Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Shadrach]

Your comment reminds me of very sweet scene I witnessed about a month ago: Chirk stood with head down while Venka pecked the wax coatings off the new feathers coming in on the back of his neck, an area that they can't reach themselves of course. It was obvious the pecks were picking off the wax and that he was enjoying it not enduring it.

It's a lovely thing to watch. Ruffles used to fuss over Cillin like an old fish wife dressing her man to go out on the town. It took Cillin ages to get Fat Bird to groom him.

 

[Sortacountrychicken]

That's very interesting that the sick hens join up with the Legbars. I can't say that I've seen that before but I will definitely have to watch for it now. Not that I want to have any test subjects.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

It's under discussion.

Good to know. Are you any good at waxing lyrical about the benefits of chickens clearing up an old garden bed?
(Forgive me Shad but you don't strike me as the lyrical sort. )

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

Here's one little guy ready to see his girlfriend

I wonder why they separate them?
He's a lovely roo. I wish they had taken his nappy off when they put him out though.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

While Henry hasn't shown the sightest animosity towards me he has beeen until the last couple of days what one might call stand offish.
I haven't made an issue of it and let him get on with doing what he does.
What I have done is make sure when I give out any treats, is give some to him first, and then spread the treats around so everyone has a chance of getting some. I also keep some in my hand and lots of the more, erm, forward hens, peck out of my hand. Some still have a bit of a problem in their over enthusiastic pecking and try to rip a finger or two off, but in general everyone gets something. While the hens are barging each other out of the way to get what they consider to be their entitlement, I hand feed Henry.
Even so, when I get get close enough to reach out to touch Henry he has tended to move away.
Two days ago, when I went to my rucksack to get the treats, Henry came over and gently pecked my boot. Yesterday he did the same and I leant down and stroked his wattles. He didn't back away. I did it again today and as you can see in the last picture (I was sitting in my chair) he came over and stood close enough for me to be able to stroke his beak.
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That's great progress Shad. Hopefully he will let you handle him soon for medical necessities.
Such a handsome boyo!

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

The temperature is 48 and sunny.

Have a great day!

 

[Marie2020]

While Henry hasn't shown the sightest animosity towards me he has beeen until the last couple of days what one might call stand offish.
I haven't made an issue of it and let him get on with doing what he does.
What I have done is make sure when I give out any treats, is give some to him first, and then spread the treats around so everyone has a chance of getting some. I also keep some in my hand and lots of the more, erm, forward hens, peck out of my hand. Some still have a bit of a problem in their over enthusiastic pecking and try to rip a finger or two off, but in general everyone gets something. While the hens are barging each other out of the way to get what they consider to be their entitlement, I hand feed Henry.
Even so, when I get get close enough to reach out to touch Henry he has tended to move away.
Two days ago, when I went to my rucksack to get the treats, Henry came over and gently pecked my boot. Yesterday he did the same and I leant down and stroked his wattles. He didn't back away. I did it again today and as you can see in the last picture (I was sitting in my chair) he came over and stood close enough for me to be able to stroke his beak.
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What a handsome fellow

 

[Marie2020]

It's feeling like it's going to freeze tonight

Here are the girls all getting on fine today

 

[Solanacae]

I read chapter 3 in that book this morning. The pictures of the nutrient deficient chicks are sad to look at. The thing I found most interesting was the section about antibiotics to stimulate growth. It is a good reminder that sometimes even the most promising innovations can end up to have deleterious effects, like the widespread antibiotic resistance we see now as a result of antibiotic overuse for the past couple decades.

 

[Shadrach]

I saw Matilda make repeated visits to the nest box on the side of the main coop yesterday. She didn't lay an egg before they had all gone to roost and I had left.
Fortunatley I took some coconut oil with me this afternoon just in case.
When I let them out into the allotment run Matilda wasn't in the group and I found her in the nest box straining to lay an egg. I guess this had been going on all day.
I took hher out of the nest box and stood her on the ground in the allotment run.
This was the first time I've picked Matilda up and surprisingly she didn't make any fuss. I felt her abdomen and there was no doubt there was an egg there. Looking at her vent it became apparent from how far the inside of her vent was distended that the egg was stuck.
There aren't any warm bath, clean room, warm environment options at the allotment. Carrying home with what kit I had wasn't an option either due to the risk of breaking the egg inside her during transport.
I've rocked a few eggs out of hens in the past and given Matilda seemed not overly stressed by my attentions so far I decided to give it a go as she stood in the allotment. I oiled her vent right up to the place the egg made contact with her vent wall and the section of the egg I could reach.
By reaching under a hens belly you can feel the egg in most egg bound hens. By rocking the egg up and down and from side to side the oil that was spread inside the vent and on the egg gets sqeezed into the tight spots. It doesn't always work but it's worth trying before trying anything else.
It took a few moments and you can feel thhe egg moving more as you rock it. Eventually I gave a gentle squeeze just behind thhe egg and it slipped out into my waiting hand.
Obviously I couldn't take pictures of the procedure due to needing both hands for the procedure.

Here's the egg.

Often one finds that there isn't just one egg wating to be delivered so I put Matilada back in the nest box and after a quick massage a near perfect egg, with the white partly cooked due to the heat got delivered.

If a second egg stays in the hens vagina for along period of time they can cook solid and this causes further complications.
Natually Matilda not wanting anything to go to waste started to eat the second egg.

Much to Matilda's horror I cleaned up the egg preventing her from eating any more (It had landed in a pile of poop) and deposited her outiside.

I'm still not happy with how she looks.
Henry came over and shuffled around her giving her gentle pecks. He knew she was having problems it seems.

Next Matilda set about relacing some of the fluids she lost.

I'm still not happy. What I need is to see her poop all the waste that hasn't been able to get pooped out because the egg blocks the end of the intestines in many cases.
Matilad came and sat by me for a few minutes and I gave her belly a further massage. She wasn't keen on this and not wanting to stress her further I let her wander off.

A few moments later she shot this lot out of her vent and a few seconds later delivered yet more.

She went off to roost with the others. But I'm a bit concerned still because her crop was almost empty when she went to roost.