Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[ManueB]

or they could do it in line instead of shoulder to shoulder
View attachment 3004570

How orderly your flock is ! And I'm in awe of that beautiful green grass, same with @micstrachan photo above. My land is so dry I've been hose watering the girl's place. Being curious, what are the ruins on the other side of the trees?

 

[ManueB]

I'm also thinking of giving my lot supervised free range time on the whole property, especially now that we're going to restrict their space for six weeks to help the grass grow.
However when I've tried that in the past they stayed disciplined for a day or two and then they just get overexcited and dispersed everywhere. This made it difficult to supervise them, and also after two days the bucket of corn to make them come back lost it's interest and I had to go carry them back one by one.
Maybe I didn't insist long enough and after a while they would think of staying together ? Also we used to try it in the afternoon when we were working in the garden, but maybe it's better to do it at the end of the day so that they would want naturally to come back to the coop when night settles in?

 

[Perris]

the green green grass of home... (ref to a Tom Jones song, he's from these parts); the grass comes with all the rain we get; personally I would prefer a little less of it and a little more of the sun and warmth of your parts! But it does make pasturing an option for local farmers.
Apparently Wales has more castles than any other country in the world What we're looking at is actually a Victorian folly built by the then owner marking the entrance to this one
http://penricecastle.co.uk/
you can see the old castle (not open to the public) on the rise above the house.

 

[Perris]

Maybe I didn't insist long enough and after a while they would think of staying together ?

My flock have been at it 6 years now, and they get better all the time. I think predator pressure is what keeps them together. There are foxes and hawks, but they don't seem to attack when the flock hangs together. It is birds that have gone off on their own that get targeted. Having multiple roos no doubt helps deter predators too.

 

[Iluveggers]

maybe it's better to do it at the end of the day so that they would want naturally to come back to the coop when night settles in?

When i chicken sit for my neighbors, I let their girls out about an hour before dark so I don’t have to round them up. Much easier than chasing! (They don’t require them to be let out when being chicken-sat but I know they love the extra time outside so I fit it in anyway.)

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

The temperature is 75 and sunny.

Have a great day!

 

[pennyJo1960]

Good morning Ex Batts eggs go to lockdown today ...
Smudge lost his tail feathers with the dog fight ..
He is going into mini Molt .. He is keeping the girls closer to the coop.. and one crow keeps them running back to him so far ...
He has no wounds at all from the dog

 

[no fly zone]

Found some rodent droppings in the coop this morning.

Time to give the coop another complete onceover/update on my next day off.

 

[Shadrach]

Can't they have a rodent proof feeder Shad? Then they could eat whenever they needed to.

They would need at least three, but it's a possibility.

 

[Shadrach]

We are getting terribly monsoonal weather just now which means the girls foraging has been severely limited & the ground underfoot is really soggy. My girls aren't happy. They have been spoilt with as much foraging time as they like & want & suddenly we are all squelching.

You need the rain there though don't you?