Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[no fly zone]

Also, Sky is sitting on the ceramic eggs while the other birds are sleeping on their roosting bar.

 

[ManueB]

Well, some sad news here. Apparently Sky spending so much time off the nest allowed Skeksis the opportunity to go in there and lay an egg. Only with her big old feet stomping around, she broke an egg open. I checked the nest right after work and found it swarming with fire ants. I quickly ran in the house and grabbed some gloves and a sandwich bag. Came back out and scooped out the broken egg and moved the remaining eggs to the other side of the nesting box. Then i took out all the straw covered in yolk. I rinsed the baby off and sadly found it looked like a perfect amalgamation of Skeksis & Mr. Bumble. Poor thing was only a few days away from hatching. I am deeply disappointed.
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I moved the intact eggs to the incubator with the other 6, as I believe they are about the same on their timeline. The nesting box now contains 6 ceramic eggs.

Also, Sky is sitting on the ceramic eggs while the other birds are sleeping on their roosting bar.

That's so sad, I'm sorry for all of you!
Poor sky, what will you do with her?

 

[no fly zone]

That's so sad, I'm sorry for all of you!
Poor sky, what will you do with her?

We plan to sneak whatever babies hatch out of the incubator under her at night. I will be building a brooder today just in case that doesn't work.

 

[ManueB]

I do give them a calcium carbonate and grit mix. The uptake is poor. I've been doing the rounds of some chemists today trying to get Calcium Citrate. Most of these types of health enhancers, like vitamins, come with other things mixed in.
I found plain Calcium Carbonate eventually. I'll have to get the Citrate online.

Interesting. I tried to find calcium citrate after reading on BYC that it was the most bioavailable form of calcium for the hens and I just can't find it here. The stuff for chicken is calcium carbonate, and what they sell for human is mainly calcium gluconate sometimes associated with calcium lactate, and not always associated with D3.
I didn't find it online either and it seems to be used only as a food additive here.

It's not the first time through this chicken journey that I've wished I had some notions in chemistry.

 

[ManueB]

We plan to sneak whatever babies hatch out of the incubator under her at night. I will be building a brooder today just in case that doesn't work.

I hope this works out!

It took me a few looks but I found him! Excellent camouflage! I

We asked a bit of advice to cat people around here when looking for kittens that would be able to survive outside. We were surprised to hear that colour was an essential criteria, a white kitten for example would be taken in no time by flying predators.

that picture of Henry watching over Matilda is gorgeous.

Well in the second photo it seems he's looking at the camera rather than at Mathilda. Henry is actually posing for the picture!

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good morning one and all!

The temperature is61 and mostly cloudy.

Have a great day!

 

[RoyalChick]

Well in the second photo it seems he's looking at the camera rather than at Mathilda. Henry is actually posing for the picture!

Yes you are right - and he is good at posing!

 

[no fly zone]

and now i see that laserbeak has an early case of bumblefoot on both feet

 

[ChicoryBlue]

They exist in most of Canada, upper midwest USA but not as far as New England
AND IN ALL OF EUROPE AND RUSSIA!!!!! Put in that 1/2" hardware cloth.
Hmm, here they get into a coop at night hit the chickens on the back of the neck to drink the blood. Lose most of a flock in one go.

We have weasels and mink in upstate New York, which technically is not New England. The weasels I have seen are very small to medium-small and will definitely get in anything bigger than 1/2". I have seen them in summer and winter. They live in stone walls here. Think of a chipmunk, then stretch the body out about 7 inches, that's the size of the little ones. Yes when they get in a coop most if not all will die. A neighbor lost all his pigeons from a weasel, most the first night, the rest the second.

 

[Marie2020]

Well, some sad news here. Apparently Sky spending so much time off the nest allowed Skeksis the opportunity to go in there and lay an egg. Only with her big old feet stomping around, she broke an egg open. I checked the nest right after work and found it swarming with fire ants. I quickly ran in the house and grabbed some gloves and a sandwich bag. Came back out and scooped out the broken egg and moved the remaining eggs to the other side of the nesting box. Then i took out all the straw covered in yolk. I rinsed the baby off and sadly found it looked like a perfect amalgamation of Skeksis & Mr. Bumble. Poor thing was only a few days away from hatching. I am deeply disappointed.
View attachment 3059308View attachment 3059309

I moved the intact eggs to the incubator with the other 6, as I believe they are about the same on their timeline. The nesting box now contains 6 ceramic eggs.

Omg, this is so sad I'm sorry