Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Aussie-Chookmum]

This is from yesterday. Due to the storm and it's effect on public transport, I haven't been able to get to the allotments today.
Something is not right with Lima. Henry knows and has been fussing and herding.
I've had a look at her and I think and hope, she is about to lay the first egg since her arival here. She's been crouching for Henry a lot over the past few days and when I picked her up yesterday I could feel what I think is an egg on it's way. I'm hoping she'll get it out okay. I'll find out tomorrow I guess.
View attachment 2998002View attachment 2998003

Her poop is a bit watery but nothing there to raise any alarm.
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I hope Lima is just making an egg too. Good luck tomorrow getting to the allotment Shad.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

I have been looking at a battery mouse/rat machine today, it's apparently water proof.

I loathe the thought of killing anything but I want my girls safe

It's a pity rats and mice are such a pest and can reach plague proportions. I find them very cute (one at a time).

I like the sound of that trap. Looks like a quick death and you don't have to worry about poisons getting into the food chain, or in my case, the dogs.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

Smudge is not Moulting he saved most his girls in a Dog attack that killed three of my hens View attachment 2998271

Good on you Smudge! You have definitely earned your spurs.

I hope he isn't badly injured @pennyJo1960 ?

 

[ManueB]

Oh, I know the deer won’t bother the hens, I was just using that as an example of how the dogs’ smell in the backyard and presence in and out throughout the day seems to deter most wildlife from making any visits.

I definitely think so too. However I've also seen counter example.
Half a km to our house there is a hunting dogs kennel ( I don't know if it's like that everywhere but in France hunting dogs are kept in outside cages all year. Seems pretty horrible to me, like a lot of things about hunting, but I admit I don't know enough to judge ). When the hunting season is over the deers come every night hanging around the kennel, it's almost seems like they're making fun of the dogs , who go crazy barking at them! Revenge of the hunted on the hunters.

Off topic tax : catching up on sun dustbathing after the snow

 

[RoyalChick]

It's a pity rats and mice are such a pest and can reach plague proportions. I find them very cute (one at a time).

I like the sound of that trap. Looks like a quick death and you don't have to worry about poisons getting into the food chain, or in my case, the dogs.

I know what you mean but they breed at an alarming rate.
I do not allow myself to trap unless I am also working on exclusion. If I don’t work on exclusion I am just killing for the sake of it. Another mouse/rat will come to take the place of the one I killed.
I use my cameras where possible to identify where they are coming in and block it off. In the Chicken Palace once I had blocked the entrances I was left with those that were trapped inside and those are the ones I killed.
A humane killing is important to me so I either use the electric chair or a snap trap. Both are pretty instantaneous.
Just for fun here is some poor little guy who got trapped inside the Chicken Palace.

And for tax here is what happens if I don’t kill them humanely (apologies but many of you have already seen these videos).

 

[Marie2020]

That does seem like a humane approach to keeping the rodent population to a minimum. I really like that the dead rodents can be fed to other animals.

It's horrible having to do this but it has got to be done

I'm hoping to get a treadle feeder to minimise pests even more.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

I know what you mean but they breed at an alarming rate.
I do not allow myself to trap unless I am also working on exclusion. If I don’t work on exclusion I am just killing for the sake of it. Another mouse/rat will come to take the place of the one I killed.
I use my cameras where possible to identify where they are coming in and block it off. In the Chicken Palace once I had blocked the entrances I was left with those that were trapped inside and those are the ones I killed.
A humane killing is important to me so I either use the electric chair or a snap trap. Both are pretty instantaneous.
Just for fun here is some poor little guy who got trapped inside the Chicken Palace.

And for tax here is what happens if I don’t kill them humanely (apologies but many of you have already seen these videos).

I guess it's a "natural " death. Once she shakes it the neck probably snaps pretty quickly.

I've seen my girls catch frogs. They don't last long.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

The temperature is 57 and cloudy.

Have a great day!

 

[sourland]

When the hunting season is over the deers come every night hanging around the kennel, it's almost seems like they're making fun of the dogs , who go crazy barking at them!

The deer travel through my property regularly. Jewel weed grows within feet of my kennels. The deer graze on it during the summer. Most of my dogs learn to ignore them. The fox and coyotes on the other hand drive them nuts.

 

[BY Bob]

It's a pity rats and mice are such a pest and can reach plague proportions. I find them very cute (one at a time).

I like the sound of that trap. Looks like a quick death and you don't have to worry about poisons getting into the food chain, or in my case, the dogs.

Yup. I'm thinking of getting one now. After my last experience with rats I do not want to deal with that again.