Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[micstrachan]

 

[Shadrach]

Shad, this is very informative. I think I mentioned to you that I might be interested in rescuing ex-pats someday.

I can't help this one...
Being an Ex Pat myself I'm all for it.

 

[micstrachan]

I can't help this one...
Being an Ex Pat myself I'm all for it.

Damn voice to text!

 

[micstrachan]

Shad, I’ve done a lot of reflecting today. I had a full day with the Birds. Like, a full 9 1/2 hours. I agree with you that the species of the chicken has been really screwed up. However, I really do love my birds the way they are. I love that they cuddle with me and talk to me and squat for me. I know, I know. That is so far from what they would do in a natural setting. But I do love them so much, and they actually love me back. I know you’re probably rolling your eyes, and that my chickens are the perfect example of the destroyed species. But I just love them.

That being said, I will continue to nurture their natural instincts. I know mine don’t have the natural instincts that others do, since they were raised in captivity by a human. The only three that were raised by a chicken were still hatchery stock, and have been my least healthy birds. And I no longer want to contribute to an industry that exploits them. I’m not sure what to do about keeping chickens moving forward, but I think they’re magical.

 

[RoyalChick]

I've been in touch with a few other people who have taken Pear Tree Farm Ex Battery hens from them. One recurring complaint is there hasn't been any flexibility in which hens one can accept.
Depending on the state of the hens has quite a bearing on what keeping circumstances are most suitable.
If for example the hens a going to person who is happy just to have them as pets and don't have other chickens then perhaps the hens in the worst condition should be placed with such people who will hopefully have the time and resources to provide a greater degree of care.
Other hens that may just be wanted for their end of life laying capacity may suit other forms of keeping, perhaps something like the allotments.

I have to admit I am still very ambivalent about the whole idea of these ‘rescues’.
I also don’t understand (at least in Europe) why there are still ex-bats to rescue because I thought battery farming was banned. I know what replaced them is still not great for the chickens but I am still confused.

 

[Ribh]

I have to admit I am still very ambivalent about the whole idea of these ‘rescues’.
I also don’t understand (at least in Europe) why there are still ex-bats to rescue because I thought battery farming was banned. I know what replaced them is still not great for the chickens but I am still confused.

Commercial enterprises that run high production breeds like ISAs only keep them for 18 months~ 2 years before culling them. This is when *rescue* groups move in. So technically not battery hens but not likey to be kept past their use by date either.

 

[Ribh]

Shad, I’ve done a lot of reflecting today. I had a full day with the Birds. Like, a full 9 1/2 hours. I agree with you that the species of the chicken has been really screwed up. However, I really do love my birds the way they are. I love that they cuddle with me and talk to me and squat for me. I know, I know. That is so far from what they would do in a natural setting. But I do love them so much, and they actually love me back. I know you’re probably rolling your eyes, and that my chickens are the perfect example of the destroyed species. But I just love them.

That being said, I will continue to nurture their natural instincts. I know mine don’t have the natural instincts that others do, since they were raised in captivity by a human. The only three that were raised by a chicken were still hatchery stock, and have been my least healthy birds. And I no longer want to contribute to an industry that exploits them. I’m not sure what to do about keeping chickens moving forward, but I think they’re magical.

Michelle, Shad is an idealist. [no offense, Shad ] The bottom line is chickens have been domesticated ~ for better or worse. The question is, to my mind, more where do we go from here? I have a number of hens who didn't get the memo about being wild & feral . They squat for me, roost on me, groom me, follow me round like dogs ~ & I think that is ok. The relationship between human & animal can be a wonderful thing. No, it's not natural in its purest sense but it is natural when there is a co-dependent relationship & mutual trust. I think you have a wonderful relationship with your birds. I imagine, like me, with greater knowledge you are relooking @ how your tribe evolves & the breeds you keep.

 

[RoyalChick]

Michelle, Shad is an idealist. [no offense, Shad ] The bottom line is chickens have been domesticated ~ for better or worse. The question is, to my mind, more where do we go from here? I have a number of hens who didn't get the memo about being wild & feral . They squat for me, roost on me, groom me, follow me round like dogs ~ & I think that is ok. The relationship between human & animal can be a wonderful thing. No, it's not natural in its purest sense but it is natural when there is a co-dependent relationship & mutual trust. I think you have a wonderful relationship with your birds. I imagine, like me, with greater knowledge you are relooking @ how your tribe evolves & the breeds you keep.

 

[RoyalChick]

Commercial enterprises that run high production breeds like ISAs only keep them for 18 months~ 2 years before culling them. This is when *rescue* groups move in. So technically not battery hens but not likey to be kept past their use by date either.

That is an important distinction to me.
If 'rescue' is a retirement home where some individual chickens are well cared for and live out their chicken-ey days in happiness, then I am all in favor of it for those lucky few hens.
But there is no chance that can happen at the scale of a large scale industry and there is a risk that you take already exhausted individual chickens, and instead of allowing them a hopefully speedy death (a whole other subjuct there) they get exposed to poor conditions under the care of a well-meaning but inexperienced amateur.
My own mindset (which will likely be disapproved of and wouldn't work for everyone anyway) is to support local farms where husbandry practices are such that the animals have a decent life.

 

[Ribh]

That is an important distinction to me.
If 'rescue' is a retirement home where some individual chickens are well cared for and live out their chicken-ey days in happiness, then I am all in favor of it for those lucky few hens.
But there is no chance that can happen at the scale of a large scale industry and there is a risk that you take already exhausted individual chickens, and instead of allowing them a hopefully speedy death (a whole other subjuct there) they get exposed to poor conditions under the care of a well-meaning but inexperienced amateur.
My own mindset (which will likely be disapproved of and wouldn't work for everyone anyway) is to support local farms where husbandry practices are such that the animals have a decent life.

I was really ignorant about chickens when we got our only lot of rescues. I was horrified @ the condition they arrived in & they barely made it another 12 months. I wish high production breeds were banned but that is unlikely to happen. If people understood more about the natural cycles I think they would be less fraught about how many eggs they were getting. I have 18 hens @ present. 5 are broody , Sif & Soda are not laying & Beatha is erratic. She hasn't laid @ all this week but I still had 4 1/2 dozen eggs to give away. And of my 10 layers no~one lays every single day. Next door has 2 bantams. The only time their girls haven't provided enough eggs for their family of 4 is when one of their bantams went broody. Bantams are decent little layers though their eggs are smaller & they don't lay as often as the high production breeds & therein lies 1/2 the problem. People want big eggs & lots of them. I actually like the smaller eggs. They are nearly all yolk. However I don't want what happened to standard hens to happen to the bantams.