Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[pennyJo1960]

She was the weakest they are not that old .. 3 have started laying she was the youngest

 

[Anime2lover]

She was the weakest they are not that old .. 3 have started laying she was the youngest

Sorry to hear that. She is in heaven now though.

 

[Solanacae]

It's not just the keepers, Shad, it's the idiots who make the rules & know nothing about anything. I would have a rooster ~phoenix for choice~ but not only would my neighbours be unhappy, my council would crucify me. Everyone understands why I brought the cats out with me; no~one understands why I didn't just leave the chickens to be killed but they are are as much my pets & companions as the cats are.

I’m up against the same problem where I live, despite the area’s long history as being an agricultural area. Several chicken keepers in my town banded together recently when we found out the community council was revisiting the chicken ordinances and were successful in convincing them to relax the laws a little - though anything that crows is still not allowed.

I appreciate your educational (and they are) posts on chicken keeping. I don’t take it personal because I happen to keep my chickens in what has become the usual model for modern small flocks. Even though I am limited in what I can do, it is always useful to know what the ideal would be. It is always possible to implement to even a small degree, changes that enhance life for a chicken.
And as for commercial egg production, the more we consumers know, the better the pressure we can put on them to treat chickens better.

I agree wholeheartedly! My instinct when I first started keeping chickens was to give them as much room as possible, though still in a separated run from the rest of the backyard. I quickly realized how much they benefited from being able to forage in the lawn. Far from free range but a definite improvement. My husband has taken a job in a town about two hours south and we are in the process of house shopping. I’m hoping we are able to get a home with a generous backyard so I can give them even more space.

 

[Solanacae]

Tax:
Lettuce is always a welcome treat in the winter, and the girls thought it was a bit unfair that the dogs and I headed inside while they had to stay out.

 

[GregnLety]

My 2 dominant roosters and their gals. It's rare they get so close to each other.

 

[Shadrach]

If you were allowed to, what would you want to add for large buildings? Such as maybe a quarantine/hospital area for treating sick and injured birds.

A new coop.

 

[Shadrach]

Sounds promising. But if he isn't local will he keep coming back consistently?

He lives locally but he isn't from the area originally.

 

[Shadrach]

I would add a covered open area where they could shelter from bad weather but still be out of the coop.

This as well.

 

[Shadrach]

Another hawk attack and this time it wounded one of the girls . She's got one eye completely closed and some bloody pecks around the other. We cleaned the wounds and put some saline solution inside her eye, It seems normal inside but the lid is swollen. Now she's inside with us in a box looking like she's in pain, she ate a little though. Don't know yet if it's just complete shock or if she has some internal damage we can't see.

What kind of hawks do you have where you live ManueB?
Hopefully there is no internal damage.

 

[Shadrach]

Do you have terramycin to treat the eye with? Others here may know better but I will crush a baby aspirin and mix it with water then put a drops in her mouth with a syringe. I hope she will be ok.

Half a junior asprin twice a day is what I use if I can't get Metacam.