Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Shadrach]

I'm a day behind; and probably a few dollars short as the saying goes.
Same old story. I'm going to post these empty feed tray pictures on and off for a bit, mainly to show that this isn't some one off event.
The last picture is the one kilo bag of pellets I take. I've been having to buy the pellets like this while I complete my move and find a chicken feed supplier nearer where I live.

 

[Solanacae]

My husband is away this week and I have been late checking on the chickens at night. Last night I went out and saw one of my dogs pointing at the apple by the chicken yard. The dog, Sisko, is a Brittany and loves to point at the chickens when they’re out of their run. I look more closely and see that I’ve got three chickens roosting there. Saiorse and Ginger were too high for me to reach, but I was just barely able to get Sophia off a lower branch. I take her to the coop, chiding her for being a silly chicken who jumped the fence and couldn’t get back by dark, and see that I’ve only got five of my ten roosting there. Put Sophia on a roosting bar, that’s six, and two are just going to spend the night in the tree. So start looking around for my two remaining miscreants. I find Caramel on the dust bath tire in the covered part of their run, pick her up and notice that she’s definitely gained back the weight she lost from being broody, but she’s a Sussex so she’s always been a heavier build. She just doesn’t like being handled, so that was the first time I’d had reason to pick her up recently. Put her on a roosting bar, that’s nine accounted for . . . Peanut is missing still. Check the tree again, yep just those two silly ones, look all over the run, go out and check the garden, no sign of an almost completely white chicken anywhere. And she’s the least adventurous one of the whole flock. She was out there this morning, and I haven’t the foggiest idea of where she spent the night.
Tax:
1. Sisko pointing at Caramel this past summer
2. Ginger looking lovely and almost all grown up
3. Goldilocks checking out my phone

 

[Shadrach]

Despite the bursts of drizzle they all came out for around an hour yesterday.
The Legbars are not at all impressed with the weather. They do venture out but the RSL don't seem overly bothered. They just want out.

 

[Shadrach]

My husband is away this week and I have been late checking on the chickens at night. Last night I went out and saw one of my dogs pointing at the apple by the chicken yard. The dog, Sisko, is a Brittany and loves to point at the chickens when they’re out of their run. I look more closely and see that I’ve got three chickens roosting there. Saiorse and Ginger were too high for me to reach, but I was just barely able to get Sophia off a lower branch. I take her to the coop, chiding her for being a silly chicken who jumped the fence and couldn’t get back by dark, and see that I’ve only got five of my ten roosting there. Put Sophia on a roosting bar, that’s six, and two are just going to spend the night in the tree. So start looking around for my two remaining miscreants. I find Caramel on the dust bath tire in the covered part of their run, pick her up and notice that she’s definitely gained back the weight she lost from being broody, but she’s a Sussex so she’s always been a heavier build. She just doesn’t like being handled, so that was the first time I’d had reason to pick her up recently. Put her on a roosting bar, that’s nine accounted for . . . Peanut is missing still. Check the tree again, yep just those two silly ones, look all over the run, go out and check the garden, no sign of an almost completely white chicken anywhere. And she’s the least adventurous one of the whole flock. She was out there this morning, and I haven’t the foggiest idea of where she spent the night.
Tax:
1. Sisko pointing at Caramel this past summer
2. Ginger looking lovely and almost all grown up
3. Goldilocks checking out my phone

I'm glad she showed up. Despite knowing that the Tribes in Catalonia, apart from the marans, were fine up a tree overnight and some spent some months roosting in trees in preference to their coop, I still didn't sleep easy those nights. On some evenings, like yourself, I just couldn't find one or two. If they got up high in the Magnolia tree anytime apart from winter, there was no way I would spot them without climbing the tree and scouring branch by branch. I walked within a metre of Tap on a couple of nights and could have reached out and grabbed her if I had known exactly where she was.

 

[ManueB]

I don’t know your set up but I do from time to time get my princesses down to my garden to do a bit of weeding and soil tilling. I usually work along side them and I often cage them in an area to keep them focused where the most work is needed.
They follow me down there. I often carry one and hold a fresh ear of corn to entice them. And at the end of the day they race back home ahead of me.
In full transparency I did once have a strike when they got distracted by a weeping crabapple on the way and wouldn’t come out to go to work. There have been union negotiations since then.
Anyway, long winded way of saying you can get the chickens to a distant site to deal with a garden issue.

I do that with mine too. They are quite civil on the first two days and then they just go wild and run everywhere and usually especially where I don't want them to go (they know exactly where are the strawberries).

This year I've bought two extra second hands poultry nets. I will be using one especially for bringing the hens in the garden. The other one I will use to limit a forbidden zone in their place when grass starts growing again for six weeks, to allow the zones where they have been scratching too hard or dustbathing to grow green again.

 

[ManueB]

My husband is away this week and I have been late checking on the chickens at night. Last night I went out and saw one of my dogs pointing at the apple by the chicken yard. The dog, Sisko, is a Brittany and loves to point at the chickens when they’re out of their run. I look more closely and see that I’ve got three chickens roosting there. Saiorse and Ginger were too high for me to reach, but I was just barely able to get Sophia off a lower branch. I take her to the coop, chiding her for being a silly chicken who jumped the fence and couldn’t get back by dark, and see that I’ve only got five of my ten roosting there. Put Sophia on a roosting bar, that’s six, and two are just going to spend the night in the tree. So start looking around for my two remaining miscreants. I find Caramel on the dust bath tire in the covered part of their run, pick her up and notice that she’s definitely gained back the weight she lost from being broody, but she’s a Sussex so she’s always been a heavier build. She just doesn’t like being handled, so that was the first time I’d had reason to pick her up recently. Put her on a roosting bar, that’s nine accounted for . . . Peanut is missing still. Check the tree again, yep just those two silly ones, look all over the run, go out and check the garden, no sign of an almost completely white chicken anywhere. And she’s the least adventurous one of the whole flock. She was out there this morning, and I haven’t the foggiest idea of where she spent the night.
Tax:
1. Sisko pointing at Caramel this past summer
2. Ginger looking lovely and almost all grown up
3. Goldilocks checking out my phone

Thanks to Sisko , what a good dog! Would they be safe from predators if they roosted in the apple tree?
Ginger and Goldilocks look lovely and now they have really distinct colours.

 

[Perris]

I'm a day behind; and probably a few dollars short as the saying goes.
Same old story. I'm going to post these empty feed tray pictures on and off for a bit, mainly to show that this isn't some one off event.
The last picture is the one kilo bag of pellets I take. I've been having to buy the pellets like this while I complete my move and find a chicken feed supplier nearer where I live.View attachment 2996162View attachment 2996163View attachment 2996164View attachment 2996165

How much do you think the rats are taking? Is there any rodent control going on?

 

[Perris]

I do that with mine too. They are quite civil on the first two days and then they just go wild and run everywhere and usually especially where I don't want them to go (they know exactly where are the strawberries).

This year I've bought two extra second hands poultry nets. I will be using one especially for bringing the hens in the garden. The other one I will use to limit a forbidden zone in their place when grass starts growing again for six weeks, to allow the zones where they have been scratching too hard or dustbathing to grow green again.

I use a length of scaffolding netting and some 4' rebar poles to restrict access when necessary. It's so light and easy to erect, remove, drape round or over any odd shapes, and cheap as chips to boot!

 

[RoyalChick]

I do that with mine too. They are quite civil on the first two days and then they just go wild and run everywhere and usually especially where I don't want them to go (they know exactly where are the strawberries).

This year I've bought two extra second hands poultry nets. I will be using one especially for bringing the hens in the garden. The other one I will use to limit a forbidden zone in their place when grass starts growing again for six weeks, to allow the zones where they have been scratching too hard or dustbathing to grow green again.

I am thinking of doing something similar - to Block off an area and reseed it for them.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

I'm a day behind; and probably a few dollars short as the saying goes.
Same old story. I'm going to post these empty feed tray pictures on and off for a bit, mainly to show that this isn't some one off event.
The last picture is the one kilo bag of pellets I take. I've been having to buy the pellets like this while I complete my move and find a chicken feed supplier nearer where I live.View attachment 2996162View attachment 2996163View attachment 2996164View attachment 2996165

Just an idea Shad. I buy 15kg bags of feed, pay for them over the phone and have them delivered all without human contact. Could you have big bags of feed delivered straight to the allotment?

My supplier also sells big empty drums to store feed in. I also use a galvanized rubbish bin to store grain. I scoop out what the chooks need for the day with a big, plastic measuring jug.

I haven't had any problems with rodents and the containers are water tight and keep everything fresh and dry. Might something like this be a possible solution for you?