Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[ManueB]

It's been hard to get her to eat anything, she's taking liquids okay. Sharach warned me of this with rescue hens but I still feel I've failed her. I haven't been here too read any of the good advice because I have been with her from morning till she decided too go too bed.

Catching the sun with Tina
View attachment 3071610

You're doing the best you can @Marie2020 . It's hard feeling so helpless but I'm realizing that is part of chicken keeping. I see on social media chickens that benefit from costly specialized vet interventions still die. The difference with ours is just that the owners know how they died. Take good care of Agatha, let her rest, try to get a little wet chicken food in there and don't be too hard on yourself.

 

[ManueB]

The fact is the allotment and the chickens are good for me and helping to pay for better chicken accomodation is a worthwhile thing to do. Honestly, they're worth every penny.

I know they are. How could one survive moving from Catalonia, to England, without chickens ? No offense intended .

This must have been a spider on the tested and approved list because Henry did the full on head bob and call, he even started hopping about when the hens ignored him.

I love watching Théo doing those things with food. Sometimes he gets really excited about something the hens just won't eat, he falls completely off, it's so funny.

 

[pennyJo1960]

We live in Evergreen state @ManueB rain in spring and snow pack are detrimental but there should be planting before June.
Tax of yesteryear.

 

[ManueB]

My bantam rooster Théo has started nagging one of the hen, Canelle. She was his first crush when we took him as a cockerel. Yesterday evening he chased her into the laurel tree and thrashed her around. It wasn't bad, just some blood on her comb but she is now terrorized of him and runs away as soon as she sees him. She didn't want to come in the coop last night.

He goes after the hens mainly in the morning when they come out of the coop, and in the evening. Should I separate the hen away during that time, or separate the rooster ? Or should I just let them sort it out ? I intervened to take him off her yesterday evening but I'm not sure that was the right thing to do.
He's getting to be really good at standing watch for winged predators now.

 

[Marie2020]

You're doing the best you can @Marie2020 . It's hard feeling so helpless but I'm realizing that is part of chicken keeping. I see on social media chickens that benefit from costly specialized vet interventions still die. The difference with ours is just that the owners know how they died. Take good care of Agatha, let her rest, try to get a little wet chicken food in there and don't be too hard on yourself.

Thank you. I've put her in the coop for now. She passed a tiny bit of egg this morning. It's cold right now, when it warm up I'm thinking to put her on the grass next door for a little while. She's not touched the wet food but i left some in the coop with acv water.

 

[Marie2020]

My bantam rooster Théo has started nagging one of the hen, Canelle. She was his first crush when we took him as a cockerel. Yesterday evening he chased her into the laurel tree and thrashed her around. It wasn't bad, just some blood on her comb but she is now terrorized of him and runs away as soon as she sees him. She didn't want to come in the coop last night.

He goes after the hens mainly in the morning when they come out of the coop, and in the evening. Should I separate the hen away during that time, or separate the rooster ? Or should I just let them sort it out ? I intervened to take him off her yesterday evening but I'm not sure that was the right thing to do.
He's getting to be really good at standing watch for winged predators now.
View attachment 3072071

Not that I know about roosters but I would separate him for the first part of the day until he calmed down.

 

[Marie2020]

Two little friends on the grass next door

 

[Perris]

He goes after the hens mainly in the morning when they come out of the coop, and in the evening

we had a spell of that with the young Penedesenca cockerels; either they've just grown out of it quickly or I solved it by putting a few mealworms in the breakfast bowls; now their minds are on food instead of sex first thing in the morning

 

[NatJ]

Do you have a mortar and pestle? A coffee bean or nut grinder?
One of them, or something similar, is handy.
You need to turn the pellets to dust basically. Then add warm water or as Ribh suggests above and make a sloppy paste.
It's also a great way of getting medication into a chicken assuming they'll eat the paste.

Is that for pelleted chicken food?
For the pelleted foods I have had, there is no need to crush them, because the ingredients are ground up before they are made into pellets.

Just add water and the pellets swell up and turn into mush in a very few minutes.

 

[ManueB]

we had a spell of that with the young Penedesenca cockerels; either they've just grown out of it quickly or I solved it by putting a few mealworms in the breakfast bowls; now their minds are on food instead of sex first thing in the morning

That's a great idea, I feed both bantams in a separate pen when I open the coop and when they roost half an hour before the ex-batts I also feed them on the roost (because I want to make sure Chipie gets enough food). So it will be quite easy to add some treat for Théo!