Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[DobieLover]

Where did you get yours? I want to try this next summer/fall when I have lots of eggs.

Anywhere that sells pickling and canning supplies. In my case, Agway.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

The temperature is48 and sunny.

Have a great day!

 

[Shadrach]

Did you change your approach to burying dead chickens when you moved to the UK Shad?
I remember you buried at least some of them in Catalonia. Maybe it was because you were much closer to those chickens.

I'm not allowed to bury livestock at the allotment and I don't have any land of my own.

 

[MaryJanet]

I have often wondered why we can't have mouse or rat based cat food.
Feels like it would be a win-win (well not for the mouse or rat of course).

I'm pretty sure there're very few animal products in my cat's food. From it's appearance, I'm pretty sure it's some kind of flavoured protein chunk.

 

[RoyalChick]

I'm pretty sure there're very few animal products in my cat's food. From it's appearance, I'm pretty sure it's some kind of flavoured protein chunk.

I don't think that can be true - cats are obligate carnivores, they must eat meat to survive. I suspect what you are seeing are the euphemistically named 'meat by-products'. What does the label say?

 

[MaryJanet]

I don't think that can be true - cats are obligate carnivores, they must eat meat to survive. I suspect what you are seeing are the euphemistically named 'meat by-products'. What does the label say?

I'm glad you asked, because I looked it up and it DOES have animal products in it!

She prefers the fish flavour and here are its ingredients:
Chicken, pork, pea protein, ocean fish (4%), minerals, dried whole egg, maize starch, cellulose, dried pork protein, dextrose, sunflower oil, xylose, fish oil, vitamins, dextrine, wheat flour, taurine, trace elements and beta carotene. Coloured with natural caramel.

 

[TheCluckyClucker2]

I lost this thread. Has there been any deaths in the last 30 pages? What is going on?

 

[Solanacae]

Love the ‘true soul of the chicken’ and I too fully appreciate Shad’s quest.

Same here. The ‘true soul of a chicken’ is a beautiful way to describe it. Shad’s observations and insights have helped me to better understand my flock’s behavior and needs.

At least they're still using the hens. Even if it's for pet food. Even at that young, those birds arent going to be as tender as most people prefer, and they're tiny compared to what most people buy in the store. It could be worse, they could just be thrown away.

I definitely see your point, and I hate to see things go to waste. My husband worked in the laboratory of a meat processing plant (they did beef) where he was responsible for testing samples for E. coli and Listeria. Very little of the animal goes to waste in that setting as well. Tallow makes soap and other things, hooves and ears become dog chews or become gelatin, skin becomes leather, face muscles become hot dogs or dog food, the list goes on. It’s a horrible life for any animal that’s part of the industrial food chain, but the system IS efficient so they can make a good profit.

 

[Shadrach]

Ok; yes, I guess that’s what I meant. But their behavior didn’t change overnight, did if? It still seems like they needed to regain something. Maybe “instincts” wasn’t if. Confidence? Or maybe “practice” is the best word, as you already said.

What do you think of my chickens hiding in their run, and sometimes even the coop itself, when they have access to the whole yard? It seems to be because of fear of the hawk. I think I need to get on adding that gate installed on the back if the run under the walnut tree.

The tribes as each generation arrived stopped wandering around like Alice In Wonderland and learn't to move from cover spot to cover spot.
The usual routine was to forage as soon as the sun gave enough light and then stay in and around the shelter spots most of the day taking brief foraging trips and of course egg laying and nest searching.
In the last couple of hours before dusk they would forage again.
I'm told this is normal semi feral behaviour as each generation learns which predators they need to avoid most.
In Catalonia it was the Goshawk and for the first couple of years the Goshawk got a lot of the chickens. They learn't how to hide much like jungle fowl and which routes were safest when they moved from place to place.
So I imagine your hens feel safest in their run. They would find hides eventually if they free ranged.
Dobie Lover's have a large bush as well as their coop, maybe other places as well.
Providing the right type of cover is quite difficult in the kept backyard. In Catalonia most of the grounds were unkept and had plenty of good cover. The Blackthorn bush outside my house for example which even a dog wouldn't try to push through.

 

[Shadrach]

Marie, if you look for “pasture raised humanely handled” eggs, it’s better. I still don’t buy any eggs at all, but got my parents on the pasture raised humanely handled.

Pasture raised is the only acceptable standard here in the UK