Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Shadrach]

I have some help at the allotments! I've been showing Wendy how and what to feed the geese and chickens. C just sent Wendy down with a few little bags of mixed out of date bread and veg and about enough feed for half a dozen chickens for a day.
Wendy was very nervous of the geese and Henry on her first visit. She made her third visit today and was fine with the geese and is getting to know the chickens a little better.
Hopefully she'll be able to do one evening a week and that will mean that's one evening I won't have to worry about.

 

[Shadrach]

No, I can. Have over 2 dozen currently and another 6 to come this spring I'm keeping.

For our first birds (the stars), we didn't want a rooster since we were under the common fear that they would all be evil males.

And then st run bit me in the butt a few years ago so I got a calico princess and 2 sexed spitzhaubens to add more females on the off chance I kept both males from the st run batch (that didn't happen though)

Of course you can. I know this from earlier posts. I had a senior moment when the previous information got stuck in the RAM drive.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Of course you can. I know this from earlier posts. I had a senior moment when the previous information got stuck in the RAM drive.

I'm one of the people that can never have too many boys. Well, technically I know you can, but.... well, you know

 

[Shadrach]

I'm one of the people that can never have too many boys. Well, technically I know you can, but.... well, you know

I would like to have another male at the allotments. Given enough time it's doable. This lot would split quite well I think. Henry would be able to cope better with say his daughter Matilda and the rest of the grey lot. Henry flew today as in got right off the ground which I have never seen him do before. I'm not sure why because I was facing the other way when he went past me.
I've worked out how to go about building a new coop in the current coop run. I've got the coop legs, the floor support struts and the floor (a complete 8 feet times 4 feet sheet of 18mm ply)
Like all the coops I've built it would be portable with enough people power. I'm due a bit of a pension windfall in March which would give me enough cash to do the project. Wendy, who is part of the allotment group seems to think that the group has seen enough of what I've been prepared to do to make a contribution.

 

[Shadrach]

I really wanted to cut this dead rat open and see if the chickens got the idea it was food. However, when I had a good look at it I couldn't see any injury and I think it may have eaten poison. I put it in a plastic bag and put that in the rubbish bin at home so that no wild creatures ate it either.

 

[DobieLover]

I really wanted to cut this dead rat open

 

[Shadrach]

It wasn't raining when I got to the allotments. The mud in the run is wet enough to pour from a tea pot. This lot fired out of the gate and headed for the grass and weeds.

 

[Sortacountrychicken]

Glad they got to get outside in some nicer weather.

Do you think there are rats hanging around the coop or did it likely come from one of the neighboring properties? We have problems with rats coming across a hay field from an infested farm. They worry me beyond belief when they show up from time to time. They will kill full grown chickens here.

 

[Perris]

This lot fired out of the gate and headed for the grass and weeds.

They're learning! And they feel secure with you around. Or maybe something caught their eyes before you turned up and they were racing to get there first - that might explain Henry's flight past you too

Great news about helper Wendy and about potential contributions from the other members

 

[Shadrach]

Glad they got to get outside in some nicer weather.

Do you think there are rats hanging around the coop or did it likely come from one of the neighboring properties? We have problems with rats coming across a hay field from an infested farm. They worry me beyond belief when they show up from time to time. They will kill full grown chickens here.

There are rats hanging around the coop but the problem is fairly minor and the recent addition of chicken wire at the bottom of the fence has helped discourage them.
Unfortunately most places that have stored feed and/or livestock/outside pets/whatever are going to have rats. In Catalonia we had a veritable plague of country rats for a while. I think I counted 30ish one evening trying to make a dive for the chicken treats at roost time. I caught three females and the population dropped like a stone. The owls took care of most of the juniors and the males who venture out in the evenings.