile from where you live in the cold is problamatical especially if you don't have transport. I have to carry everything to the allotments.

 

[RoyalChick]

Yes but...
I would prefer to just build a new coop. I'm happy to do the work but given there are 14 people in the allotment communiity group who all voted to keep chickens, but it seems none actually want to DO anything, or PAY anything towards them, currently I would have to bear the cost of labour and materials. That isn't so much of a problem, but if I'm the only person interested in their welfare and I'm the only person prepared to be there day in day out to make sure they get properly fed, out of the run, treated for medical issues, then I want control over what happens to them and that includes how much space they can have, plus a few other issues I wont go into.
Also, a coop I built would not go through the gate so one side of the fence would have to come down. There isn't enough room to build a new coop in the coop run.
This week I'll get a proper floor in the main coop. The floor at the moment is a rusty sheet of steel with holes in it, large holes at that, and a 1mm sheet of plastic covering that. I'll put in an 18mm plywood floor plus proper roost bars at a proper height.
Building outside, half a mile from where you live in the cold is problamatical especially if you don't have transport. I have to carry everything to the allotments.

Do these allotment people do anything with the allotment Shad? Like grow veggies or flowers? Or is it for them purely a way of keeping the neighbors away?

 

[Perris]

14 people in the allotment communiity group who all voted to keep chickens, but it seems none actually want to DO anything, or PAY anything towards them,

ah, familiar problem. Do the community have regular meetings, at which you might ambush them with a collecting tin? And a sign up list for help with the coop rebuild?

Building outside, half a mile from where you live in the cold is problamatical especially if you don't have transport. I have to carry everything to the allotments.

If these are the same people who wanted the allotments to stop housing going there, some at least might actually back on to the site. You could ask them for help shifting materials and tools to and fro, and for an extension lead to give you power - and maybe even heat! or snacks! - during build sessions.

 

[Shadrach]

Do these allotment people do anything with the allotment Shad? Like grow veggies or flowers? Or is it for them purely a way of keeping the neighbors away?

I've been going there for three months and I've seen four people, two couples work on the allotment. Fair enough, it's winter and once the ground is prepared there isn't a lot to do on the allotment itself, but there is masses to do everywhere else.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

He's an EE bantam.
View attachment 2916263
From Cackle hatchery. Love their bantam EEs!
Mary

Oh he kinda looks like my boy Romero! But lankier and with more cream.

Here's Crispy critter and HawkBait, two of my less capible pullets for tax